Reviews (50)

Small Movie, Big Kudos
I liked this film a lot. Besides the fact that I like to support smaller, independent films (especially since this one features a lot of women in front of and behind the scenes), CLOCKWATCHERS is simply an entertaining show! It has a smart tone, and is a close cousin to OFFICE SPACE (featuring that *other* FRIENDS star, Jennifer Aniston).

The story is engrossing and concerns a pack of temps. Toni Collette plays Iris, who starts out as a timid, shy and introverted person. Her encounters with the other girls changes her (especially with the outspoken and quirky character played by Parker Posey - she's great in this!). Toni Collette is very good here - and although she is an Academy Award nominated actress (THE SIXTH SENSE) it's funny how the director's use of a new shade of lipstick is filmatic shorthand for the character change Iris goes through! Lisa Kudrow is not quite as ditzy as she usually is on FRIENDS. It's nice to see her in a different mode.

There's not much more story than that. If you've been a temp or work in an office environment you will appreciate this film. The film's theme is about sleepwalking through life and making your mark. Most of the girls cow to the corporate machine. One of them scratches "I was here" on her desk - just to make her mark.

There's an interesting subplot about an office thief that gets tied into the movie's theme nicely.

Please rent or buy this film. It's not SPIDERMAN, but it deserves your attention. Again, it is a "small-character-study" sort of film. But it is very well done, with excellent performances from its cast.

Brilliant, low-key, darkly comical
This is a mostly overlooked and underrated portrayal of the world of office temps. The beauty of this film is that, rather than hitting us with obvious plot devices, it slowly builds an atmosphere of oppression and monotony. The nameless company that employs and exploits the temps slowly chips away at the dreams, hopes and self-esteem of the characters. They are caught in an anonymous, meaningless life where the silliest of rules are ruthlessly enforced by petty tyrants. What's refreshing about Clockwatchers is the way it exposes the alienation of modern corporate life without resorting to the usual movie cliches. There is no sex, violence or even law suits here. It is seemingly trivial events, like the theft of small personal objects, that builds tension. There is also humor, the kind that fans of Dilbert will appreciate, as when a fired worker objects, "you can't fire me, you don't even know my name!" There is an existentialist feeling to the film, most notably verbalized by Parker Posey (a great addition to any independent film), who says something like, "I don't think anyone cares if I even exist." Clockwatchers is, I think, more than a movie about office temps. It's a commentary on our whole bureaucratic, atomized society. Along with Safe, another of my favorite films of the last decade (I'll proably review that one soon), Clockwatchers is a truly significant film about the modern world.

Satire on Temp Hell
Clockwatchers is a movie about four office temps who work at a dreary, mind numbing assignment. The temps are basically treated like the scum off the earth. They bond but then are sadly drawn apart.

If you have ever temped or even worked at a boring office job, you will probably laugh and nod your head at some of its humor. It captures the craziness better than some of the more recent office comedies like Office Space. It's not for everyone and is very unusual film. It's not a "laugh out loud" comedy. The characters are a sad set and the humor is subtle and may be go "over the head" for some non-temps. It is not pretty either. The set design is gray and depressing. Have heard some people call it boring. Temping is boring. In other words, it is a lot like like temping.

I am so glad someone made this movie. Can't believe it got made, but am glad. It is a story that needed to be told. As someone who used to temp, it brought back a lot of memories. I knew people like these characters. People who stayed in these jobs because they lacked the confidence or education to change jobs.

Being Hollywood, they exaggerate a bit, but get much of it right. Temping is one of the biggest scams the business world has ever created. I was disappointed that they did not explore in detail some of the other problems with temping, like the relationship between the temp and the agency. There is some satire there, trust me. As a temp, you basically forfeit basic worker's rights. Little or no benefits, no sick time, no "wrongful" termination, never knowing if you will even have a job tomorrow, doing all sorts of busy work to keep your job. I suggest that anyone who "wants" to temp see this film and run like hell.

Funny, yet can hit a little close to home
As someone who has been both a "perm" and a "temp," I find much in "Clockwatchers" to be completely truthful. Where "Office Space" (a movie I also loved) offered a cathartic revenge fantasy, "Clockwatchers" dares to tell it like it is -- that dead-end jobs really have no way out or up -- even if it is dreary and depressing.

There is humor, but rather than the cartoonish humor of "Office Space," "Clockwatchers" shows the ridiculous in little everyday workplace happenings: playing with the adjustment mechanisms on your chair, popping sheets of bubble wrap, or using Liquid Paper as nail polish.

The weird combination of emotions that these temps go through -- hopelessness and ambition, despair and frivolity, anger mixed with s**t-eating grins -- are extremely realistic and something that those in a similar work situation can probably easily relate to. The performances are outstanding, especially Toni Collette and Parker Posey.

Highly recommended!

One of indie comedy's biggest downers.
This film is bizarrely uneven. What seems like a reasonably straight-forward comedy (albeit a pretty subdued one) gradually gives way to a depressing portrait of displacement in the inhuman contemporary work force. However, while changing gears, the film never loses the audience. The more comedic beginning commits us to these characters. We like them, we like them together, and we like them together in the ridiculous and pointless do-nothing jobs they keep. So as they drift apart and as the work conditions become more and more dehumanizing, we empathize totally and feel a disappointment in the deterioration of this little community we'd really come to like. Furthermore, most of us have had friendships drift apart, and more specifically working relationships become estranged. "Clockwatchers" preys on this and as a result is one of the more effective downers I've seen.

Much of the early half of the film reminds most viewers of a more tame "Office Space," for obvious reasons. But "Clockwatchers" distinguished itself well from this movie and others of its type. Actually, I think a far closer companion film would be the early portions of "Fight Club" (another film that dramatically shifts gears but keeps the audience in tow). Like "Fight Club," "Clockwatchers" relies on cynical and ironic wit and moreso on extremely stylized sets, lighting, and camerawork. Another unusual aspect of this film is the unmistakable lack of anything resembling a romance plot whatsoever. How many girlfriend comedies - commercial or independent - can you think of that don't land boyfriends on the laps of at least one of the characters before the credits roll? "Clockwatchers" succeeds by these differences. Its a film like really no other, and it fascinates us and sticks in our memories as a result. I mean, "Clockwatchers" isn't saving lives or anything, and Bresson it ain't, but it is a film I keep going back to for its many (refreshingly) atypical handlings of a pretty well-tread concept. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

GLORIOUS. BUT COULD HAVE BEEN AN EPIC.
Can't remember the last time I sat through a movie for a full 3 hours, but Sunshine had me riveted. What a glorious message of love and joy subordinating almost every other pursuit in our lives.

We follow the travails of a Hungarian family through three generations -- and three political/ideological regimes. The first forty minutes are replete with their own elaborate costume sets and gorgeous locales of Budapest. The second and the third generations depicted find themselves smack in the middle of the Holocaust and the follow-up Stalinisque regime. As the Sonnenchiens (the Sunshine family) live through these times with a great loss of life and blood, there're also invaluable lessons to be learnt.

I felt the movie did not sufficiently capitalize on the emotions between men and women except for the first Sonnenchiens. Instead, there's a lot of unnecessary nudity. I'd be stupid to mind seeing Rachel Weisz (The Mummy) and Deborah Kara Unger (Crash) in ecstasy but it got to be almost redundant because the man was the same, Ralph Fiennes playing a different generation. The music for such an epic could have and probably should have been much more memorable, it was just any generic symphony you'd expect from a romanticized epic-mode film.

But these are petty quibbles. Like other movies of its kind, e.g., "House of Spirits" or "American History X", Sunshine certainly has its faults, but its messages about tolerance, humanity, and redemption are absolutely glorious.

For a 3 hour film, the DVD could surely have done a lot better by breaking the movie into Sors I, Sors II and Sors III sections. It is still a very worthy rental especially if you care about period peieces, political ideas, Ralph Fiennes, or Hungary.

take my wife please
A lighthearted romp through Hungarian history, "Sunshine" follows the trials and tribulations of three generations of the Sonnenshein family. Ralph Feinnes, in great comic form here, plays all three roles: Grampa, Pops and Junior. While the director was obviously thinking of structuring this movie along the lines of Alec Guinness's great "Kind Hearts and Coronets," in which Guinness played (I think) seven roles, many times "Sunshine" seems to have more in common with an Eddie Murphy film like "The Klumps." Be that as it may, the laughs keep coming when the recipe for the fabled health drink, which has brought the family fame and fortune, becomes lost. Add a few crazy women as love interests (including Deborah Kara Unger who seems ready to reprise her role in "Crash" here) and you've got the kind of film Mel Brooks used to make before "Blazing Saddles." "Sunshine" also has its serious side, as it is set against the backdrop of WWII and Stalin's pogroms. Still, in the tradition of Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" and Jerry Lewis's "The Day the Clown Cried," the serious undercurrent never gets in the way of some inspired sight gags, fabulous one-liners (listen carefully during the "pass the salt sequence") and general silliness.

What a fantastic movie!
This movie is a must-see!
It is a relativly long movie but you won't feel the length since it is very amusing and it absorbs all your attention so well that you barely notice the passage of time.

Epic multi-generational view of the last century in Hungary
By taking a slice of Hungarian history spanning roughly the last century, this movie chooses a historical setting which provides a concentrated message of human frailty and idealism amidst social and political change. In this microcosmic world of a century of Hungarian history, we encounter some broader familiar themes of social mobility (both economically and politically) of a religious minority in a country with its own conflicted sense of national identity through different political regimes. Ralph Fiennes (of the more familiar movie "The English Patient") superbly plays multiple roles, as a male member of three successive generations of a Hungarian Jewish family, spanning the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the two World Wards to (briefly) modern post-communist Hungary. Fiennes' presence throughout this movie in multiple roles lends a curious continuity to several recurrent themes in this tale of political and family loyalty and betrayal. Haunted by the image of his impotence at watching his father being tortured and killed in front of several hundred Jewish prisoners, the leading male character struggles to expiate his guilt and avenge the shadowy forces of anti-Semitism. But his own ideals are dashed as his police interrogator role in communist Hungary leads him to confront the hypocrisy of yet another regime in which ideological purity and political expediency are hard to distinguish. With his own fanatical commitment to pursue the fascist elements in post World War Two communist Hungary, the leading character shares much in common with his grandfather's loyalty, as a high level magistrate, to the monarchy of a crumbling empire of which Hungary was a part, and with his father's blind faith in the willingness of the newly recreated Hungary to assimilate a Jew who converts to Catholicism as he also becomes a national Olympics fencing hero. In the end, all three characters of three generations of the same family become victims of different political regimes, all of which learn to use their willing victims as pawns who become betrayed with their blind loyalty. Oddly, it is the several women characters who invariably become amorously entangled with different male characters, who seem most skeptical of the promises of different regimes. Unfortunately, it is not often we find this kind of epic movie which personalizes large swathes of history through the saga of several generations of a single family - and it is often compared to Dr. Zhivago. Highly recommended.

