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A sensitive yet humorous adaptation of the stage play, this 1970 film directed by William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist) is one of the first films to openly address gay issues in a matter-of-fact style that largely avoids stereotyping. Shot on one set and featuring a birthday party as the festive setting, a group of friends assemble to celebrate, reminisce, and discuss their lives and the travails of being gay, even as one friend insists he's straight. The night turns from a light celebration to a sometimes-vindictive ordeal of revelation and betrayal, as each man in turn must confess his true feelings. Performed by the original cast of the stage production, the film may feel dated to some, but it still manages to be truthful and entertaining as it explores a subject that to this day is not often addressed. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (42)

'I don't understand any of it... I never did' ... Michael
Mart Crowley's 'The Boys in the Band' is a minor masterpiece of American cinema that was also instrumental in thrusting gay life and issues into the American mainstream.

Based upon the 1968 Off-Broadway play, this 1970 film adaption by William Friedkin retains all of the stage cast and most of the dialogue. The story is simple enough, Michael Connelly is throwing a party for his friend Harold when an old college roommate, who is presumably straight, arrives and throws the party into turmoil. Michael, who clearly has had a drinking problem, hits the bottle again as a result of the conflict. Kenneth Nelson gives a brilliant performance as Michael who is quickly unravelling with every drink and who begins to tear down his friends one by one. The party climaxes in a 'truth' game which proves oddly cathartic to everyone but Michael.

Many issues have arisen over the years with 'The Boys in the Band'. Were these men mostly stereotypes? Is this work still relevant to gay life? What does it say about where we are in light of where we've been?

Your answers to these questions may well depend on your age. For myself, when first viewing this as a 22 year old in 1987, I found it amusing but ultimately sad and upsetting. A dozen years later of being out in gay life, I have come to learn how masterful this work is and that while times have changed in many ways for the better, many of the issues that the 'boys' were dealing with back then are still being dealt with today. Issues of religious and societal intolerance and the attempt to forge a positive gay identity in an often hostile world are still very much with us today.

I believe the reason 'The Boys in the Band' is so humorous is that the camp humor of that time was largely a coping mechanism of sorts. This is black humor at its best, showing us the brutal honesty of a situation while exposing the many absurdities in it at the same time.

In the end Michael states 'I don't understand any of it, I never did.'... food for thought...

Also: Pick up a copy of '3 Plays by Mart Crowley'. The story of Michael Connelly pre and post "Boys in the Band" is powerfully explored in these two additional plays. (Read the forward 1st!)

A "Must" for all Gay Men
As a friend once put it, the first time you see it (usually in college or freshly minted out-of-the-closet) you're horrified because it is full of self-loathing queens. The second time, in your twenties or after a bit moving in the stream of gay life, you're into it because it's campy and fun. The third time, once you've been around a block more times than you can remember, you love it because it's TRUE! While certainly not to be included in any catalogue of PRIDE-ful moments (and as such was the source of great controversy in the 1970s), this is a film that touches on crucial aspects of gay identity that have remained fairly constant in the post-Stonewall period, a series of questions: sexual and emotional fidelity, pride, self-hatred, fraternal destruction, and gay friendship. Or, another way to put it and to borrow Adrienne Rich's phraseology, "lies, secrets, and silence." The telephone game is the dramatic high point of the film (don't try this at home kids, unless you're three sheets to the wind and have an old rotary phone in the garage!), underscoring the complicated histories gay men bring to their desires. For others, this is the low point of self-loathing, but I find the actors rescue the scene with tenderness and emotive power. For me, the saving grace of the film and its central message is the denouement of Harold's committment to his friendship with the hideous lush Michael, who, after suffering a night of Michael's Gin and Ton witticisms honed to a razor sharp edge while languidly flipping through "The Films of Joan Crawford" (a nice touch), and after reading him within an inch of his life, tells Michael, with real feeling, "Call you tomorrow." And who can't appreciate friendship like that? With this, the film brings to the fore the essence of gay survival, which is friendship, and for that is worthy of viewing and LOVE (and a DVD).

What I am Michael...
Exquisite movie--beautifully directed and smart acting by the cast. It's as if not more timely now than it was then.

Leading 20th Century Work
I think "Boys in the Band" is one of the best plays of the 20th century. It's far, far more than a bunch of self-hating queens camping it up. For one thing, look at how succinctly the playwright develops his characters with just one line: "Cheese it. Here comes the socialite nun!"

A better way to think about the play is as a tragedy concerning the emotional life of Michael, who exemplifies so many of killer competitor types of the 20th century.

When Harold says to Michael, "You're a sad and pathetic man. You're a homosexual and you don't want to be," he's making a larger point that what Michael is really afraid of is his own humanity, not just being seen as a big fairy.

An Important Film on Humanity - Gay or Not
Mart Crowley will always be remembered for this gem of a film (based on the stage play) because of its evocative and dead-on treatment of humanity, particularly that of gay men.

The movie, like the stage play, is set in a New York City apartment. Seven gay men (and one gay prostitute) are going to be attending a bithday party hosted by Michael. As the film opens, we are visually introduced to the main characters. We then see Michael's smart and proper apartment and know that he is preparing for the party. Michael's weekend boyfriend Donald arrives and they talk about everything from anxiety attacks to financial woes to the effects of alcohol.

Suddenly, everything is turned on its head as Michael gets a very odd and uncharacteristic phone call from his college roommate, Alan. Alan is in town and wants to meet up with Michael, but Michael isn't sure that Alan should arrive in the middle of a birthday party for gay men. Alan breaks down and begs to see Michael. They agree on a quick drink and Michael and Donald explore how they are going to handle a straight man at a gay party.

Thinking the doorbell is Alan, Michael opens it to find that Emory, Hank and Larry have arrived. He tells them what is going on and then Bernard, another guest, arrives. Michael demands that everyone play it cool and straight while Alan is there.

As the party gets underway with appetizers and music, Michael gets a phone call from Alan expressing regrets about his breakdown and suggests they get together for lunch the next day. Michael is relieved and the party starts to flow even better.

Michael, Bernard, Emory, and Larry begin a dance routine they learned on Fire Island and don't hear the doorbell. When Hank answers the door, it isn't Harold, but Alan, who has dropped by unannounced. He sees Michael and the other men dancing and there is a grand uncomfortable moment as the party comes to a screeching halt.

Alan and Michael talk and then as Alan gets ready to leave, a fight ensued between Alan and Emory with Emory ending up with a bloody face.

The rest of the movie is a very real, very poignant look at human nature. There is an attempt to expose someone in the closet, a look at fidelity within a gay relationship, the fear of growing old and a wonderfully crafted discussion on the nature of beauty.

Although all of the actors in the film are excellent, Cliff Gorman as the effiminate Emory steals the show. (Gorman, incidentially, would go on to portray Lenny Bruce in the stage play "Lenny" and would receive high acclaim for his work only to be replaced by Dustin Hoffman for the movie version.)

What makes the film work for all mature audiences is that the character portrayals are seemless. We can all see some of our own faults in at least one of the characters.

The only drawback is that this film is not yet out on DVD, although it should be!