A masterpiece of WWII storytelling
If you were appalled by films such as Schindler's List, wait till you see this one. Many people consider WWII storytelling an exhausted topic, which is simply not true, as witnessed by the popularity of The Pianist and Adrien Brody's consequent though well deserved stardom.
"Sunshine" has all the elements of a great movie. A top of the line cast, to start with Ralph Fiennes whose performance is superb (in my opinion Fiennes' greatest masterpiece). You might be put off by the length of this movie, though the story carries itself very well. Simply told, it will move you. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A Little Off the Beaten Path...
This is not the movie you want to watch with a bunch of friends on a Saturday night. This is a movie for people who liked "Ghost World," "Devil's Advocate," or "Feeling Minnesota." It's quite strange, but I saw it once and fell in love with the accents, the irony, and the drummer from Red Hot Chilli Peppers, who plays a gangster. True, many of these actors never went anywhere. But it features some great dialogue and amazing realism.

fast & exellent condition!!
Tank you.
I get to supreme used VHS!!

Good study of human nature
I own this film already and would have to say that it is a rather interesting study of human nature. The "what would I do with..." it is a character study of the lottery in general and how people react and how it turns into cause AND effect.

It was the worst I've seen in a while.
I stopped watching it 1 hr into it because it was painfully unfunny. We have taken to calling the movie, "you lucky bastard," and comparing other terrible movies to it. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A guilty pleasure...
Princess Daisy is an enjoyable little mini series for a rainy afternoon. It's a movie good for using very little of your brain's resources but darn entertaining if your into lust, passion, betrayel, (and the occasional incestual rape sub-plot). All in all, a rather nicely done soap-drama. Not a bad way to spend a lazy afternoon at all.

And I'd just like to mention another mini series which was originally penned by Judith Krantz. "Mistral's Daughter" is an even better mini series than this! When will the DVD gods bestow that wonderful mini series on dvd????

Princess Daisy
I first saw Princess Daisy on WE. I didn't know what it was or what it was about, but i was immediately hooked on it. Merete van Kamp, who plays Daisy, is beautiful, graceful, and elegant, and Rupert everett, as Ram (Daisy's step brother who falls in love with her) is stunningly handsome. But not only are the actors beautiful, but the story is captivating. The acting isn't fabulous, the screenplay is at times cheesy, but all in all, it was very entertaining and i watched all three hours of this soap-opera-ish movie, and in the end decided that i thoroughly enjoyed it! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

An episodic account of a family of roving sheepherders in Australia. Paddy Carmody (Robert Mitchum) loves being "someone whose home is where the sun goes down," but his wife (Deborah Kerr) and teenage son are tired of the nomadic life and want to settle down. Director Fred Zinnemann (From Here to Eternity) takes a wonderfully laid-back approach to this likable material, emphasizing the refreshingly grown-up relationship between Mitchum and Kerr as well as the stark scenic attractions of Australia--a continent that, in 1960, was still unfamiliar terrain for the movies. Puckish, portly Peter Ustinov provides the lion's share of the comic relief. One of the high points is a sheep-shearing sequence (the normally self-assured Mitchum was so nervous about accidentally harming an animal that he required a few bottles of beer for fortification before shooting the scene). The Sundowners scored five Oscar nominations, including acting nods for Kerr and Glynis Johns, but won none. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (5)

the ups and downs of an itinerant family
Set in the 1920s and about a family of Irish itinerant sheepherders, this film has panoramic views of Australia (cinematography by Jack Hildyard), a good script, and a diverse and interesting cast; the sheep also are terrific, and there are many glimpses of kangaroos, koalas and more, all set to an upbeat score by Dimitri Tiomkin. The film also shows the backbreaking labor of shearing the sheep, and the hard life and hard drinking of the people who do it.
It has its share of drama, poignancy, and humor, the latter usually thanks to Peter Ustinov, who puts in another memorable performance as a British wanderer who is always able to extricate himself from romantic entanglements.
Deborah Kerr shines as Ida, the tough but sensitive wife who stands by her man through thick and thin (mostly thin). Robert Mitchum is good as her irresponsible husband, as is Michael Anderson Jr. as their son, and Glynis Johns adds her irrepressible charm as a pub owner.

Though not quite on the level of director Fred Zinnemann's best work (like "High Noon", "A Man for all Seasons", and "Day of the Jackal"), it still has his masterful touch, and is a fine film, well worth viewing.
It was nominated for Best Actress, Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, and Supporting Actress (Johns), losing out to Elizabeth Taylor in the first category, and "The Apartment" and "Elmer Gantry" in the rest.
"The Sundowners" is solid entertainment from one of the great directors of the 20th century, and total running time is 133 minutes.

sucks
Robert Mitchum`s aussie accent in this movie is not very believable.

The Ever Lovin' Aussie
This movie does a great job of profiling the lives and loves of the bushman. It should be preserved in DVD.

The Sundowners clearly shows how love fits in with the Aussie's love of freedom and adventure. Hard work doesn't take anything away from their sense of humor. The land is unforgiving with its fires and droughts; and the hardships created by traveling from shed to shed are mittigated by good kinship. They love gambling and would take bets on whether or not the sun will rise the next morning if they have enough "spirits" in them. All nicely demonstrated in the movie. Their accents believeable and the music in the background is a treat!

Wonderful and life affirming
Some films and some books just make you glad to be alive, for me The Sundowners is a lovely, life-affirming experience, beautifully acted, warmly funny and intelligent.

Everytime I see this film, the temptation to join the Carmodys is irresistible. This is not a sentimental story, but the film has a genuine warmth and exuberance as well as a young boy on the point of making his own life, working out the path he wishes to follow.

There is great love and deep affection shared by the Carmody family, a bond which is one of the few fixed points in their wandering life. This love is not saccherine romance but realistic emotion; it is not always easy, it does not prevent anger, exasperation and pain, but at the end of things their family genuinely cares for each other.

Sundowners is a film full of sunlight.

Frist Rate film for Mitchum fans
The Sundoners is probley one of Mitchum's finer performences he's probley the most under rated actor of his time. Gives a solid performance as a roving Australin sheep herder who in his own robost way tries his best to be husband an father, Deborah Kerr is excellant as the wife who binds the family together who hopes somday there roving life style will end, so they as a family can have a home to settle. This film has a litle bit of everything comic relif, drama an action with good solid back up performances of Peter Ustinov, Glynnis Johns. Again if your a Mitchum fan then buy this video,an watch an actor who style owns every scene he's in.Thank you N. Skyles ... Read more

Reviews (142)

This is SO wrong...
What 'Deliverance' did for kayaking down remote rivers out in the middle of nowhere, and 'Jaws' did for going to the beach, 'Crash' does for head-on automobile collisions! And just when I thought there were no more weird sexual fetishes to go 'round. People getting off to car crashes and accident scenes? Yeesh-it's definitely one of the most perverse concepts I've ever been exposed to. But then again, writer-producer-director David Cronenberg is infamous for making (or in some cases re-making) movies that contain surreal & disturbing elements ("Naked Lunch", "Scanners", the new version of "The Fly", "The Dead Zone", et. al.). Here, his realization of concepts from the book this flick is based on helped make 'Crash' into a disquieting, rather than erotic, movie experience. A sex-scene-filled NC-17- rated feature that's more a turn-off than anything else is definitely a rare cinematic find. And even though the 'crash' fetish was something that was imagined for this film (or, to be more precise, imagined for the book that was- well, you know...), I'll never look at those highway accident-scene rubberneckers in quite the same way ever again!

Of course, if you're too uptight to watch the extra-naughty version, you can select the somewhat-more-prudish R-rated rendition. Rounding out the bonus features are a restricted-audience trailer (never knew they made those!), text mini-bios & filmographies of the marquee cast & crew, and- well- that's about it. But it's not like you're gonna watch this for extra features anyway, now is it...?

'Late

Very good
This is a very unusual film. The basic plot involves a group of people who are turned on by car crashes thus allowing a series of sex scenes invovling scrapes, bruises, leg braces, scars, etc. If you are disgusted by the thought of that description, don't see this movie because you would probably (a) not understand the film or (b) be completely disgusted by its graphic sex, violence, and car crash related gore.

The film is very well made. Throughout most of the film, a dark atmosphere is kept giving the film a sort of surrealistic and noirish quality. The actors take the film very seriously and never play it for humor or take the film's subject matter lightly.

By taking a sexual fetish (car crashes) that nobody has, the director (David Cronenberg) has allowed himself the freedom to explore the realities of such a fetish. Had he chosen to direct a film about something that people actually are turned on by, he could have disappointed many by inaccurately portraying this.

This film is not for everyone. Some may consider this merely an excuse to show graphic sex scenes boardering on pornography (the reason why the film is rated NC-17 - the R rated version was created for Blockbuster since they do not carry NC-17 rated films). As realistic as the sex may appear in some scenes, it is soft core, just like any other R rated film.

If you can appreciate this film, you will see nearly flawless acting from James Spader, Holly Hunter, and Elias Koteas. The film is expertly directed by a master (Cronenberg, director of such masterpieces as "Naked Lunch" and "Dead Ringers"), and based on a novel that has become over time a cult/underground favorite by J. G. Ballard. If you have an open mind, see this film and appreciate it, otherwise seek out any of Cronenberg's other films (except "M. Butterfly").

Wow! Trully Unforgettable.
Soon after a head on car crash James Ballard (Spader) is introduced to a world of fetishists who find arousal in mixing raw sexuality, the mangling of human bodies, and the twisted steel of a fresh auto accident. Their fetish soon becomes a suicidal obsession with death and the ultimate pleasure.

Based on the novel by J. G. Ballard, Crash was one of most controversial movies of the 1990's. Exploring the psyche of those who extract pleasure through risk and eroticism through automobile accidents. James and Catherine Ballard are a married couple whose sex life has been reduced to recounting tales of mutual infidelity to turn each other on. James is eventually involved in a car accident that leaves one man dead. After his long rehab he meets the other survivor of the crash Helen (Hunter). They soon realize that the accident was the biggest turn on of their lives. Helen introduces James to a group, led by Vaughn (Koteas) who share in their fetish. To up the ante the group engage in more and more dangerous accidents to heighten their own arousal.  

Anyone familiar with director David Cronenberg's work should know what to expect from this movie, only here it seems that Cronenberg has license to go as far as possible with the message he was trying to get across about the human animal and our twisted psyche when it comes to what we find erotic. His experiment with Crash was met with much controversy at the time of it's initial release in 1996. While many will find the film repulsive and/or sick, I happen to find it a rather genius character study. A film that succeeds in challenging the viewer by showing them a different side of the human spirit and hopefully pointing out their own sick little perversions. One thing is for sure, whether or not you "like" the movie you have to admire the balls it took to make such an anti-Hollywood film that went against everything "politically correct." What's sad is that a challenging, though provoking film like Crash couldn't be made today and if it were the people making it would most likely be jailed. 
 
Cronenberg injects the film with a dreamy, trance-like quality that sucked me in from second one. That along with the low key score created a menacing atmosphere. The acting from the always brilliant James Spader is top-notch as always. Elias Koteas is one of the most underrated actors out there, he's brilliant here as well. Holly Hunter and the lovely Deborah Unger are also strong in supporting roles. This is what happens when a great script (written by Cronenberg), a great director, and great actors merge to create a truly original and daring film.

Much can be said about Crash, but the bottom line is: GO SEE IT! Rent the NC-17 version if your video store has it and explore this movie with an open mind. Whether you love it or hate it, Crash will challenge, make you think, and hopefully enlighten. Now days when crap films are recycled over and over like a commercially friendly PG-13 pop can, it was great to see a film that didn't treat the viewer like an idiot. Check it out! 

Pitiful; a major turn-off. What was Holly Hunter thinking?
One of the worst movies I've ever seen. No redeeming qualities whatsoever. What was Holly Hunter thinking? Trust me; leave this one behind. It's a pitiful excuse for a movie.

You either GET IT or YOU DON'T
No, there are no limits to human stupidity. I don't know where to begin...Crash opens up like an after-dark Cinemax movie (which made me cringe). However it foreshadows the promise of a strange sensuality between metal and skin, something that James Ballard and Remington slowly find it as a kindling to stir up actual emotions to their boring, orgasm-less sex lives. Ballard meets Vaughan (played by Koteas) and he descends into the strange, twisted and druggie like world of Crash. Koteas is the real star of the movie here...James Spader and Holly Hunter merely serve as vehicles of boredom and a sense of being lost, finally finding what's missing in the oddest of places, while Koteas really drives the point across, really gives you an idea of what this underworld is like. He's slimy, creepy and insane, yet plausible.

This movie is not for everyone. There are a heavy amount of explicit sex scenes--and I only use the word explicit when I mean explicit. These scenes aren't porn. You watch these scenes, and they add to the mood. They add to a creepy, dirty feeling that's set on you from the beginning of the movie. And that's where Crash takes place...in the underworld. These scenes are done to enforce the mood. It's eerie. If there's one bad thing to say about Crash is that you'll go through over an hour and a half without hardly cracking a smile...and if you do, it's probably because the movie feels so good at parts that you just can't help yourself. This movie is far, far, far away from being trash. Everyone has their own opinion. Some opinions are just plain wrong. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

See a Prima Ballerina Assoluta in Action
When I first watched this title, I had a few reservations about it that made me think hard about what I appreciate in a ballet performance, but over a period of time, I've kept coming back to it, because it has some very special things to offer that are not so obvious upon initial viewing. In fact, I've now come to appreciate this performance a little better than even the distinguished 1966 ballet-film of "Romeo and Juliet" by The Royal Ballet with Dame Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. And, that's saying quite a lot.

Today's ballet audience has become very accustomed with having a certain "look" to the ballerina, most of whom are very, very trim and ultra-flexible. In this production, the ballerina who dances the role of Juliet, Galina Ulanova, doesn't really fit that mold. For that matter, the premier danceur, Yuri Zhdanov, doesn't fit the image of a contemporary male lead. As prospective purchasers of this video, I think that it's helpful to warn you of this fact. This video offers up a challenge to stretch your conception about what a ballet lead can look like, and if you're not willing to do that, then it's best for you to continue searching for an alternative among the many different interpretations of this ballet that are commercially available.

This title was created in 1954. It's not a stage performance, but rather a ballet-film. The scenery is unbeatable, as far as ballet titles go. But, I don't want to spend too much time on that aspect, because I don't want to take away from the dancing. The fact that this tape is still in demand after almost fifty years is quite a compliment to the performers.

I recently loaned my copy to a family member whose opinion I respect (but sometimes disagree with). She returned it and said plainly that she prefers to watch modern technique. I mention this, because you'll need to come to grips with this particular point as well. For instance, let's say that the premier danceur does a grand jete, and his trailing leg is slightly bent: will that ruin the ballet for you? Once again, if it does, then you need to look elsewhere. In that case, you may enjoy watching some excerpts of Alessandra Ferri (partnered by Wayne Eagling) including the balcony scene on "Great Pas de Deux" and Juliet's Bedroom Pas de Deux on "Ballet Favorites." Both of these excerpt tapes are available on Amazon.com.

One of the things that I find so compelling about Ulanova's dancing--and the reason why I've kept returning to it--is the naturalness of it. Galina Ulanova looks the least choreographed of anyone that I've seen. One of my on-line friends and Amazon.com reviewer, dancinggiraffe, said it best in her "about.me" section while discussing the dancers of the fifties and sixties: "Although their technique is generally not as precise as is expected today, I feel that the dancers from this period were very expressive, and often had a freedom of movement that is rare today. I believe this makes them very much worth watching." In my opinion, Galina is one of the best examples of this. She is indeed very expressive; she has wonderful arms and she floats.

Another interesting thing about this performance is the absence of big developpes and the scarcity of arabesques much over 90 degrees of extension. In this performance, Galina made an art form out of 45, 60 and 90 degree arabesques that must have today's choreographers, with their insatiable appetite for ultra flexibility, scratching their heads in wonderment at the longevity of this title!

The choreography is by Leonid Lavrovsky. The picture on the cover of the dust jacket is very fitting, as there are a lot of nice lifts in the choreography. Another one of the special treats of this production is the Bolshoi ensemble, and I feel that the fifties and sixties era under Leonid Lavrovsky produced *the* best character dancing available anywhere on commercial videotape.

I should also mention that it behooves you to see one of the non-ballet movie versions, as the motives of some of the characters are not as effectively communicated in ballet, where words are not allowed. Being a balletomane myself, I like to think that words aren't necessary, but in being honest with you, I think that in some cases they help. There's a real power in Shakespeare's words that's obviously lost in a ballet version. While I love ballet, I'm not sure if any of the performances I've seen are a match for the combination of Sharkespeare's words and Olivia Hussey's "eyebrow dancing" (i.e., facial expressions) set to the moving song of "What is a Youth?," during the scene of Juliet's first kiss with Romeo (Leonard Whiting) in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 movie. That's a pretty outstanding moment in film! Therefore, I think the maximum that I'd be willing to give any ballet version of "Romeo and Juliet" is four stars out of five, no matter how well danced. Plus, in the overall scheme of things, a well-danced performance of "Romeo and Juliet" such as this doesn't deserve the same five-star rating that a well-danced performance of any Tchaikovsky ballet or "Giselle" would merit. Or, at least that's the way it is to my way of thinking.

In some ways, perhaps this production is a little old-fashioned, in that it hasn't been spiced up with sex appeal. At times, perhaps some of the humor is a little corny. Nevertheless, what the dancers achieved has really stood the test of time well. Galina Ulanova is one of the very few ballerinas who has earned the title of Prima Ballerina Assoluta. They don't just hand out the Assoluta distinction indiscriminately, so If you're a dancer, then it behooves you to study her and try to learn her secrets. Because of the great dancing by Ulanova and the Bolshoi ensemble, this is a valued performance in my ballet video collection.

Galina the Great
The first time the Bolshoi Ballet came to San Francisco, my mother didn't buy me a ticket because she thought I was too young to appreciate it. When the company returned, Galina Ulanova was no longer dancing! Fortunately, videos such as this one exist. Ulanova was truly a great artist.

This 1954 film is a feast for the eyes, as the costumes are gorgeous and the indoor and outdoor locations are spectacular. Though there's no mention of it in the credits, it appears to have been filmed in Verona, Italy (or at least a city that looks very much like Verona).

A major flaw in the film, for those who are familiar with the Prokofieff score, is that there are many cuts in the music, some of them quite awkward, particularly in the market scenes. As a result (I believe) of the cuts, Romeo (Yuri Zhdanov) has almost no dancing except partnering Juliet. Despite this problem, I give this video five stars because of Ulanova's beautiful, moving performance.

The Bolshoi version is an interesting contrast to the Royal Ballet's 1966 version, starring Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev. Both are excellent.