If you get a chance to see this film, do so. It is a very fine piece of film that deserves all the acclaim it gets. ... Read more

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One of the key movies of the 1970s, when exciting, groundbreaking, personal films were still being made in Hollywood, Milos Forman's One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest emphasized the humanistic story at the heart of Ken Kesey's more hallucinogenic novel.Jack Nicholson was born to play the part of Randle Patrick McMurphy, the rebellious inmate of a psychiatric hospital who fights back against the authorities' cold attitudes of institutional superiority, as personified by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher).It's the classic antiestablishment tale of one man asserting his individuality in the face of a repressive, conformist system--and it works on every level. Forman populates his film with memorably eccentric faces, and gets such freshly detailed and spontaneous work from his ensemble that the picture sometimes feels like a documentary.Unlike a lot of films pitched at the "youth culture" of the 1970s, One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest really hasn't dated a bit, because the qualities of human nature that Forman captures--playfulness, courage, inspiration, pride, stubbornness--are universal and timeless.The film swept the Academy Awards for 1976, winning in all the major categories (picture, director, actor, actress, screenplay) for the first time since Frank Capra's It Happened One Night in 1931. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (207)

A Tremendous Film With The Great Nicholson
This is an unforgettable film. Jack Nicholson gives one hell of a classic and memorable performance in this film directed by the great Milos Forman. Nicholson plays Randall McMurphy, a rebel inmate of sorts at a psychiatric hospital who fights the system and refuses to give in the hospital's orders or behavior. It's a real groundbreaking film. Nicholson's main adversary is the cold Nurse Ratchett(great name!), played superbly by Louise Fletcher. A remarkable performance. There are also a number of familiar faces in the film. You will definitley recognize Christopher Lloyd, Danny DeVito, and Brad Douriff, as some of the inmates. Will Sampson also gives a memorable performance. There are scenes here that are truly shocking. Anyone who has seen this probably knows what I mean when I say that. All of our actors are dead on perfect as mentally unstable patients. A remarkable cast. The end scene of the film is shocking and definitley won't be forgotten. Go watch this classic film and see one of our biggest and best legends in an astonishing performance. This is deeply recommended!.

A disturbing movie about the disturbed.
In this multi-Academy award winning flick based on Ken Kesey's novel, actor Jack Nicholson as jail-bird Randle P. McMurphy seeks escape from the prison work farm by feigning madness. He is committed to a psychiatric ward for the mentally disturbed for evaluation while the staff try to determine whether his behaviour is genuine insanity or mere rebellion. But being with the mentally ill isn't as rosy as McMurphy imagined it to be, particularly under the repressive regime operated by Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher). In the battle of mind-games with Ratched, McMurphy discovers that even a simple thing as watching the World Series is impossible, because it might disturb the patients' routine.

Only three movies have ever taken out all five major Academy awards (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay), and "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" is one of that elite group. To say that the acting is superb is an understatement. It takes a lot of talent to convincingly portray someone mentally disturbed, but this cast accomplishes it with brilliance. The supporting roles as nearly as terrific as the leading roles: Sydney Lassick as the shaky inarticulate Charlie Cheswick, Brad Dourif as the stuttering virgin Billy Bibbit, Danny DeVito as the infantile Martini, Christopher Lloyd as the wide-eyed trouble-maker Tabor, William Redfield as the eloquent intellectual Dale Harding, and Will Sampson as the mute Indian giant.

But the mentally ill are depicted not merely as objects for examination and pity, but with genuine sympathy as victims under an oppressive regime. Admittedly they're also the source for warm humor; Highlights include McMurphy's commentary of an imaginary baseball game with all the "nuts" cheering, and McMurphy's creative introduction of all patients as "doctors" from the mental institution as they hijack a fishing boat. Those who work with the mentally disturbed in real life will be the first to tell you that you need a sense of humor in dealing with them. But humor doesn't exclude compassion, and this movie raises serious questions about the treatment of the mentally ill.

Everything is geared towards arousing sympathy for the mentally disturbed: minimalist music and silence, dreary colors, bright lighting, and male care-givers who are police-like unnamed uniforms. These factors combine to create an atmosphere that conveys a clinical and sterile environment devoid of compassion for those who need it. Nurse Ratched is depicted as a cold and distant woman without feelings for those in her charge, and her authoritarian role personifies an establishment that cares little for the mentally ill. Rather than show compassion for the weak, she uses therapy sessions to uncover whatever hope and spirit they have and destroy it. McMurphy's embodiment of this human spirit is somewhat exaggerated (the way he initiates interest in basketball games and escapes on a fishing expedition is not entirely plausible), but it makes the point. Interestingly, some have seen the movie as a social criticism on all oppression of the human spirit, with a broad application even to ideologies like communism. As others have said: tyranny has many faces, and the story of freedom from oppression goes beyond the walls of a mental asylum.

The criticism of the handling of the mentally ill is most evident in how the institution handles McMurphy. We identify with McMurphy because we know his insanity is faked, and yet the "treatment" he receives is thoroughly troubling, especially when those in charge resort to electric-shock therapy. Is there a parallel in the way that many social problems (eg depression, ADD) are today diagnosed as mental illnesses and treated with drugs? The tragic way in which McMurphy's "mental illness" is mishandled at the conclusion arouses righteous anger, and is a disturbing indictment on all mistreatment of the mentally ill. There is no crowd-pleasing feel-good ending as his attempt to topple the establishment fails. Yet the lack of a happy ending makes his criticisms of the establishment all the more piercing.

The movie was rated R for frequent profanity/blasphemy, crude sexual talk and one violent scene at the end (there are also scenes involving alcohol, suicide, an incident where sexual promiscuity is applauded, and an implied endorsement of mercy killing). The violence and language is deliberately distasteful and one can hardly feel sympathy for McMurphy as an immoral criminal (he is a convicted rapist, rebels against authority, sets up a gambling casino, and encourages Billy to lose his virginity). Yet one has to feel sympathy for him as he is abused by an inhumane establishment that is equally criminal in its own way by failing to show genuine compassion for those entrusted in its care. If McMurphy's character is distasteful and criminal, so is the character of care given to the mentally ill. Rather than become sidetracked by McMurphy's failings, we need to take a serious look at the failings of the establishment as embodied in Ratched. The tragic consequences (represented by Billy's death & McMurphy's lobotomy) of these failings are just as horrific as the consequences of an immoral life. Understood in this way, this movie is much more than a vindication of the free human spirit and an endorsement of rebellious anti-authoritarianism. More importantly it functions as a biting criticism against the abuse of authority to crush that spirit. This is not a pleasant movie to watch, but it packs a powerful philosophical punch and raises profound questions that are more enduring than mere entertainment.

The conclusion does offer a note of hope, as the silent Indian escapes the cuckoo's nest (perhaps a metaphor of true freedom being found in escaping the establishment and modern institutionalized civilization?). But we are still left with disturbing questions about those who do not escape: Would we really want our family members in a place like this? This is a disturbing movie that raises disturbing questions about the treatment of the disturbed - but questions that need to be asked ... and answered.

a special edition for a very special movie...
Before 1975 we had great violent epics like "The Godfather", "Mean Streets", and "Easy Rider". but later in 1975, director Milos Forman took a challenge on directing the famous novel "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". hiring top-notch actors, including the up and rising star Jack Nicolsin. With his amazing debut in Easy Rider, Milos Forman thought he would be the perfect person for this role. this incredible movie shocked the world. even better than the novel, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" is easily one of the greatest films of all-time.

this movie has the stuff. memorable characters, amazing acting, hilarious jokes, shocking moments, and an ending to always be remembered till the day you die. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest easily has the most memorable ending to a film ever. enough talk of this incredible movie, as for the stuff on the special edition... its also great. with a whole extra disk of extras, deleted scenes, and a whole bunch more. I have tons of DVDs and this is easily one of the best purchases I've bought. No, not just because of the movie but the extra stuff on the DVD.

the Two-disk special edition of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a great update to a great movie. by all means, you must have this in your collection.

the best mental patient movie ever
this book was written by ken kesey who used the money to gallavant around the country in the 60s in a school bus and do drugs with a bunch of dirty ol hippies.the story is about a guy who plays crazy to get out of a work farm and into a asylum.jack nicholson is that guy.also included are that crazy dr in back to the future,danny devito,a stuttereererer named billy bibbit,a huge indian whose mute and deaf,some smart ass home boys who help the nurse,a nurse with big boobs etc.children will not be amused by this.it is a tragic story.this movie has adventure,romance,comedy,drama,tragedy and above all is well written.it is very emotional.the nurse is over the top obnoxious and people like her should be put to sleep.amazingly,it is alkmost identical to the book.people say its a classic and well,they are right for once.really its almost entirely funny until the end parts.jack nicholson did his finest work ever in this story.