One more victory of the humanity, portraying a true love
The eternity is not the destination for everyone. Galina Ulanova is one of the few who will always be livng in the people's hearts. Not because she was the most famous and celebrated ballerina of her time, but because of her purity, beauty and bounless dedication to the art. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Talk about buried treasures. This film, shot in 1980 when Cindy Williams was still a TV star on Laverne and Shirley, didn't actually reach theaters until 1985. Even then, it was barely released and remains a film more talked-about than seen. But it's a tidy little comic treat, starring Williams as a seeker in a small town who believes that she is destined to be taken away by a flying saucer. Which makes her seemingly easy pickings for a pair of dueling evangelists (including the ever-reliable Harry Dean Stanton)--but she's more intuitive than she seems, even to her long-suffering boyfriend, played with wonderfully gruff spirit by Fred Ward. This is one of those movies filled with unexpectedly funny moments while never quite going where you think it will. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Guilty Pleasure
UFORIA is one of those movies that begs the question, "Why didn't this film make it?" I hope they track down the principal cast and crew members so they can release a Special Edition DVD of this fine, forgotten film. It's full of colorful performances and vivid local flavor, all wrapped up in a tidy comedic plot. Fred Ward is wonderful as the scruffy redneck Waylon Jennings wannabe and Cindy Williams is actually kind of endearing as his love interest. I recommend UFORIA highly.

Uforia
A fine little film, great music(country), wonderful cast, full of surprises, it really works. I have told many folks about this one, don't miss it!

Close to "Repo Man" in sheer insane profundity
A notch below "Repo Man," but still a major hoot. It stars Harry Dean Stanton, which automatically puts it in my top 20. Cindy Williams is perfect as the True Believer, and the rest of the cast is uniformly excellent. It has the same quirky, nothing-is-quite-what-it-seems quality as "Repo Man." I saw it at the Little Theater in Rochester, NY, and liked it well enough to spend $70 on the VHS. I've watched it 15 times since and never regretted buying it. It's hard to find, so buy it now! ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Not the same as the book, but. . . .
. . .it was a good watch anyway. Chris Sarandon was outstanding in the roles he played of look-alikes Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. He captured Carton's sardonic humor well, and evoked his melancholic fatalism and innate dignity with much pathos. A quite elderly Kenneth More put on a great performance as the officious but kindly banker, whose character provided much humorous dialogue. The character of Miss Pross, the sharp-eyed chaperone, was absolutely wonderful.

I never expect a movie to follow a novel very closely -- books and films are two completely different art forms and cannot be translated one to the other with good effect. As the movie begins we see the words "Based on the novel by Charles Dickens." With those words we are given fair warning that what is to follow is an interpretation of Dickens' vision.

What this film did was capture what is so wonderful about Dickens' novels -- the alternation between the humor and the darkness at the center of much human experience. The scenes were knit together flawlessly, so that a rather complicated plot taking part in two different places came together without confusion or awkward transitions. The pacing was artfully done, and the last 40 minutes or so were very suspenseful.

It's too bad the movie received so many bad reviews because it didn't follow the book. I've read the book and found it, like many of Dickens' works, to be wonderful, but also probably inaccessible to many readers. This film takes a good story and opens it up to those who may never open the book.

A Tale of Two Cities
I was very dissappointed with with this film version and it just did not make the grade - the film is flawed, and the people are flat. I don"t get the feeling I got when watching the original version. Something is wrong...The story line is not right, the people in the roles are not right and therefore are not able to portray the right feelings/emotions. It was all flat and I did not beleive in the people I was watching. I'm sorry, but the best film adaptaton is the 1935 version and I think will always will be!

Loved It
This is my favorite version of A Tale of Two Cities. I do not agree with the review that said it was "flat". I have seen other versions and think Chris Sarandon did an outstanding job. Dickens would be proud

not bad at all
This video is fine for understanding the basic issues of the French Revolution- I disagree with the above reviews and feel it is a decent follow up to a unit on the Revolution or the book itself. Of course its not as good as the book- movies rarely are!

exhilarating
it was good at times it was bad at times it was funny at times it was sad at times it was happy at times it was passionate at times but all together it was pretty good. ... Read more

Reviews (72)

NOT WHAT YOU EXPECT, BUT STILL VERY FUNNY
An ex-con (played wonderfully by Woody Allen), has a get rich quick scheme, and all it will involve is an empty store next door to a bank, a couple of other cons', and the help of his manicurist wife (the always funny Tracey Ullman).

The plan is simple...set up a cookie shop and have your wife run it (because she makes the BEST cookies, this serves as a big part in the plot), while you and the other bumbling crooks are digging a hole in the basement, a hole that will lead to the bank, and to the biggest heist you have ever pulled off.

"Small Time Crooks" is a very funny movie. It starts off with the bank heist plan (the digging in the basement contains some of the biggest laughs in this movie), and then in an unexpected twist shows that crime doesn't pay. The movie then goes into the study of Allen and Ullman struggling to deal with their new found wealth and each other.

In his funniest film in years, Woody Allen has assembled a great cast; Hugh Grant, John Lovitz, Michael Rappaport, George Grizzard, Tony Darrow, and Elaine May in the outrageously funny role of the dim-witted cousin.

Anyone looking for a good laugh riot will enjoy this...and you don't have to be an Allen fan.

Nick Gonnella

Small Time Crooks has big-time laughs
Woody Allen plays an inept ex-con who has a scheme for breaking into a bank. He plans to buy a store which is adjacent to the bank and then to make an underground tunnel to the bank vault. When he asks his wife, played by Tracey Ullman, to help finance the project, she balks. Eventually she gives in and becomes his "front man" by baking cookies in the store they buy. The cookies become unbelievably successful and suddenly they are richer than in their wildest dreams. Tracey decides that she must become more cultured to fit into their new social set and she asks an art dealer, played by Hugh Grant, to tutor her in the social graces. This he does willingly with an eye to cashing in on her fortune. This movie is well-written and well-acted. The lines are witty and there is even a moral here with regard to love and loyalty. No Woody Allen darkness here--just a delightful 90-minute romp!

If you liked "The Castle", then you may enjoy this movie
I've always liked Woody Allen movies, especially his early funny ones, and I just sorta ignored the awful "serious" ones, like "Stardust Memories". But this is a comedy, and it's dreadful. Thank heaven it cost me only five bucks.

OK, so Woody and his wife (Tracy Ullman) become rich and she wants to buy "class". The movie becomes a sneering put-down of her pretensions. It's just plain ugly.

Elaine May is terrific, though, and I'll give the flick an extra star for her performance (as the wife's cousin).

Rags To Riches To Rags - Very Funny and Heartwarming
This is such a funny movie. Woody Allen and his partners in crime play up their bumbling idiot characters so well! Tracey Ullman is a genius - She can play any character and make it believable.

This rags to riches to rags story is funny and heartwarming and just fun to watch. This was also the first time I saw Hugh Grant playing such a loathsome character - he was great! What can I say about Elaine May except she is so good that it looks like she's not even acting!

The comedic acting was very good in this movie and I can't wait to own it on DVD so I can sit back and enjoy over and over again.

Woody Rips Off Car 54
Why?

Why did you do it, Woody? Sure, the premise of Small Time Crooks was interesting - but then I felt the same way when I saw it the FIRST time on television - on Car 54, Where Are You? back in the 1950s! Created by Nat Hiken (who also wrote many episodes), that classic cop situation comedy had many very funny plots.

Plots that included the one about the small band of crooks, three male and one female, that open a business next to a New York bank in order to break into the vault next door. But business gets too good, proving to be a huge distraction to the original plan of emptying the bank of its big bucks, and hilarity ensues.

Sound familiar? It should - since Woody obviously lifted that entire scenario in order to make his far-inferior STC film! At first I thought maybe he wrote the original Car 54 script in question, and can therefore do whatever he wants to with his own property. But I checked it out, and no, he did not write that Car 54 script.

(BTW, Tracey Ullman is also particularly terrible in this - she's a Brit playing an Italian who's named Frenchy - try figuring out THAT cultural mess!)

So what happened Woody? Was the white paper in your typewriter that blank? Was your writers' block that insurmountable? Sure, one can always say it's not exactly script-stealing as long as a writer at least slightly changes a plot twist or a line of dialogue here or there, but c'mon, Woody, who did you think you'd fool?

You're not known as a hack writer - you were once considered to be one of the premier comedy talents of the movies, not just in acting but in writing too!

So again, we must all ask, Woody... why? ... Read more

Reviews (111)

"John Carpenter's Escape from New York"
Escape from New York (R) *****/5
Kurt Russell, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau.
Directed by: John Carpenter.
Synopsis: A former war hero turned criminal must save the president, and recover his briefcase to save his own life when he is dropped in the criminal penitentiary of N.Y. City.
Special Features: Trailer
Review: One of the greatest films ever made, and the greatest vision of the future ever. John Carpenter's widely acclaimed success of a film. It follows Kurt Russell as Snake Plissken who has two bombs planted in him. He is given a chance for his freedom if he can rescue the president and his briefcase from the clutches of The Duke in the prison city of N.Y. Plissken the former war hero turned criminal goes in, and he must survive the terror town, complete his mission, and get back before the bombs go off. Kurt Russell forever shed his Disney image for this film. He is on the ball, with the performance of a lifetime, and he creates one of the greatest characters in cinema history. Borgnine is lovable as the cabbie, Hayes is a fantastic bad guy, Stanton is cool as usual, and the supporting cast gives it their best effort. Carpenter shines with his tiny budget. He introduces us to a world where anything can happen, and he unveils his world to us in spectacular form. He even filmed it in Saint Louis and made me think it was New York. As for the DVD? ...

Snake Plissken Escapes from DVD Hell...
A few years ago, MGM released a bare-bones DVD of EFNY and were rightly criticized for not including anything in the way of supplemental material. A glaring omission for such a beloved movie. The studio has more than redeemed itself with this new two DVD Special Edition that should please the fans.

There are two audio commentaries on the first DVD. The first one is with producer Debra Hill and production designer Joe Alves and focuses on production anecdotes and how the special effects of the film were achieved.

The second audio track is with John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, and is the one fans will enjoy the most. The two men joke and banter with each other like old friends and it is this relaxed, conversational tone that really makes this track such an enjoyable listen.

There is an excellent documentary entitled, "Return to Escape From New York" located on the second DVD. A treat for fans is all the new cast and crew interviews conducted especially for this documentary: the always radiant Adrienne Barbeau, the normally publicity shy Harry Dean Stanton and even the Duke himself, Isaac Hayes! They all speak fondly of their experiences on the film.

There is also a so-so a photo montage of how an issue of the comic book is put together, from rough sketches to its arrival in stores. In a nice touch, the issue that is shown is also included with the DVD.

"Snake Bites" is a collection of clips from the film scored to some atmospheric electronic music. This really isn't all that interesting and seems like unnecessary padding to fill out the DVD.

The other extra that has been eagerly anticipated by fans is the famous original opening of the film. Snake and his partner rob a bank and are caught with Snake being arrested and his partner being gunned down. This scene sets up Snake's arrival at the New York prison but Carpenter cut it because test audiences were confused by it. This footage was thought to be lost long ago. It is finally being presented in its entirety on this DVD. The footage is quite grainy but watchable and features an optional audio commentary by Carpenter and Russell (who had never seen the footage before).

Rounding out the disc are a nice collection of TV spots, a theatrical trailer, and a photo gallery with lobby cards, behind-the-scenes and production stills.

Escape From New York is a fast-paced action film that contains a dark, satirical edge that never falters, even right up to the film's conclusion. The DVD, with its wonderfully themed menus (done in the same style as the film), stunning transfer and top notch extras, ranks right up there with the excellent Big Trouble in Little China (1986) special edition set that came out a few years ago. This new special edition was obviously made with the fans in mind and this only enhances its value.

"You mean I can't count on you?...Good!"
What can I say.

Strangely enough, despite the fact that I am a child of the 80s (I was 12 when this movie first came out), I never saw Escape from New York until 6 weeks ago.

Then I was hooked.

Most people know the story. In the "future," (1988, haha) the US crime rate rises 400%. To combat this crime wave, drastic measures are taken. The United States becomes a fascist-like police state, and in 1992 New York City becomes the country's one maximum-security prison to house the worst society has to offer. Sealed off from the outside world by a 50-foot containment wall on all sides, Manhattan Island becomes a modern (or postmodern) Botany Bay. All bridges, tunnels and waterways surrounding the island are mined, and the US Police Force constantly patrols by helicopter, to ensure that no prisoners escape. Criminals unlucky enough to receive a maximum-security sentence are given a choice: be executed or be airdropped into the New York for life to fend for themselves. As the chilling opening narration observes, "There are no guards, only prisoners and the worlds they have made. The rules are simple. Once you go in, you don't come out."

Into this black pit of despair comes one S.V. "Snake" Plissken, played by Kurt Russell. A war hero (he won 2 purple hearts, one in Leningrad and one in Siberia - remember, the Soviet Union still existed when this film was made), Snake for unspecified reasons has turned to a life of crime. And at the film's beginning, the Law has finally caught up with Snake, and he is being transported to New York to serve a life sentence for bank robbery when Fate steps in.

On the same evening that Snake is brought to Manhattan Island to begin serving his sentence, the President of the United States (played by Donald Pleasance) is on his way to a peace summit when his plane (Airforce One) is hijacked by a terrorist posing as a pilot, and is crashed into the prison. (In today's post-9/11 environment, the hijacking scene, at least to me, is particularly chilling and I have a hard time watching it).

Miraculously, the President exits the plane via his special "escape pod" and he survives the plane crash...only to be taken captive by the "Duke of New York," played with beautiful understated menace by Isaac Hayes.

Police Commissioner Bob Hauk (played by Lee Van Cleef), has an idea: send Snake Plissken, trained combat veteran and specialist at "getting in quiet," into the prison to find the President and rescue him. If he succeeds, Snake will be pardoned for every crime he's ever committed in the United States. And just to make sure that Snake fulfills his end of the bargain, Hauk has the prison's chief doctor implant 2 explosives in Snake's neck. If Snake does not return with the President in 22 hours, the explosives will go off, and, as Hauk wryly notes, "No more Snake Plissken."

So the die is cast. Snake goes in...but will he find the President alive? Even if he finds the President alive, will he get out in time to have the charges in his neck neutralized? Watch it and see.

This film is entertaining on many levels. It's an excellently crafted story, complete with social commentary and irony. It's a dystopic vision of what can happen when we trade too much of our liberty in exchange for what we think is security - definitely another resonant theme in our post-9/11 reality. We clamp down on individual rights/freedoms, supposedly in the name of protecting the collective - and leave society's undesirables to prey on each other in an asphalt jungle hell. But then what are we? According to this film, we're only slightly less inhuman than the criminals.

And the DVD contains various extras and bonuses which are sure to round out one's Escape from New York knowledge. This includes the documentary film "Return to Escape from New York," which details the making of the film. There are also commentary tracks by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell, as well as by producer Debra Hill.

Another real treat is the deleted bank robbery scene (the original first 10 minutes of the movie). This scene was cut from the final film because, in Carpenter's words on the commentary track, premiere audiences thought it diminished Snake's character by "humanizing" him too much. I actually found that humanization to be a good thing, and thought that the Bank Robbery sequence helped to set context for the story.

Along the lines of the deleted bank robbery sequence, another potential flaw of this movie, at least in my opinion, is that we never really know much about the characters or why they are the way they are. In other words, there's not much in the way of character development or backstory. For example, we know that Snake is sullen, embittered and in general concerned for nothing but his own self-preservation (though occasionally flashes of humanity do show and when it comes down to it, he does the right thing). But why?

I've read that Mike McQuay's novelization of the movie sketches out some history for Snake's character (and for the characters of Hauk, Brain, Maggie, Cabbie and the President as well). It would have been nice to see some of that in the film, with subplots, flashbacks, etc. It would've made the story richer.

But, regardless, what is there is great stuff. The cynicism and one-liners will bring a wry smile to your face, especially when they come from good old snarling Snake. Check it out.

Snake Plissken; Add Him To Your List of Movie Heroes
There's always something bizarre, in a very cool way, about watching a futuristic movie set in a year we've already passed. It's very eerie. Released in 1981, "Escape From New York" opens to explain that in 1988, Manhattan Island was transformed into a Maximum Security Prison, surrounded by a massive wall from every angle; guarded by police, with landmines at every exit route. The film is set in 1997, when terrorists bring down Air Force One, president and all, right into the heart of the forbidden island. Luckily, the president has survived thanks to his escape pod, and a rescue team is immediately dispatched in an effort to retrieve him and his special cargo. The president carries with him a cassette tape (very futuristic, eh?) of recorded information that could bring peace to the currently warring nations, but the time left with which to use it in is short. The rescue team finds the escape pod empty, and is soon approached by a loony prisoner with a grim message. The president has been taken captive by the A-Number One inmate of Manhattan Island, The Duke of New York. This is a job for... SNAKE PLISSKEN!

Yes, Snake Plissken: war hero; the youngest man ever to be decorated by the president; and recently, bank robber. Before being condemned to join the other inmates of Manhattan Island, Snake is made an offer. Go in, come back with the president and the tape before the clock runs out, and get a full pardon. But to sweeten the deal, another card is played. Snake is injected with two tiny capsules into his bloodstream. If he doesn't make it back in time to have the capsules neutralized, they will explode and rupture his arteries, killing him immediately. The only thing Snake really cares about anymore is himself, so now he has no choice. He must fly a glider into the heart of the city, locate the president and his tape, and together, they must escape from New York!

John Carpenter creates another masterpiece with "Escape From New York." The city is turned into a truly intimidating, downright frightening environment, with every kind of crazy one could think of. Kurt Russel as Snake Plissken, creates one more of those wonderful iconic anti-heroes the likes of Bruce Campbell's Ash and Rowdy Roddy Piper's Nada; self-serving, gruff, and full of great one-liners, but always doing the right thing when it comes down to it. The always fun Ernest Borgnine is great as Cabbie, Harry Dean Stanton is perfect as Brain, and Donald Pleasance and Isaac Hayes are also well cast, as was the entire film. Carpenter's usually haunting music runs throughout, and the adventure and action is non-stop. A must have for all fans of the sci-fi anti-hero genre and apocalyptic future films. Sorry I can't comment on the Special Edition DVD, but I currently only have the bare bones edition. It sounds great though, and I definitely want to get it. Mine does include the theatrical trailer though, and it's very cool. Love those creepy theatrical trailers for sci-fi films of the late 70s and early 80s. "Escape From New York" was followed by a sequel in 1996, "Escape From L.A." Some (maybe most) may find the sequel overly campy, with too many special effects and too much comedy. I have to confess that I slightly prefer L.A., probably for those very reasons. I'm not huge on camp, but it seemed to work well with the material. The plot was fairly similar though, and both movies have GREAT twist endings.

One of the most important films in my life
Carpenter's 2nd best. The fact that I'm a loser who does nothing but sit in a room all day and watch movies all day and has no friends and dreams of making movies of his own some day. This is the 2nd most inspiring movie in my life No.1 is Halloween. No 3. is Ghostbusters No 4. is The Thing. and No. 5 is Big Trouble In Little China. I'm not really sure what to say because words can't explain how much I love this movie but I wiil say this Incredible movie very ahead of it's time amazing story, amazing cast including western legends Lee Van Cleef and Ernest Borgnine and my favorite actor of all time Donald Pleasence, Amazing photography by Dean Cundey who I think is the best of all time, the best character of all time (besides Michael Myers) Snake Plissken, best Director of all time and I really really mean that, very funny ending just amazing and believe me I really really mean that too. I will Never forget it. Well I'm gonna go watch some more movies I'm thinking about watching Prince Of Darkness or maybe Halloween 4 The Return of Michael Myers well so long. ... Read more

Description

Hip-Hop Comedy.Malibu's most wanted rapper, Brad "B-Rad" Gluckman, maintains a hip-hop lifestyle that is seriously hindering his father's bid for governor.When his dad's campaign manager tries to neutralize the "problem" and teach him a lesson about what gangsta life is really like, B-Rad proves to the player-haters that he's for real and wins the affection of a business-savvy South Central hottie. ... Read more

Reviews (37)

Very Funny!!!
I was pleasantly surprised by "Malibu's Most Wanted"! It actually turned out to be a very funny movie. I was a little skeptical at first, but I can't deny that there were moments where I was laughing very hard.

The story revolves around Brad (a.k.a. B-rad), a rich kid from Malibu, who has completely taken on the thug lifestyle. Although he's never really left Malibu and gone to the real "streets" of L.A., he still feels that he's from the hood. Brad seems to be hurting his father's campaign to become governor, so two actors are hired to scare Brad "white". What happens to Brad, the actors, and an ambitious young lady will have you rolling!