Jack Nicholson's Crowning Achievement!
What a brilliant actor Jack is. He played four of the most memorable screen characters of all time. Randall McMurphy (this film), Melvin Udall (As Good As It Gets), Jack Torrence (The Shining), and The Joker (Batman). Just saw this film last night for the first time and was blown away. I will be buying this Special Edition real soon. The evil head nurse wasn't as mean as I thought she would be, but man is she well-acted. Everyone should see this film, it's that good! ... Read more

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You wouldn't know it by watching the Batman movies they collaborated on, but this smart adaptation of John Grisham's novel proves that director Joel Schumacher and screenwriter Akiva Goldsman have some talent when the right project comes along. Schumacher had previously directed Grisham's The Client, and brought equal craft and intelligence to this story about a young Southern attorney (Matthew McConaughey, in his breakthrough role) who defends a black father (Samuel L. Jackson) after he kills two men who raped his young daughter. Sandra Bullock plays the passionate law student who serves as McConaughey's legal aide and voice of conscience in the racially charged drama. Added to the star power of the lead roles is a fine supporting cast, including Kevin Spacey, Ashley Judd, and Oliver Platt. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (92)

Racism, violence, white trash, murder ("Jerry! Jerry!")
"A Time to Kill" has good intentions. It stars:

Matthew McConaughey as lawyer Jake Brigance

Samuel L. Jackson as Carl Lee Hailey, a father who kills to avenge the rape of his little girl

Kevin Spacey as the snide, sinister District Attorney

Sandra Bullock as Brigance's law clerk, Ellen "Rork in Boston, but Row Ark in Mississippi"

Ashley Judd as Jake Brigance's wife

Oliver Platt is Jake's buddy Harry Rex

Keifer Sutherland as a vengeful redneck

and Donald Sutherland as eccentric, civil-rights-activist/disbarred lawyer/drunk/mentor Lucien Wilbanks

With an all star cast like that, you can't go wrong, and the film, at least plot-wise, doesn't. Carl Lee Hailey's 10-year-old daughter is raped and left for dead by two white trash redneck dopeheads. Enraged, Hailey takes justice into his own hands and fatally shoots the two rapists as they leave the courthouse. Everyone in the small Mississippi town hears the news within minutes and takes sides, and Hailey hires a young ham-and-egger, Brigance, to defend him. As Brigance tries to avoid a conviction from the all-white jury, the brother of one of the rapists (played by Keifer Sutherland) gets together a couple of good ole boys to form a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan. Violence erupts, protesters march and chant, death threats and burning crosses abound, everyone is covered at all times with a sheen of oily sweat, and there's even an explosion.

"A Time to Kill" is like the "Jerry Springer Show," but intelligent.

The dialogue, however, could use work. It seems as if a good writer and a mediocre writer banged out the script, then cut it up and shuffled it together, intermingling the really well-written scenes with some really choppy dialogue.

The same goes for the acting. Jackson, Spacey, and McConaughey are excellent and convincing in their roles. Platt is charming as Jake's best friend and a sleazy divorce lawyer.

However, Judd is useless and even childish in her role as a trophy wife, and Bullock, as Jake's law clerk, sounds as if she's a shy girl in a high-school play who hasn't quite memorized her lines yet. (This really irked me because in the book version, her character was headstrong, outspoken, and very smart.)

I encourage anyone to rent the movie for themselves. It's definitely worth seeing, even if the writing and acting is a little off in places. The story redeems the bad acting.

I Love This Movie!
This movie is one of my favorites and I highly recommend that everyone see it because it is thought provoking and it forces you to put yourself in the character's shoes and think about what you would do. The movie begins with the brutal rape of a little black Mississippi girl by two white men. The girl's father Carl Lee, played by Samuel L. Jackson, then shoots and kills the guys- in the courthouse, mind you. Matthew McConaughey plays Carl Lee's attorney, Jake Brigance. The plot line continues with bouts including the KKK and the NAACP. Something notable that I really like is the exposing of the NAACP's arrogance and crookedness that happens all too often in real life. All of the actors do a great job in this film. Kevin Spacey is the prosecutor and Sandra Bullock plays Brigance's legal aid, whom he almost ends up having an affair when his wife (Ashley Judd) leaves town for her and their daughter's safety. If nothing else, you've got to see this movie for the fact that Matt McConaughey is the leading man. He is so hot! Even though I disagree with the verdict, A Time To Kill is a must see if you haven't viewed it yet. Bravo!

Grisham At His Best
A Time to Kill is my favorite Grisham book, and the movie follows suit. The book, which was the first one published but did not become popular until The Firm becase a success, seems to be the most "grounded" with a "real" feel to it unlike some of the other ones which tend to stretch credibility a bit more (but are fun to read anyway.)

Closing Arguments
A Time To Kill, is one of only two of John Grisham's legal thrillers that I have read, cover to cover. The other is The Chamber. I have to say, that while the book of ATTK is a bit better, then the film version, there's no denying the movie has a lot going for it...making for a very good film.

In a small southern town, black man Carl Lee Hailey (Samuel L. Jackson) awaits trial for murdering the two rednecks who viciously raped his 10-year-old daughter. Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) is a young, idealistic white lawyer, who decides to take on the father's defense. The incendiary case becomes a firestorm of racism and controversy, ripping the town apart. This, as Jake goes up against the community's most successful D.A. (Kevin Spacey), while reluctanly accepting help with the case from a law student (Sandra Bullock).

It's amazing how good this film is, especially when one considers what director Joel Schumacher and its adapter
Akiva Goldsman, would team up to do on Batman And Robin. At it's center, McConaughey gives his best perfomance to date. He captures the the escence of his novel counterpart to a tee. Jackson is also quite convincing as a man on trial. The rest of the all star cast is very good here--although Bullock shares nice moments with McConaughey--she seems out of step and is suprisingly the film's weakest link. Some have said the movie is over crowded with too many subplots, while that is true to a certain extent I guess, Goldsman's script and Schumacher somehow balance it all. The film takes a few liberties, but, basically stays true to the source material.

Like most John Grisham books turned movies, the DVD lacks anything substantial, in the way of bonus material. Production notes and the film's theatrical trailer is all you get...Special Edition anyone?

A Time To Kill offers fine performances and rock solid drama. The film is a winner and one of the best Grisham adaptations out there

Intense Grisham Drama
Set in the deep south, where prejudice dies hard and bigotry still runs rampant, this intense crime drama finds the bright (although penniless) young lawyer Jake Brigance (Matthew McConaughey) fighting to keep a black man from the gas chamber, and struggling to protect the lives of his friends and family. When Carl Lee Haley's (Samuel L. Jackson) nine-year-old daughter is brutally raped and beaten by some local good-old-boys, he fears the court will not serve justice and takes matters in his own hands, gunning down and killing the two boys on the courthouse steps. Carl Lee calls for Jake to take up his defense, although he has never handled a murder case.
The tension rises and intensity level of the plot increases as the local KKK is united, big wigs come in from the NAACP, Klu Klux Klan, and high dollar prosecutors. When the KKK sets a burning cross in their yard, Jake's wife and daughter flee town, only to have their beautifully restored Victorian home burned to the ground days later by the protestors. In the courtroom, Jake finds himself pitted against his worse legal-world enemy (Kevin Spacey) and the courtroom antics are nothing short of breathtaking. Donald Sutherland, Sandra Bullock and Oliver Platt make up Jake's patchwork defense team and provide fantastic character studies.
This film earns the top rating for the reasons: 1)by staying true to Grisham's first legal novel of the same name; and 2) because of the deep understanding these characters give us to the world of the prejudice south, the love of a father, and the desperate yearning for justice. Ultimately, Jake must put himself in the place of each of the jurors to fight for Carl Lee's freedom. He must learn that he is not black, will never be black, but the issues are not always colored. ... Read more