Not only was Jamie Kennedy very good in his role as Brad, but I especially liked Taye Diggs' and Anthony Anderson's portrayals as actors trying to find their motivation for acting like thugs, which was very hard for the classically-trained characters.

Although the critics have been somewhat harsh while reviewing this movie, I would definitely suggest it. It's a cute movie that you can see when you want to have a good laugh. See for yourself!!![.]

This Sistah Loves Jamie Kennedy!
Jamie Kennedy is the bomb! Malibu's Most Wanted could have used some work but Kennedy plays the lead character with style and keeps you laughing when the film gets its worse. I've always liked Jamie since Scream because of his unique comedic style. He never ceases to amaze. In Malibu's Most Wanted Jamie gives the audience a lot to think about AND laugh at.

B-Rad ( Kennedy ) becomes the subject of a brutal joke. His father ( Ryan O'Neal ) inlists his campaign manager ( Blair Underwood ) to help him deal with his son. The problem is O'Neal's running for office and B-Rad's hip-hop antics are costing him votes. Thus, the kidnap plot of the year begins. And may I say it was a very funny and unique plot. We present Anthony Anderson and Taye Diggs ( two of the most popular black actors today ) playing actors. They know as much about the 'hood as B-Rad does so when they are hired to play gangstas and kidnap B-Rad the comedy really starts. They bring in a sistah, Shondra ( Regina Hall )to tempt B-Rad and she does just that. He ends up falling head over heels in love with her. Shondra finds herself attracted to him as well and why not? Jamie's hot whether he's white or black. I thought the transformation Anderson and Diggs did from actors to criminals was one of the funniest in the film but stands behind B-Rad hands down. Jamie rocked the house and though the film was cliched and stereotypical, you get a lot of laughs. I was hoping the film would stay original but it ended up being another Bringing Down The House, except Malibu's Most Wanted had more intelligence when it came to its audience. It didn't try to insult by having a bunch of black people do stupid things. What it did was educate in its own way showing that hip hop can truly be a culture of many flavors and can be used to bring people together. It may seem sappy but in the end you get a nice, multicultural comedy filled with interracial romance, rap stars, talking rats, bumping and grinding and all around fun. In the end B-Rad learns more about himself than he thought he would and so do we.

I think this film is worth a look and believe me, I love intelligent films. This film may not be the calibur of Hamlet but it wasn't supposed to be. I think people forget that this was a COMEDY, a film to watch to have a good time. You don't always have to have a film that's socially and politically correct. I'm a black woman and nothing in this film offended me. I appreciated the effort and loved the fresh spin on how blacks and whites relate to hip hop. This may not be your cup of tea and that's fine. But as Jamie Kennedy says in the film " Don't be hatin' " which is a fine line if you think about it. Especially if you haven't given the movie a true chance. I'd just watch it all over again for Jamie if nothing else. He is so fine. Give the film a chance and draw your own conclusions.

Malibutay
That is all there to say about B-RAD G(Jaime Kennedy) does a great job as a poser and believe me I hate posers that act like thugs and are not but he is very good.The police are afraid to go to his malls,everyone is strapped with a 9(9 Holes) and
other funny stuff.This movie is not racist infact it is anti white rappers.But B-Rad ends up shooting the place up in South Central.This movie thanks to B-Rad G and Governor hopefull Bill Gluckman who thanks for B-Rad is down for the B****S and the

H**S this movie is guarenteed to make yo laugh best of 03
Acting 10 Story 10 Direction 7 Action 9 Entertainment 10
Overall=46/50 This album gets a definant 4.5 stars very nice

Also recomended Steve Martin in Bringing down the house
This was a surprisingly great movie from Jamie Kennedy-Thank U

Extremely racist
Talk about taking a stereotype to the extreme! And someone please tell Anthony Anderson he cannot act is even less funny. Go away please.

Just barely three stars
Why would I watch a film like this? Well I have a teenage son and he and his friends think it's a crack up and have watched it many times over. I try and keep abreast on what they watch and like and so I gladly sat through this one twice.
I wouldn't own it, but my kids do and it's not all that bad of a flick. It's mostly a coming of age morality tale and the message it sends is mostly good and wholesome. It's probably not a good movie for the real young, but for most teens it's got nothing too bad and it's entertaining enough. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Take a stolen dinosaur skeleton and microfilm, throw in some sleuthingnannies and a Chinese secret agent, and let the adventure begin. This is alight, frothy family comedy that revolves around British Lord Southmere (DerekNimmo), who has smuggled a piece of microfilm containing "Lotus X" out of China.Once back in England, he is followed by Chinese spies. Lord Southmere escapesinto the Natural History Museum and hides the microfilm on a dinosaur skeleton.After doing so, he receives a rather nasty bump on the head that leaves himdazed. As luck would have it, his old nanny, Hettie (Helen Hayes), is alsovisiting the museum that day, but their reunion is short-lived. Lord Southmerehas barely enough time to tell Hettie that he hid the microfilm on a dinosaur,and that she must recover it, before he falls unconscious. Chinese intelligenceagent Hnup Wan (Peter Ustinov) captures Southmere. He also wants the microfilm.So the race is on between Hettie and Hnup Wan as to who will find the microfilmfirst. It's a wacky chase set in the backdrop of foggy London, England. Thestory is engaging and fun. But as this movie was shot in 1975, there are a fewthings that are somewhat unsettling, including making all the villains Chinese,and cardboard caricatures at that. --Peggy Maltby-Etra ... Read more

Reviews (3)

One of the funniest films of all time
On last viewing I noticed how one of the many running gags is the send-up of Nanny lore and wisdom. ("Nanny knows best - ring a bell?" Hnup Wan reminds Lord Southmere.) The script is excellent, and great British character actors fill minor roles (the home secretary! the detective team! the museum director!). Even Joan (Miss Marple) Hickson has a tiny non-speaking role. Main flaws are the cardboard and far too sunny Soho, and the casting of occidentals as Chinese with caricature accents and ridiculous eye make up. But somehow Peter Ustinov and Bernard Bresslaw (as Hnup Wan and his looming henchman) are essential. Enjoy!

Fun 70's Disney Comedy
One Of Our Dinasaurs Is Missing didn't quite enjoy the heights of success it was anticipated to by Disney. Its a shame as this is actually an enjoyable, fun comedy with a cast of stars that includes Peter Unistov, Helen Hayes, Derek Nimmo and Joan Sims, who was more famous for her appearances in the classic Carry On film series. A top secret formula is hidden by aristocrat Derek Nimmo inside the skeleton of a dinasaur at the natural History Museum in London. Peter Unistov is mildly amusing as a Chinese agent where as Helen Hayes and Joan Sims are leaders of a gang of unlikeley nannies that even Mary Poppins wouldn't join! Livening things up is a silly, though amusing car chase, lots of kung fu fighting and some flamboyantly over-the-top acting makes this an overly good and entertaining film thats defintley worth a look.

VERY FUNNY
this film is awesome. its one of those must see silly films. a group of nannies telling the grown men in this film what to do! a laugh a minute. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Pretty Good as vampire movies go
Let's face it, if you're a fan of the genre, you know that most vampire movies suck (no pun intended). This one doesn't. It's actually pretty good, especially if you like a view that's sympathetic to the vampires. The vampires in this movie are a subspecies of humans, with their own society and laws. Sounds sort of like Kindred, The Embraced, doesn't it? It even has the stylish old-world vampires at odds with the younger, rebel vampires. It also has the beautiful blonde human reporter who's in love with one of the vampires. The movie has some good twists, attractive women, cool settings...and it's entertaining.

I Love This Movie!
This is one of the few vampire movies I could watch again and again. It's not very gory but it's very entertaining nonetheless. It stars Jason London, and he plays his role as that of vampire-who-doesn'-t know-he's-a-vampire very well. Blood Ties has its very funny moments as well (I'm not sure they were supposed to be that funny...). Get this movie today. Happy watching!

Views more like a murder drama than a vampire movie...
Frankly, I'm surprised it even got an R rating. The story isn't half bad, except they break the cardinal rule that vampires can't exist in the daylight. In most ways they don't even seem like vampires--just a strange branch of humanity who can feed on blood when riled enough. Anyway, don't expect any nudity. What scenes there are could probably be boadcast without censorship, in my opinion. The violence must be what makes it restricted, but again compared to most vampire movies of today, the violence is very tame.

If you're looking for a borderline R vampire flick to watch with teen members of the family, this is it. Enjoy the tale. But, hardcore horror fans will think this extremely disappointing....

"Only Revenge Is Sweeter Than Blood"
"Blood Ties" begins in Anchor, Texas, where three S.C.A.V. (Southern Coalition Against Vampirism) members murder a teen's parents and shoot the young man (Cody Puckett, played by Jason London) with a crossbow before setting the house on fire. Luckily he escapes--or rather, the Amish-looking trio allow him to get away so they can follow him to "the others".

Wounded, 17-year-old Cody seeks the rich, corrupted Uncle Eli Chelarin (Patrick Bauchau) in Long Beach, California. Here Cody meets a few other relatives: Butcherbird "Butch" Vlad (Salvator Xuereb), Eli's rebellious nephew and the apparent leader of the Shrikes (the young troublemakers of the family, which Cody becomes a part of); Harry Martin, aka Harlevon Martinesque (uncertain spelling; played by Harley Venton), another one of Eli's nephews, as well as a reporter for the 'Long Beach Post-Gazette' and Cody's "guardian"; and Celia (Michelle Johnson), Eli's younger halfsister and lover. She's also Harry's occasional lover, which, by the way, if you hadn't noticed, makes her his half-aunt. Grossed out? Then you may not want to watch this one, because there's more incest involving cousins. Nothing graphic though.

In the movie, Harry is one of the leading characters who is trying to track down these "vampire" hunters before they can hurt anyone else. His semi-assistant is D.A. Amy Lauren (Kim Johnston Ulrich), who had tried to put Butch in jail at the beginning of "Blood Ties", but failed because of Eli's monetary charm. Amy's more of a blond-haired-blue-eyed sexual distraction for Harry, though, than any real help.

Although "Blood Ties" is essentially a vampire/horror movie, it doesn't rely on fangs or other vampire myths at all. It's more of a tongue-in-cheek soap opera drama with a hint of vampirism that's more racially charged than scary. This is noticeable in how the word "vampire" is considered a derogatory term, even though that's what they are; "Carpathian" is the appropriate term. Another example of racial undertones in this movie is when the redheaded Western Regional S.C.A.V. member (Grace Zabriskie) spouts off how terrible it is to have to sit with "one of them" on the bus or be with one in the same room. She continues by saying the "vampires" sole purpose is to steal other people's spouses, jobs, parking spaces, etc. Concerning "vampires" it sounds absurd, I know, but realize there's more to this movie than just cursory blood and guts, although the violence is quite tame and nonexistent compared to today's standards. There is some bloodletting, but no graphic vein-ripping, limb-tearing scenes here.

Sure, it's pretty cheesy at times too, i.e., the choreographed dancing of the Shrikes, but "Blood Ties" wasn't meant to be a serious film. It had aired back in May of 1991 on Fox as a pilot, but apparently it didn't take as a series. I remember watching it back then and pretty much fell in love with it at first viewing since it combines my two favorite genres (horror and comedy) and spotlights "vampires" (my favorite type of monster). I simply can't wait for the DVD version to come out this June!

Another fresh twist on the vampire theme
Excuse me -- not "vampire"! That's an ugly word, a slur. These folks preferred to be called "Carpathian -Americans," thankyouverymuch.

And most of what you've heard about ... Carpathians ... is untrue. Wild, exaggerated, ugly tales. (Except the thing about liking the taste of blood. That's true. But that was long ago. They're civilized now. Didn't _your_ ethnic ancestors do some pretty gross things hundreds of years ago?)

"Blood Ties" looks at an extended clan of, uh, Carpathian-Americans as just another group of immigrants, living in Long Beach, CA. There's the first generation -- conservative, with strong ties to the old country and the old ways. The second generation -- assimilationist, more "American" in their thinking. And the young third generation -- rediscovering their heritage, militantly proud of it, and a little bit spoiled.

These immigrants, however, are also victims of prejudice and hate ... which turns deadly ... There are "vampire hunters" abroad, and they are the bad guys.

Suspenseful, sexy, sometimes humorous and maybe even thought-provoking. I don' t think this was exactly a big-budget movie, but it was very entertaining. I wish it could have become a TV series. And I loved the "Carpathian" music -- especially the tune that plays at the beginning and ending. I wish I could get a recording of it. ... Read more

Description

Agatha Christie and an all-star cast make foul deeds fun when a malevolent matriarch is murdered on a 1930s Holy Land tour. Starring Peter Ustinov (as Hercule Poirot) Lauren Bacall and John Gielgud. Year: 1988 Director: Michael Winner Starring:Peter Ustinov, Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Great
This is another Christie classic.There are great performances by Peter Ustinov,Lauren Bacall,Piper Laurie,Hayley Mills,and John Gielgud.Another great movie with Ustinov as Poirot.I recomend this.

Peter Ustinov's last as "Poirot".
After the success of Death On The Nile (1978) and Evil Under The Sun (1982) and three tv-movies Thirteen At Dinner (1985-tv), Dead Man's Folly (1986-tv), Murder In Three Acts (1986-tv), Peter Ustinov returns as Belgian Detective, Hercule Poirot for the sixth and final time in this motion picture, Appointment With Death (1988). Piper Laurie is a wealthy, well-to-do woman at the reading of a will by her attourney (David Soul, original "Starsky & Hutch" tv series) of her dead husband. There are two wills. One will means less money to the widow and the step-children get an amount. In an act of blackmail, the attourney is forced to destroy one of the wills. Why does this woman put her "medicine" in a poison glass bottle. David Soul, the attourney, is having a romance with one of the widow's adult step-children. Cast also includes: Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, John Gielgud, Hayley Mills (The Moonspinners), Jenny Seagrove, Nicholas Guest. Filmed in Israel, London and Italy.

He's bacccccccccck
I really enjoyed "Evil Under the Sun" and "Death on the Nile". However, this one was a very big disappointment. Not much of a story, not a good cast, poorly written with a horrible sound track. There was no suspense and no characters I really care about (except the doctor and Gielgud who would be interesting if he just stood there). It was hard to stay with it but I did. Ustinov looks tired and the rest look bored. Sorry to say, unless you are a collector who wants all of the film Ustinov endeavors (as I did), you will not be missing anything if you dont buy it.

The Murder of a Matronly Matriarch
The matriarch of a brood of ineffectual children lords it over them and bullies them almost beyond enduring. They put up with their stepmother because their father's will left everything to her (or did it?) and the children are such wimps they cannot support themselves. Did I mention that the matriarch was once a matron in a women's prison? By the time ...gets bumped off, the viewer will be ready to cheer. But every child has a motive (the money), the means (access to mom's medicine for the overdose), and the opportunity (nobody has an alibi). There are even a few bystanders with ample motive. Not to fear, the redoubtable Hercule Poirot is on the scene to untie this whodunnit's Gordian Knot. He eavesdrops on everyone's conversations, rakes everyone over the coals with his scathing interrogations, and handily exposes the killer.

This all happens in the Middle East, as Poirot vacations in the Holy Land. The environs of Jerusalem provide some beautiful background, and the viewer visits the dusty digs at Qumran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The movie follows the book pretty well, but I was disappointed that the producer moved the scene of the murder from Petra to Qumran. The beautiful architecture of Petra would have made for more satisfying visuals than the excavation holes of Qumran. Remember the fabulous building in the side of the mountain from "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade?" That's Petra.

Peter Ustinov serves as a passable Poirot, but he's too big and too unkempt to capture the charm of Christie's Poirot. David Suchet, star of the A&E Poirot series, sets the standard against which all other video Poirots must suffer. Lauren Bacall almost stole the show with her rendition of an American-born M.P. who tried to out-English the native born English.

poorly acted adaptation
Ustinov doesn't look remotely like Christie's Poirot, but never mind that. It is the ensemble cast that trashes this film, a group of summer actors who read their lines like they are reading graffiti on the rocks. The figure that should provide the menace of the book -- the evil Mrs. Boynton -- is laughable.

Skip it. Wait for a more modern adaptation or just reread one of the classic Christies. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

A Filmmakers Dream Project
In 1885, the Lumiere Brothers perfected a hand-cranked movie camera that moved the world. This 100th year anniversary takes forty filmmakers to task with the same camera to produce a film less than a minute. It's not as interesting in its results as one might have hoped. It was a huge challenge and few really completed something of interest. Of those, David Lynch, Patrice Leconte and Alaine Corneau are the most intriguing, while well known directors like Spike Lee and Liv Ullmann are less so. However, this is subjective. Many of the directors are asked simple questions with the hopes of profound answers. "Why do you film" and "Is cinema immortal" get answers as mundane as 'climbing a mountain because it is there'. Film students will, however, be fascinated with this project and historians will marvel that an invention so old can still be of artistic use. For the average viewer, this 88 minute documentary might seem boring, but at the very least, it is historic.

Cinemaphiles will love this film
As a tribute to the spirit of motion pictures, Lumiere & Company is a tremendous achievement and a sublime experience for true cineastes who are fortunate to find a copy on DVD. Produced in celebration of the centennial of what is considered to be the first motion picture camera, invented by the Lumiere Brothers of France, the approach is similar to asking the most accomplished electric guitar player to go acoustic.

The producers asked a collection of international film directors to create a 52-second piece each using the same technology as the Lumieres did more than one hundred years ago, 52 seconds being the amount of time it takes for one spool of film to run through their camera. Therefore, each of the segments is done in one take. All the directors are well respected, but among the more well-known participants are David Lynch, Wim Wenders, John Boorman, Spike Lee, James Ivory, Zhang Yimou and Liv Ullman.

Each segment is intriguing. While the results are understandably uneven, the pleasure of watching this film is in discovering the remarkable diversity in the working minds of motion picture's prominent practitioners. The DVD allows for free roaming and alternative selection of each short film. Given the nearly limitless possibilities available in the modern film industry, it's worth noting how the directors make use of their limited time and yet still reveal their own styles.

The subject matter ranges from miniature narratives to political statements and social documents. The locations are as varied as the directors themselves, from Bedford-Stuyvesant to Hiroshima. Although this film may seem a bit obscure and tedious to the non-enthusiast, historians and die-hard cinema fans will marvel not only at how limitations forcibly create ingenious ideas to spring forth, but also at how well the Lumiere camera still functions.

The DVD release also offers production notes, a trailer, French language, and English subtitles.

GOOD GOOD VERY GOOD
THIS IS GREAT WORK,GOOD GOOD GOOD VERY GOOD,YOU MUST TO SEE

A gem.
Lumiere and Company (Sarah Moon, 1995)

No, Lumiere and Company is not some sort of obscure sequel to Disney's Beauty and the Beast. (And where I got that idea, which I had for years, is completely beyond me.) Instead, it's Sarah Moon's third film, and a kind of global version of her second, Contriere l'oubli. Moon took the original camera manufactured by the Lumiere brothers, set some ground rules, and asked forty world-famous directors to shoot a fifty-two second scene with it. She then made a documentary incorporating behind-the-scenes footage with the short pieces themselves.

The result is a wonderful look into the mind of the filmmaker as he goes about the filmmaker's art. Each of the filmmakers does something completely different, and each answers the five questions put to him by Moon so disparately that the overall effect is one of a sort of comprehensive feeling about how films get made; one that no one director would subscribe to, but all embrace.