Reviews (72)

Nothing's as dangerous as a Yellowbeard....
Why don't they make more pirate movies? Probably because the mold was broken after Yellowbeard. I mean, Cutthroat Island was funny, but I don't think they meant it to be. Graham Chapman stars as the scurvy dog himself, and his supporting cast is wonderful, including Pythons John Cleese and Eric Idle, Cheech Marin & Tommy Chong, Peter Boyle, Kenneth Mars, Susanna York, the late great James Mason, the late great Madeline Kahn, the late great Goon Spike Milligan, the late great Beyond The Fringe alum Peter Cook, the late Sir Michael Horndern, and finally, the late great Marty Feldman in his last role. Feldman died in Mayheeco before this was finished, hence the disjointed ending, but he was wonderful while he lasted. This sprang from the fertile & addled brain of Who drummer Keith Moon, who died before it was made. David Bowie was on vacation in Mexico in the same area while this was filmed, and makes an uncredited cameo. John Cleese is wonderful as Blind Pew (Cleese: "'oi 'ave acute 'earing." Idle- "I don't care about your jewelry"). James Mason is a hoot, playing it straight as a brutal English captain. Cheech & Chong are great, although I half expected to see them launch into their classic shtick of "Buggery On The High Seas". If your sense of humor is twisted, get this movie. If your SOH is just silly, get it too. If you miss Marty Feldman half as much as I do, then that means I miss him twice as much as you. There's also a "Making Of Yellowbeard" program out there. Keep your eyes peeled for it, too, it is worth it.

Wild and Crazy Pirate Movie!
I'm a Monty Python fan and I also happen to like pirate movies so when this movie was shown unedited and commercial free on cable I taped it and just watched it the other day and though it's not my all time favorite pirate movie as a spoof of pirate movies it does have it's funny moments and three of my favorite Monty Python members, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle and John Cleese. The movie has a huge cast that also stars, Peter Boyle, Peter Cook, Madeline Kahn, James Mason, Marty Feldman, Martin Hewitt, Cheech and Chong and also look out for Bernard Fox who played Dr. Bombay in the classic television sitcom Bewitched. I wonder why this movie isn't on DVD yet. The station I taped the movie from played it in fullscreen and I would think that a movie like this had to have been filmed in widescreen so maybe a widescreen DVD will be available someday.

Okay but Not Great!
I watched Yellowbeard recently and well it was basically a funny movie though there were some hits and misses with the humor and the rape jokes got tiresome after awhile!

The Unknown Sidesplitter
The great groups of 20th century comedy are all here: Spike Milligan from The Goon Show, Peter Cook from Beyond the Fringe, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, and John Cleese from Monty Python, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Kenneth Marz, and Medeline Kahn from the Mel Brooks Art Players, Cheech and Chong -- plus British stalwarts like Michael Hordern and Peter Bull (in drag) -- plus James Mason in his rarely seen dry-as-dust comic mode -- plus an uncredited cameo by David Bowie. As a teenager, my daughter tested potential friends by showing them this movie and, if they loved it, they passed. A MUST for DVD.

One of the greatest of all time...
For fans of the Python, this is one of the greatest movies of all time. You will be in tears the entire time. Let's just hope someday they remaster and re-release it on DVD ... Read more

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This fourth sequel in the series finds "leaf gobblers" eating all the vegetation in Great Valley, driving Littlefoot, the young brontosaurus, and the other dinosaur inhabitants out. Arguments break out among the adults during migration, and Littlefoot and his friends decide to take matters in their own hands by crossing the "big water" to an unknown island. There they meet an old friend from The Land Before Time II--Chomper, the T-rex, who has to protect the gang from his own, carnivorous parents. Plenty of drama in this one, and as the series has been wont to do from the beginning, it shows adults as sometimes being less than perfect. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Very cute little movie
For every Land Before Time video I buy, it seems to appeal to me every time, and this one is no exception. In this film, "swarming leaf gobblers" (grasshoppers) eat up all the food in the Great Valley. This means that all the dinosaurs will have to move. :( Soon, the grown-ups start fighting (again) about where they should go to find more food. Of course, Littlefoot and his friends try and solve the problem by setting of on another journey to find food themselves. And they find it, on an island. The rest of the story follows up with a "return of Chomper" part in it, a t-rex chase (of course), and "peace on dino earth" (a happy ending). Over-all, it's a cute movie that kids of all ages are sure to love.

Kids (of all ages) love this movie!
My girls are 3 & 4 years old. My 3 year old asks to watch a movie from this series at least once every other day! This one has catchy tunes "Big Water" and "Friends for Dinner" that even my husband and I sing along with! My husband & I don't mind watching this one with the girls, it's entertaining! It teaches kids how to work together...and a few other life lessons. It's a keeper! I recommend it, and all of the movies in this series.

A tasty animated delight
I was introduced to "The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island" by my 5-year old nephew, and it's one of our favorite films to watch together. This animated tale, the fifth in the series, takes the viewer on an adventure with Littlefoot and his mixed-species group of young dinosaur friends. Separated from their parents after an invasion by locusts, Littlefoot and pals wind up on the "mysterious island" of the title, where they are re-united with the friendly little Tyrannosaur named Chomper. The story concerns the young dinos' effort to survive dangers and to find their way back to their families.

"LBT5" has likeable characters, fun songs (especially the catchy "Friends for Dinner"), and some good humorous moments.

I felt that the movie's one weak link was its unsettling portrayal of relations between predator and prey species. Granted, this is a fantasy about talking dinosaurs, but it's still unnerving to know that Chomper and his family eat members of the other characters' species. The film's attempts to mine humor out of this grisly situation (thankfully, no successful predation occurs in the film) left me uneasy. (You may get the same queasy feeling from the way the same theme is addressed in "The Lion King"). This aspect of the film didn't bother my nephew at all, but it left me wondering if the filmmakers were unconsciously putting messages about social Darwinism into the film.

Oh, well--I may be reading too much into a kid film. Bottom line: LBT5 is good fun, as long as the adults in the family don't think too much about the film.

3-year old review
My three-year-old daughter loves this movie. She repeatly watches it and even sings along with all of the songs. I sometimes even find my nine-year-old son watching the movie with her. We all love this movie because it teaches morals and lessons to the children without lecturing them. This is an overall wonderful movie and my daughter and I would recommend it to everyone, but I still think the 1st movie is the best of them all.