The short films themselves are directed by such luminaries as Costa-Gavras, Spike Lee, David Lynch, Liv Ullmann, Lasse Hallstrom, and many others who are easily recognizable; the trick was to get Moon, the relative neophyte, to create a wrapper that is the equal of the movies therein. And she did so, admirably. The is a fine little gem of a film, and well worth seeing. **** ½

Less Is More
What an intriguing idea. Take several well known directors used to working with today's state of the art equipment and see what they can do with the first practical motion picture camera. And to make it more of a challenge, give them less than a minute to work with. The results are naturally uneven. How could they not be? I won't name names but even the weakest entries have something to offer while the best lend credence to the old adage "less is more". The viewer will ultimately have to decide for him or herself which is which. As a longtime admirer of silent films I found the voiceovers during the segments rather distracting in the manner of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. One of the rules should have called for no comments made during filming to be allowed on the soundtrack. Let us supply our own voices to what we see. All in all an interesting concept that is well executed and worth seeing for any serious student of film. The DVD format is ideal for this type of omnibus film as you can easily select the segments that you want to see again and again. You should also check out the LUMIERE BROTHERS FIRST FILMS on DVD to see what was originally done with this remarkable piece of equipment. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Nightmare on Elm Street
Very scary movie that first introduced us to the skillful guy who kills you in your dreams, Freddy Kreuger. This movie was the film that launched many stars' careers, including Johnny Depp who does an excellent job here. The script is written for absolute maximum suspense and terror. The killings were very original and neat, although many of them were quite graphic. However, the graphic violence is something that perhaps made the film what it was - a fright film that wants to scare you as bad as it can, and for the most part it suceeds. Like alot of people have said, this and NEW NIGHTMARE were pretty much the only decent films in the series.

great scary movie from wes craven!
I find this movie very well done, it has a lot of scenes that would probably at least make you a little bit scared. This film has good acting by Heather Langenkamp(Nancy Thomson) and Johnny Depp(Glenn) and by Robert Englund(freddy). If you are in the mood to watch a horror film then this is one film that you should not miss

This flick began one of the 80's greatest villians
While Michael Myers and Jason Voorhees went around killing and slashing their way through horror, Freddy Krueger took a different approach. He's a phantom, ghost like apparatus that is all too real. The ultimate BoogyMan. When you fall asleep, he stalks you. If he kills you in your sleep, you never wake up, cause your dead. This original idea went over well and audiences ate it up. The sequels were hit and miss, but always there was the razor glove, Freddy's classic one liners, and kill scenes that would do Jason and Michael proud. This is the flick that started it all.

Awsome + Excellent.
This movie rocked!! It was quiet scary and did show lots of blood. No doubt one of the best "Nightmare on Elm Street" movies. If your looking for a good night in to watch scary movies, definetly watch this. The acting was great and even the special effects looked good for its time, so this is the plot: Nacy Thompson, a teenager of Elm Street has begun to have terrible nightmares, one with a mad man with blades at the end of his fingers and horribly burnt skin. Whats even wierder is her friends are having them too. Soon Nancys friend Tina dies a gruesome and misterious death, so Nancy tracks it right to the source: Fred (Freddy) Krueger. Now the psycho is after her and the rest of her friends, no parent believes her so she is the only one who can stop him.Can she keep herself awake just in time to formulate a plan to stop Freddy? or is she and her friends doomed? Buy it or rent it, which ever one just do it and do it now!!.

A legend for its time--STILL pretty scary
This was a breakout film in its day and scary scary scary... A villian who gets you in your sleep??? In your nightmares!!! Tremendous premise, great performances and awesome suspense. Scary scary... even today ... Read more

Description

Poiroit investigates the murder of a man, whose wife claims that he was killed by a woman who looks just like her. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Peter Ustinov returns as "Poirot".
Peter Ustinov returns for the third time as Belguim Detective, Hercule Poirot, since his portrail in DEATH ON THE NILE (1978) and EVIL UNDER THE SUN (1982). Thirteen At Dinner is a 1985 tv-movie. The cast includes Faye Dunaway and Lee Horsley (Matt Houston tv series). Poirot is interviewed by talk show host David Frost, who has just interviewed Lee Horsley as "Brian". A surprise on the talk show is Horsley's co-star Jane Wilkenson (played by Faye Dunaway). But after a few dramatic lines, we find out it is an impersonator. The real Jane Wilkenson (also played by Faye Dunaway) is at home watching this live on television. She invites them to her house for dinner, including the impersonator. The real Jane Wilkenson is also known as Lady Edgeway by marriage. She wants a divorce from her husband. later that night, Horsley confides to Poirot a strange woman has been following him. The next morning, we find out that Lady Edgeway's husband has been murdered last night. On the movie set, we se Lee Horsley in his "Matt Houston" role (listen for the in-joke). Horsley thinks Lady Edgeway did it and , of course, must be replaced on the movie.
Folks, if you do not have this one figured out in less than 10 minutes, you were into your ice cream. Okay, I'll give you 24 minutes. If you are too good, you have been watching "Columbo".
Followed by, with Peter ustinov as "Poirot": Dead man's Folly (1986-tv), Murder in Three Acts (1986-tv), Appointment With Death (1988).

'Thirteen At Dinner' will make you rush for dinner!
Horrible! Completely and utterly horrible! Horribly horrible!!
Why did they make this movie? For passing time? Wouldn't they rather have read a book, or gone jogging?
-->The negative aspects:
1. A cabbage placed in place of each actor, would have acted more impressively!
2. The sound recording makes you wonder why silent films are catching on again!
3. The dullness and dreariness are very genuine!
4. The music (meant to be eerie and have a mysterious air) really makes one scream...for other reasons, though!
5. Peter Ustinov (!)
6. The sets are very convincing...convincingly lousy!
7. The plot has been shown so clearly that one could easily mistake this movie for Bambi! (no offense meant for Walt Disney).
Please note: This list could continue endlessly!

-->The positive aspects:
1. A true depressent for one in extremely high spirits!

Poor actors, bad script from bad choice of book to dramatise
This dramatisation is based on Agatha Christie's book "Lord Edgeware Dies" where the murder suspect is obvious but the evidence and alibis etc puts her in the clear and casts suspicions on other characters.

Readers would have immediately jumped to the conclusion that if actress Jane Wilkinson was seen to have entered the study of her husband Lord Edgeware the night he was murdered, at the same time she was supposed to be miles away attending a dinner party of 13, then her look-alike Charlotta must have been involved.

What made the book worth reading was how Poirot untangled the web of deceit to produce hard evidence to convict the murderer and clear the innocent. And that is something that would have been difficult to transpose from the printed pages into the screen.

Not impossible, but it would take an experienced team, with lots of patience into the art and a willingness to extend the show beyond the 80 minutes or so.

Unfortunately, the producing team failed to do just that and as a result, the entire film was a flop (I didn't buy this video, borrowed it from the library). Another unforgivable error was that while the book had been published in 1933, the film producers set it in 1970s-80s. Viewers can immediately sense the awkwardness, even those who had never read the book would feel it too. Crucial dialogues from the novel was thoroughly mutilated in the script or in the setting. It is not impossible to dramatise Christie's work on a low budget, some of her stories would have been just right, but this is not one of them.

Despite the unfaultable performances of the cast - Peter Ustinov, Faye Dunaway and Lee Horsley, the whole film was a disgrace, far from the fantastic work done by Peter Ustinov as Poirot in Death on the Nile and Evil Under The Sun. I suppose the cast regretted ever making this one, but it's the producers who ought to be shot.

Has Dunaway Done Away with Her Husband?
Lady Edgeware (played by Faye Dunaway) is estranged from her husband and wants a divorce. If she can't have a divorce, she says she'll just have to kill him. Shortly after making this pronouncement, Lord Edgeware is murdered. Lord Edgeware's servants testify that Lady Edgeware drove up to the home in a cab, walked into Lord Edgeware's study, and left after a brief period of time in the study. Shortly afterward, the servants find Lord Edgeware dead in his study.

This is as true-to-life a murder scenario as ever came from the pen of Agatha Christie. In 27 years of prosecuting and defending murder cases, I've had several that followed this plotline.

But Christie isn't going to allow things to be that simple. It seems that twelve unimpeachable witnesses are all prepared to testify that Lady Edgeware was with them at a formal dinner at exactly the time of the murder. Poirot finally unravels the mystery, and in the denouement proves quite satisfying.

Peter Ustinov is an unlikely Poirot. He's too large, too unkempt, too greyheaded, and not nearly foppish enough. David Suchet, of the A&E series, has become the archetypical Poirot against whom all other Poirots must suffer in comparison. It is all the more amusing that in this show, Suchet plays an unconvincing and unsympathetic Chief Inspector Japp. It is a wonder how he could get Poirot so right and Japp so wrong. Faye Dunaway's characterization of Lady Edgeware is right on the money. She plays the part with gusto and is a delight to behold. Watching her, I could not help but remember her excellent portrayal of an affluent murder suspect on a "Columbo" episode from the 70's.

This made-for-TV movie suffers in comparison with the A&E series starring Suchet, but mediocre Poirot is far, far better than no Poirot at all.

Apples and oranges
I will not dispute all of the negative reviews on this film. However that is like picking on someone for having red hair. This movie was not made or intended to be one of those beautiful epics with dazzling color and wide screen. It is a made for TV movie. It does follow the book closely. The few variations were probably due to time constraints in getting the information out. I have to admit I also was about to press the fast forward button. I do not think thy will ever try to put Poirot in the 80's again. What you missed was David Suchet playing Inspector Japp with the worst English accent I ever heard. So what is his real voice? And Faye Dunaway did not dominate every scene. The Colonel Hastings (Jonathan Cecil) was to pansy to be in any army I know. Still it had its moments; like when Hercule turned to Japp and said "Get used to the fact that wherever you go, it is on our way." And by the end of the movie you get over the initial shocks and can enjoy it for it's self. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Scenery and star help Blind Man's Bluff see daylight
Gosh! It's been a while since I last saw this made-for-t.v. movie, so I'll give it the old college try with the review. Journeyman actor extraordinaire Robert Urich stars in an unusual role. Urich's usually casted as a smarmy cop or as the sensitive everyday man in extraordinary situations. But this time he's in the title role as a blind man whose friends and collegues are turning up dead around him. He goes from bystander to ameteur sleuth to prey. Trouble is, he's blind. Makes for a nice twist on the whodunnit routine. Ron Perlman and Lisa Eilbacher are okay as a couple of Urich's close friends who may be next on the killer's hit list. The most impressive thing I remember about Blind Man's Bluff was its unusually good production values (for a t.v. movie). I believe it was shot in and around Vancouver, British Columbia (a lovely city you don't see everyday). And the music was good too. But it was a made-for-t.v. flick, and I remember being bored with the pacing of the story and the number of cannon fodder extras. All in all, I thought it was an above average, but not superior, whodunnit. ... Read more