Prodigious! Amazing! But...
Prodigious! Amazing! But some songs always make me cry like "Always There." It always makes me cry. In that song, LittleFoot and his friends reflect on their parents. Hinting from the first movie when LittleFoot reflects about his mother. I have seen all 6 movies and I like all of them except the first one. It's the saddest of them all. When I mean sad, I mean crying sad. Once I saw that movie, BAM! The waterworks were on! I want a seventh movie! My little brother imagines that the last movie will be when the asteroid hits the earth and sometime cavemen come! He has a nice imagination. The land before time is appearing in commercials. Hinting on the next movie... ... Read more

Amazon.com

You know those movies that seemed really, really awesome when you were a teenager? Then, when you saw them again as a adult, you recognized them for the romantic dreck they always were? Mahogany exemplifies the breed. Made in 1975, Mahogany is mired in tedious melodrama that is not enhanced by a predictable and sexist ending. Diana Ross, a poverty-stricken young woman, pulls herself up by her camisole straps until she is at the top of the fashion world. Along the way she meets terrible people who want to use her. They break her heart. She has trouble bouncing back. One of those troubled people who seem to flock to Ross's unstable character is a deranged photographer, played with wild abandonment by Anthony Perkins. His psychotic performance gives this film its only energy. Ross remains unfulfilled until she finds love with inappropriate Billy Dee Williams, who shows none of his usual charisma. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (29)

Wonderful Masterpiece by Berry Gordy
Mahogany is a Wonderul black love story of a woman raised in Chicago's inner city ghetto (Diana Ross). She has dreams and aspirations of becoming a fashion designer and eventually achieves that goal. But when she leaves home to go to Rome to claim her fame as a model she learns that it's lonely at the top and she starts to miss home and her one true love (Billy Dee Williams) who she's forsaken. The movie has a great moral to the story simply put by Billy Dee Williams, What's sucess (money and fame) when you don't have no one to share it with. This was a great performance by both actors.

Bringing back memories...
Even young people might like to hear old Supremes songs like "Baby Love" or "You Can't Hurry Love", they really have something going for themselves. The Supremes were enormously successful in the sixties. It all seemed to end when Diana embarked on a solo career in 1970. Luckily she managed to return to the top of the charts with her dramatically version of "Ain't No Mountain High Enogh". She then surprised everyone when she did a wonderful acting role in her first movie "Lady Sings The Blues" in 1972. She followed with "Mahogany" in 1975 and scored a #1 single with the beautifully sung title theme "Do You Know Where You're Going To?". The film doesn't belong to what you could call "classics" but for all those Ross fans, who enjoyed almost every career-step Diana made, the album brings back nice memories. But let's be honest after all those years: the music - except for the nice title theme - can't tempt anyone anymore.

Diana screeches, Billy Dee mumbles
MAHOGANY is a camp classic featuring screechy acting by Ms. Ross, mumbling by Billy Dee Williams, and drama queen antics by Anthony Perkins. Talent is wasted all around in the film depicting the rise of a poor-little-rich African-American model and fashion designer who has her mouth poked out because she misses her man. After this film, Berry Gordy never stepped up to the director's chair again (thank God). Good for its camp factor and that's about it.

A camp classic
Like so many divas before her and after her, "La Ross" shines in this 1975 camp classic which exemplifies the cliche saying "it's lonely at the top."

The gowns, the glamour, the nails and the youth of Miss Ross are unparalleled. She was beyond fabulous and at the height of her artistic zenith. The montage is especially pleasing and one can only fantasize about being in Rome in the mid 70's while swathed in those fantastic creations and Fendi and Maximillian furs (read the credits).

Substantively, the film is not to be taken seriously....but I agree with one reviewer's assessment back then who said that it is "testament to how glorious it is to be Diana Ross." I wholeheartedly agree.

Classic!
Diana Ross returns after her acclaimed film debut in 'Lady Sings The Blues. She plays the role of an ambitious struggling secretary who becomes a world famous designer-model (hmmm...). Diana Ross is a challenging & versatile performer and in this classic flick she showcases her impressive talents. Watch out for Anthony Perkins 'reprising' his Norman Bates persona.
Over the top plot, cheesy dialogue, wonderful soundtrack, glamorous costumes... Diana Ross never looked more gorgeous! ... Read more

Description

Westward frontiersmen Hunt (Chris Farley) and Edwards (Matthew Perry) are out-of-doors and out of their minds as they try to overtake Lewis and Clark and be the first to blaze a trail across the American continent.Year: 1998 Director: Christopher Guest Starring: Chris Farley, Matthew Perry ... Read more

Reviews (34)

NO Lewis and Clark!
It's all about Chris Farley and Matthew Perry, not Lewis and Clark. They slapped funny people, watched a woman bathe and Farley cooked eggs over easy. It was splendid! Watch Matthew Perry gag after taking some medicine. Walking over coals is the best! "Almost Heroes," is Chris Farley's last movie and he will always be remembered for making a genius laugh. This movie which was directed by Christopher Guest, needs to be released on DVD. Any Farley fan will appreciate it. Purity.

If you are a Farly Fan You will Love this movie
What a great concept for a flick. Attempting to beat Lewis and Clark on their expedition to the Pacific Ocean. Being this is the 200th anniversary of that expedition made it a little interesting.

There are some very funny scenes indeed but Farly is Farly, yelling, getting angry, fighting and fussing. If you like that you will love this. My favorite scene is where he faces the Eagle at her nest. "Why didn't you tell me you only wanted the shell?" What a great one liner.

Perry is a little stiff as a character and is more of a straight man to Farly's funny man. My only problem with the movie is that there are too many places where it gets slow. Part of it is because you are in the wild and it was a slower time.

There are so many great one liners that seem to have too much time between them. The inuendos are a bit much especially at the beginning. The older Indians are just great. And the scenery, especially of the Tetons and the Snake River are outstanding.

If you want to have a fun night with mostly the guys this is okay for that. My wife did not like it. Anyone who knows and liked Farly for his antics and his in character concept, you will just think this is a hoot.

Intentional Stupidity
This was Chris Farley's last film. He ended on a high note. The movie is intentionally stupid--a hilarious GOOF--and directed by Christopher Guest (known for having directed "This is Spinal Tap"). They surely weren't pushing for an Oscar with this one - merely encouraging laughter. This is the story of Bartholomew Hunt (Chris Farley) and Leslie Edwards (Matthew Perry) who, in 1804, follow explorers Lewis and Clark, in hope of being the first men to see the Pacific Ocean. Along their journey they're sure to bring laughter to true fans of Farley's ways, and perhaps to fans of Mel Brooks' as well, as some of the comedy is similar to Brooks' humour in "Robin Hood - Men in Tights".
It is a real shame that this movie isn't available on DVD (yet?), because the presentation of it on VHS is awful. I quote the fine print on the back of the tape's case: "This film has been modified as follows from its original version: It has been formatted to fit your screen". The picture is zoomed in WAY too far, and the result looks distorted. In many shots heads are cropped, we sometimes see only approximately 75% of the face of the person who speaks, and at one point, where a sign reads "Welcome to Snakes Bend", we only see "elcome to Snakes Ben". I was hugely disappointed by the film's presentation, but surprised by the quality of comedy since this is not a much talked about movie.
Zero points to he who decided to crop the movie, and full points to whoever releases is on DVD (with OPTIONAL formatting).

"WHOS IDEA WAS THE CORN???"
that line gets me every time! farley, matt perry and eugene levy all give great comedic performances. this movie took about 2 or 3 viewings for me to really appreciate the style of humor, but the best comedies are usually like that. once you start listening to how ridiculous some of the dialogue is, you start to laugh from wondering how the actors kept a straight face for the scenes. one of the funniest movies of all time! maybe not as funny as tommy boy, but pretty close. i laugh to myself just thinking about some of the scenes as i type this. its a shame the world lost chris farley, but he went out with a great final movie.

A Guiltless Pleasure
Is this movie dumb? You bet! But I love it. The dumber "the better" I always say. Well sometimes. Farley and Perry play off each other quite well with their own styles of comedic humor in this interpretation of the Lewis and Clark exploration. But then so does the whole cast of zany characters in this whimsical historical tale. Some of the situations and lines of dialog are absolutely stupid, but they are just so funny in their own way. After I recently viewed this film again I just thought it was absolutely gut wrenching funny and worth the 5 stars. ... Read more

Reviews (92)

It's Very Good!
Anne of Avonlea, also called Anne of Green Gables the Sequel is a wonderful movie and just as good as the first movie! In this movie Anne leaves home to take a job teaching English to some snotty rich girls who give her a hard time but she soon wins them over and soon Morgan Harris the father of one of her students falls for Anne and courts her. The father played by Frank Converse is quite a bit older then Anne and my aunt kept rooting for him but having read the books and knowing who Anne's true love is I of course rooted for her beloved Gilbert. Megan Follows once again gave a wonderful performance as Anne and I highly recommend this movie and also the first movie. The only movie in this series that I was disappointed in was the third movie the Continuing story but the first two movies are very good! I could be wrong but I don't recall the character Morgan Harris being in the books and I think he may have been an added character to the movie. I do think that the actor playing him was quite handsome in a rugged sort of way but Jonathan Crombie who played Gilbert was cute too.

The movie was magnificent
Growing up as a child, I have watched this movie, with my grandmother, over and over again, along with Anne of Green Gables. Normally you can't find a sequel that lived up to the first movie, but this one broke that barrier. It lived up to every imagination that you came across in the first one. It made me laugh and cry time and time again. I recommend it to everyone. The acting was beautiful, along with the setting. The movies didn't follow the books to the tee but they were written perfectly all the same. I have watched these movies since i was little and now that I'm fifteen I'm finally going to buy them. I just got the books for Christmas last year. The third movie (Anne of Green Gables: The Continuing Story) just aired on PBS the last two weeks, and it was great too. It didn't follow the book at all, but i wouldn't have changed a thing. It's too bad that Colleen Dewhurst didn't live to be in the last one, she would have done a great performance. They were all great.

For anyone who loves to laugh, cry and be inspired these movies are definitely for you. (Young or Old)

An excellent sequel
If you like Anne of Green Gables you have to have the sequel. It is excellent.

Growing Up In Avonlea
I mainly have known this story to be Anne of Avonlea. I also might add I haven't the pleasure of reading L. M. Montgomery book series of Anne of Green Gables. But this has been one of the best sequels I have ever seen. The new additions to the cast is great. We still follow the life of Anne Shirley as she matures and intends on graduating college and becoming a teacher, and a writer. She also has to help with Green Gables now that Mathew is gone. Her friendship also blossom's with Gilbert B. however, she isn't ready to fall in love with him yet. As it becomes a hard decision she is comfortable with Marilla living with Rachel at Green Gables as she goes off to teach at a private girls school which is a new chapter and new adventures. She then becomes involved with a young girl Emmeline Harris and falls into a very close relationship with her father Morgan Harris. She makes the town fall in love with her despite them disliking new comer's to the town. However, she realizes that she is very much home sick and that she belongs back home in Green Gables and she also realizes that her and Gilbert belong together. Again it's always fantastic to see all of the actor's and characters return to this amazing sequel. There are a few characters very much missed, but remembered in this film. And all of the relationships between Anne and her friends grow stronger and stronger. The new additions are just as wonderful with the private school and the other characters of the new town. It really is a wonderful piece and a nice conclusion to this series. The DVD quality I guess some have complained about, but I don't see anything wrong with it. It has all of the same extra's, except in a new version with this sequel that the first DVD set had. Again I highly recommend this for any Anne fan.

DVD quality fine
I don't know whether Sullivan Entertainment remastered the DVD and re-released it as a two-sided disc (and thus I have a different version than the one reviewed below) or whether my eyes are different from those of that reviewer, but as I wrote in my review of the first "Anne of Green Gables," the encoding on my copy is just as good as the vast majority of DVD's out there, and better than many. I did notice some minor compression artifacts on this disc, but the negative reviewer below should watch "The Last Emperor" before s/he awards "worst DVD encoding ever" to this fine DVD of a wonderful film. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

truly magnificent
in this awesome edition,the falcon crashes on endor.this is a planet full of tiny tree dwelling teddy bears with intelligence.to a point.this is definately the most family friendly of the star wars films.they are hanging out and discover the one weakness that could shut down the empire for good.so a battle ensues over the building where it is housed.george lucas is the directer.did he ever do anything basides these?it is the final episode of them all.most anyone will like it.the makers of nontendo made a game that borrows heavily from this film.it is called body harvest.the movie independance day uses it a lot too.by borrowed i really meant ripped off.i dont use that term very often but it was pretty blatant.the only chick is still leia,but at least shes kissing the guy whose NOT her brother this time.the emporer is very very ugly.this movie is spectacular.dont belive anything else.the special effects are cool.the future is done for this batch.this is the last.but if yoiu were born in the 70s,theres still 3 more parts released after this one.prequels.they all are outstanding!

"Jedi" Triumphant
"You, like your father, are now mine."
- The Emperor underestimates The Skywalker bloodline in "Return of the Jedi"

George Lucas' sci-fi saga comes to a satisfying close in Episode VI, "Return of the Jedi".

"Jedi" opens with Luke Skywalker returning to his home planet of Tatooine to rescue his friend Han Solo from the gangster, Jabba the Hutt and his creature co-horts. After bargaining negotiations fail, a spectacular battle commences as the young Jedi (with the help of Princess Leia, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, R2-D2 & C-3PO) fights a huge monster called The Rancor and then does a battle royale with Jabba and his horde of weird galactic denizens and servants. The film then jumps to Luke returning to the swamp planet Dagobah to complete his training as a Jedi, only to discover that his master, Yoda, has fallen deathly ill. In his final breaths Yoda reveals the truth about Luke's family ties and gets reassurance, & a final bit of guidance from the spirit of Obi-Wan Kenobi. In order to complete his training, Luke must face Darth Vader again, as well as, Vader's master, Emperor Palpatine. Meanwhile, The Rebel Alliance has prepared for an all out final assault on the Galactic Empire after recieving secret information of a new battle armored space station secretly being built by the Empire. If completed, this new Death Star will spell certain doom to the small band of freedom fighters, as well as, the fate of the galaxy.

First off, its hard to top "Star Wars" and "The Empire Strikes Back" (I'm a die-hard fan of the films (yeah, the prequels too, but don't get me started!). "Jedi" comes close to those first two films, but, not close enough (its still better than the prequels!). Directed by the late Richard Marquand, "Jedi" is packed with both special and creature effects alike. The problem is "Jedi" is much like the first two films, but, on a more massive scale. The film's main premise is to tie up all the loose ends of the saga, and it does a great job of doing just that. Highpoints in the film include John Williams' oscar nominted score, the speeder bike chase, the space battle, Jabba the Hutt, the battle on Endor & the redemption of Anakin Skywalker. Lowpoints - the death of Boba Fett (embarrasing to the point where the character is resurrected in the Marvel comic book and survives in the expanded universe), the Ewok Celebration at the films conclusion and the Lapti Nek number in Jabba's palace is an ominous shadow of Lucas' cutesy side that weighs heavily on the prequels (I remember a lot of fans seeing this & going "What the f**k!?!").

The biggest highlight of all is Carrie Fisher as Princess Leia dressed in the metal bikini as Jabba's slavegirl. What a hottie! During filming there actually was a stagehand who had to make sure that she felt comfy in that bikini, making sure that she wasn't getting hurt to vital parts of her bod (that had to be one of the best jobs on the planet at the time of filming).

Originally titled "Revenge of the Jedi", making the folks at Paramount Studios retitle "Star Trek II: The Revenge of Khan" to the "Wrath of Khan". Lucas changed the title, stating Jedi don't seek revenge. Nominated for 7 Oscars including original score, costume design, set design, and recieving a special Oscar for the film's SFX (presented to Dennis Muren by Cheech & Chong!). Released on 5/25/83 (for the Memorial Day weekend) "Return of the Jedi" has grossed 309 million at the U.S. box office.

"Return of the Jedi" is a satisfying capper to the classic "Star Wars Trilogy" and the conclusion to the most influential and best science fiction saga in film history. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A Powerful American Epic
Separate But Equal is a riveting portrayal of the struggle for desegration of the public schools. While some liberties are taken to enhance the story for television, it is still of reasonable historical accuracy. Sidney Poitier and Burt Lancaster turn in solid performances as opposing counsel. However, the real star of this video is the far lesser known Richard Kiley who turns in an excellent portrayal of Chief Justice Earl Warren. As a result, the stronger half of the story turns out to be the second part which provides a fascinating look at Warren's struggle to guide the court through the bitterly divisive issue of whether segregation in the public schools was unconstitutional. The intellectual battles among such strong willed men as Justices Douglas, Frankfurter, and Reed and the difficulties of the latter two to come to a resolution of the issue is masterfully portrayed. All in all, this is clearly one of the best historically based presentations I have seen in recent years.

First rate docudrama on Brown v. Board of Education
"Separate But Equal" puts three names about the credits: Sidney Portier as Thurgood Marshall, Burt Lancaster as John W. Davis, and Richard Kiley as Earl Warren. This is significant because it helps to personify the three sides in the monumental Supreme Court decision of Brown v. Board of Education. Marshall headed the NAACP lawyers who challenged the legal doctrine that legitimized segregation in the South. Davis represented the interests of the states, not out of a sense of bigotry but out of legal principle; after all, it was the Supreme Court that had established the separate but equal doctrine. This becomes a key part of the dilemma that Chief Justice Warren faced because the law was obviously legal--it just also happened to be wrong.

This excellent 1991 docudrama was aired in two parts. The first part looks at the segregated school system in Claredon County, South Carolina, one of the four cases that comprised the ruling, and the harm of segregation is captured in a memorable sequence in which young black children always pick the white doll rather than the black doll to describe who is smarter, better, etc. The second part of the film deals with the lengthy process by which the high court deliberated the case, doing a better job of capturing the process than any drama I have ever seen.

Portier provides Marshall with all the dignity appropriate to the role, and it is a treat to see the actor play a lawyer arguing before the high court. Lancaster, in his final role, performs a key function: he is earnest and likeable, which means that in the context of this story our opposition has to be to his position and not to him personally. In other words, this is a legal matter that has to be determined on the point of law and not on our feelings about bigots and racism. However, writer/director George Stevens, Jr. has set us up, because for Kiley's Earl Warren it is a question of justice rather than the law, especially after the former Governor of California visits the battlefield at Gettysburg and discovers his driver had to sleep in the car because no local hotel would accept a black.

For me this is Kiley's film and the most fascinating part of "Separate But Equal" is watching him rally the Court to make its landmark ruling. This is a long, hard, effort for Kiley, who insists that a unanimous ruling is important to make it clear to the nation that there is no longer two sides to this issue. I appreciated that Stevens simply has Kiley read the actual ruling at the film's climax. Again, Stevens using a simple image to bring home the significance of the ruling as the preacher and father who were at the heart of the case we watched in the first part hear the news on the radio, pull over their car, get out and kneel by the side of the road to give thanks.

At 193 minutes this docudrama would consume a week of class, but it could be well worth the effort. Certainly screening it for students would produce some interesting questions and discussions. Final comment: Stevens uses irony throughout "Separate but Equal" (e.g., Marshall and the NAACP lawyers cannot get a cab to take them to the Supreme Court to hear the decision), but there is one delightful use of humor, when a young white lawyer who is helping with the appeal explains to the NAACP lawyers why he is there working with them.

They play in the streets together, they separate for school.

"John, if this case goes before the Supreme Court. . . I'm gonna need you"

It's the early 1950's, in America. The governor of South Carolina James Francis Byrnes, in his 70's at the time, pays a visit to his friend, the famous lawyer John W. Davis. Davis had argued 138 cases in front of the Supreme Court. Byrnes was turning to him for help.

Byrnes was determined to show that discrimination and segregation in public schools were not the same thing. He wanted black school children to have equal schools. He was ashamed of the terrible condition the black schools were in, in his state of South Carolina. He even levied a three percent sales tax to fund the improvement of black schools. He was prepared to spend 75 million dollars to improve the public schools for black children in his state.

But he knew, that the small case that a few courageous people (Harry Briggs, Reverand J.A. Delaine) had started in Clarendon county, SC, was too big of an issue for his efforts alone. The case was on it's way to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (the NAACP), had become involved. Their head lawyer, Thurgood Marshall had combined this case and four other similar cases (from Delaware, Kansas, DC and Virginia) into one called 'Brown v. Board of Education', and made it his mission to strike down segregation in public schools in America.

The great thing about this movie is how it makes each side look respectable. The movie does not make this a 'bad evil white men against poor suffering black people' type of story. But rather, the film, portrays the white men as being highly respected, educated and willing to do the right thing. But at the same time, very concerned and perhaps even afraid of the consequences of their decisions.

I also loved the humor in this film. For example when Byrnes is conversing with Davis and says 'I admit to past sins, our colored schools are a disgrace'. Or when one of the lawyers at the NAACP legal defense fund says about the South Carolina case "If we win this one, we'll only have 11,172 school districts left."

The heart of this film is the uncommon courage of the people. Courage among so many involved. Of course, first from the blacks from those small towns, who risked their jobs and safety, and faced the hate of the Ku Klux Klan, by taking these complaints to their local lawyers. Then, to the NAACP, for climbing this long and expensive uphill battle. But also, to the judges on the Supreme Court, and in particular the Chief Judge Earl Warren.

Warren was quoted as saying 'Everything that I did in life that was worthwhile, I caught hell for.' What a difficult decision, but what a remarkable effort on his part to unite the nine members of the Supreme Court to conclude the case with a unanimous decision to end segregation in public schools in America.

It took a lot of brave people on both sides, to end separation of black and white school children in public schools. Perhaps Thurgood Marshall summed it up best, when he mocked the thinking of people in the south by saying 'you can have them attending the same State Universities and Graduate schools, but if they attend the same elementary and high schools together, the world would fall apart.'

A wonderful treasured movie. Must see for all.

Great Film - Typical Rotten Artisan DVD
This is one of the best films made for TV. It tells the story of the groundbreaking Supreme Court case that put Thurgood Marshall in the minds of most educated Americans.

However, this is a terrible DVD. The colors are dark. There is no sharpness to the film at all. In effect, it is worse than what you saw when it originally came out. As usual, Artisan does not take advantage of the DVD technology. I tried to contact them, but their website has no email address. This DVD is cheaply made, which is a shame. This a film classic, much more deserving than the shabby treatment Artisan has given it. This ranks right up there with the horrible DVD that Artisan made of "The Quiet Man." Please Artisan, either give us good copies of these great films, or quit ruining them.

FIVE STARS FOR THE FILM, 1 STAR FOR ARTISAN

Great historical/legal drama
I thoroughly enjoyed this historical dama about Briggs v. Elliott. It was a great drama, seemed very accurate, portrayed a little-known legal "Super Bowl" between my hero, John W Davis, and Thurgood Marshall. Everybody should watch it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Remember watching this silly little comedy from your childhood? It may not have aged all that well, but is still goofy, good fun. Okay, so you can spot the stunt double, and Don Knotts's twitches are a little more obvious. Still, fans of his familiar routines will be comforted in knowing they can again watch their skinny underdog hero solve the ghost story while winning the prettiest girl in town. Knotts plays a trembling typesetter hoping to become a reporter by cracking the mystery of the local haunted house. To do so, he must spend a night there. Good-hearted, non-threatening, and completely gooey, this is the equivalent of light-weight cinematic junk food.-- Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (64)

FUN IN AN OLD, DARK HOUSE
My kids love this movie and they watch it on sleep-overs with their friends. Don Knotts plays Luther Hegg, a timid typesetter in a small town in the mid-west (Rachel, Kansas). The supporting actors are first rate: Skip Homeier, Dick Sargent, Ellen Corby etc. Joan Staley, who plays Alma, was the centerfold for PLAYBOY in 1958! Vivian Vance's ex hubby Phil Ober plays the murderer and the old women in the boarding house are hilarious. Reta Shaw is very funny as the head of the Psychic Society and Vic Muzzy's musical score is cornily creepy. When this picture was first released in theatres in l965, it was a huge hit in small towns across the U.S. and it is very representitive of 1960's small town Americana. Fun!

Incredibly fun and funny...now where's the DVD?
I first saw this Don Knotts comedy back in the late Sixties...and it stuck with me. (Especially the tune the organ plays.) The scenes of nervous, bungling, bug-eyed Don Knotts made me laugh out loud then -- and they still do now. So I was really pleased when this movie was finally released on video a few years ago. My only gripe now is that I wish it were out on DVD because I'm sure I'll wear out my video before too long!

Of course, I'm a big fan of the Andy Griffith Show. So that probably explains why I like this movie so much. Don Knotts was largely responsible for making that show the huge hit that it was. And, if you like his schtick on Griffith, you'll like this movie.

In fact, there are about a half dozen or more actors who appear in the movie -- most just briefly -- who also worked with Knotts on the Andy Griffth Show. Hal Smith, Ellen Corby, Hope Summers, Burt Mustin and Rita Shaw to name just five. So it was fun to pick out the familiar faces. The movie was even written by two of the Andy Griffith Show's most prolific writers!

Knotts has the nervous man character down so well that some scenes in the film are almost painful to watch (like when he's giving his speech -- "I've been called brave. What is brave? Let me clarify this" -- before the picnic crowd gathered in his honor), but I can't help myself. He's funny.

I won't go into the plot because so many others have already reviewed it. I just wanted to add my two cents (and Five Stars) to the other reviews.

The bottom line: this is a fun movie, great for the whole family. If you haven't seen it, please do so. Sure it's corny. Sure it looks dated. But it's not supposed to be Citizen Kane. It's just a great popcorn movie to share with friends and family.

wonderful, one of my all time favorites
i was primarily a don knotts fan due to his lovable role as barny phife on the andy griffeth show. when i saw this movie at the video rental store starring my favorite tv personality next to lucielle ball and the gang, i immdediatly rented it. that was when i was twelve, now fourteen i still enjoy this comedy and love the DVD version of this classic. it's enjoyable for people of all ages as i found out growing up with this wonderful movie. give it a try, i know you'll love it!!!!

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken
A classic Don Knotts film of the highest degree. I love the surprise appearance of the actor that played Ottis the town drunk in Andy Griffin show playing a town drunk in the start of the film. Don Knotts plays a guy who wishes to be a real reporter more than anything. When he writers a story about the town murder house it will take all his strength to survive being the town laughing stalk and surviving the night of laughs alive.

Makers of This "Spooky" Comic Mystery Were Simply Clueless
Fresh from his highly popular and Emmy-winning stint as Barney Fife on TV's THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, and after moderate success starring in the earlier Warner Brothers film THE INCREDIBLE MR. LIMPET (1964), Don Knotts convinced execs at Universal Pictures that they could capitalize on his celebrity by starring him in a series of comedy flicks. The first of these was 1966's THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN, a sort of slapstick thriller that was tailored to Knotts' style of humor.

Knotts stars as Luther Heggs, an aspiring journalist who works in the typesetting room of a newspaper in the small town of Rachel, Kansas. A bumbling, nerdy milquetoast--for Knotts, what other role is there?--Heggs badgers the editor of his paper into letting him do a feature on the goings-on at a local long-abandoned house that is purportedly haunted. Rumor has it that the previous occupant and his wife were murdered, and most of the rubes in this Kansan town now believe the spirits of those unfortunate two still occupy the house during the wee hours of the night. Heggs' editor agrees to let the nerdy typesetter do the story, but only if he agrees to sleep in the house for a full night and use this experience as the foundation for the article. With a great degree of trepidation, Heggs accepts the editor's challenge, but really only because he wants to impress a girl he has a crush on. Although his bravery is only a front, Heggs does manage to uncover more about the strange doings at the house than anyone ever suspected.

For adult filmgoers, THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN offers little more than a modicum of entertainment or literary value, though the pre-teen crowd will likely find it to be thoroughly enjoyable. Part of the film's inability to capture the interest of a truly discerning audience is due to the performance of star Don Knotts. Knotts was nothing short of sublime as Deputy Barney Fife during the 5+ years that he was with THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW, but he simply doesn't have the comedic range to carry an entire feature film. His rubbery facial expressions, gangly and awkward body movements, and adeptness at portraying ineptness can be downright hilarious--but only in small doses. On TV, Knotts' performance was buffered because his screen time was interspersed with that of co-star Griffith and other comedy actors of varying styles. But in a 90-minute movie where nearly every scene centers around Knotts, his one-note comedic style rapidly wears thin.

In spite of a few genuinely humorous moments, the overall script is fairly cliché and formulaic. In the scenes that take place in the haunted house, every trite bump-in-the-night gag is resurrected and used as a springboard for Knotts' bug-eyed and rubbery scared-of-the-dark routine. And the filler between non-spook segments is rather dull, too, consisting of mainly shopworn jabs at easy targets like small-town drunks, neighborhood gossips, henpecking wives and their henpecked husbands, spiritualism and the occult, and small-town life in general.

All of the primary characters in the film are little more than cardboard cut-outs with crystal-clear motivations and transparent personalities. It goes without saying--especially now, with 40 years of cinematic retrospection--that Knotts' Luther Heggs will be a bumbling nerd with a heart of gold. In step with the syrupy early-60s family-film formula, Heggs' love interest, Alma (Joan Staley), is the small-town beauty who seems not the least bit aware of her ravishing assests, and she acts like it's totally natural for her to be attracted to a homely, inept gent like Heggs. And newspaperman Ollie Weaver (Skip Homeier), Heggs' rival both professionally and personally, exudes that smarmy machismo typical of the muscle-bound jerk who is likely to spend his Sunday afternoons at the beach kicking sand into the faces of the proverbial 98-pound weaklings. Most of the peripheral characters are also perfunctory to the extreme, serving mainly as background props and contributing little, if anything, of significance to the actual plot.

To be fair, it must be pointed out that THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN is not without its share of assets. The greatest of these is Joan Staley, who plays Luther's love interest, Alma. A mere 8 years prior to appearing in this film, the comely Ms. Staley appeared in Playboy as the centerfold Playmate for November 1958. Not only pretty, Ms. Staley is also a fine actress and brings a bit of thespian respectability to this film. Also notable is the appearance of Dick Sargent in the role of Heggs' editor. Genre fans will recognize Sargent from his role as the "Second Darrin" on TV's BEWITCHED. And it's fun to watch for the other well-known comedy and character actors--actors such as Reta Shaw, Philip Ober, Charles Lane, Ellen Corby, James Millhollin, and Sandra Gould, among others--in minor supporting roles.

In 1948, Universal Pictures started what would become a long string of entertaining and successful horror-themed comedy films with the release of the excellent ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN. But that winning streak ultimately ended in 1966 with THE GHOST AND MR. CHICKEN. It is a mediocre film that, in spite of a few laughs, ultimately fails. It can easily be argued that the reason for this failure is twofold: One, star Don Knotts has a limited comedic repertoire that is just not capable of sustaining a feature-length film; and two, in their attempt to create what they perceive as a family film, the filmmakers use an excess of cinematic and literary clichés that effectively dumbs down the script and thereby vitiates the charm of the comedy-horror hybrid.

Universal's DVD offers a nearly pristine anamorphic widescreen digital transfer of the film in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. However, with no extras other than the film's theatrical trailer, only hardcore fans of Don Knotts are likely to want to purchase this disc. ... Read more

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