Description

Secret warehouses, basement bomb factories, fake passports. . . It took a lot of work to plan the bombing of the World Trade Center. But under the noses of the FBI and the NYPD, a plan has been devised that will stun the nation, and take the extremist murderers on the PATH TO PARADISE. Based on the shocking true story. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Parallels with Attack on September 11, 2001
This engrossing movie examines the circumstances leading up to and the aftermath of the badly botched 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. By focusing more on the characters, both good and bad, than on the explosion itself, the film is able to avoid becoming another disaster movie.

It has strong parallels with the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and I found it moving. I cried several times while watching it. Highly recommended.

A Great Movie that Eerily Foreshadows the events of 9/11/01
A couple of weeks ago I was at my local video store and saw this movie on the shelf and decided to rent it. This is a very good movie told in very good detail! I learned a lot about the first attack that I never knew and was very shocked at the ending when Ramsi Yusef told the FBI agent escorting him back to NYC for his trial that this basically was not over yet. That really shook me up!... My bottom line is that this a true story movie told in very true to life detail. If you are curious about the first bombing and the events leading up to it, I highly recommend this movie!

Indeed a wakeup call unheeded
An HBO production, amazing actors, superb dialog. A bomb-making
expert from Iraq attempts entry to the U.S. without a visa. He states he's leaving Iraq for political asylum in the U.S. The INS agent questions him a bit, looks over his fishy looking passport. She approaches her superior with the asylum application
and urges that "he should be detained". "Jails are full. You want to take him home?" her boss retorts. The film shows just how these terrorists jumped through about any and every loophole in the system under the guise of religious freedom. Bomb-making right in the apartment. Operating right under the nose of the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. Anti-American propaganda tapes found in an apartment which, truth be told, is not against the law. And of course there was the chilling prophetic line at the end: "Next time we'll bring them both down." Absolutely worth watching again and again.

Must see 1997 movie re: 1993 WTC Bombing with re: 9-11-01 ??
This movie blew me away!!!!! All Americans for AMERICA MUST SEE THIS at least once! It does show how vulnerable we are even as a superpower! Don't wanna give the movie away BUT the last statement muttered from the terrorist "Next time we'll bring both towers down!" gave us some eerie chills!! Nuff said.

Unbelievable
I had seen this movie before and specially bought it for the last scene. It's very ironic and somewhat scary to know that a movie dialoque can actually turn into a Catastrophe.

I have put up the ending clip which is very astonishing on Kazaa, search for "shockingly rare", (without the quotes) and you will see what I mean ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This highly entertaining update of the 1960s television series stars Harrison Ford as Dr. Richard Kimble, a man wrongly convicted of the murder of his wife, and Tommy Lee Jones as the federal marshal who pursues him after Kimble escapes during a train wreck. Director Andrew Davis (Under Siege) oversees some dazzling stunts and effects: the train accident alone makes the film worth seeing. But the real draw is the film's complement of strong personalities in Ford and Jones, each playing intrepid characters out to get their man. This is one of those rare films where everything completely clicks. The DVD release includes optional full-screen and widescreen presentations, cast bios, Dolby sound, optional French soundtrack, and optional French, Spanish, or English subtitles. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (126)

Fugitive is Dr. Richard Kimball: Go get this movie.
If I were stranded on a desert island and all I could have was my abysmally sparse movie collection, I would make sure "The Fugitive" was in it. Thankfully, it is. This is one of the most entertaining and engaging movies ever, far superior to a lot of movies playing these days. For the few of you who don't know the plot, I'll run it past you without spoiling much...

The story revolves around a Chicago surgeon named Dr. Richard Kimball (Harrison Ford) who is convicted of murdering his wife (Sela Ward). He pleads innocent, claiming that a one-armed man committed the heinous crime (the opening sequence, showing the murder in flashback style, is chillingly realistic). Well, no one believes the good doctor's alibi, and he is sentenced to death. However, after his prison bus crashes into a train, he escapes back to Chicago to find the murderer, while keeping away from US Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his team of deputies.

Having never seen the old TV series, this movie was nevertheless fantastic. The thrills just keep coming, as well as the tongue-in-cheek humor, courtesy of Tommy Lee Jones and Joe Pantoliano (as Cosmo, Sam's deputy), who really steal the show in a lot of scenes. The screenplay is obviously very sharp. The train-and-bus wreck will take your breath away, as will the waterfall sequence. Aside from these action scenes, it's great that this movie is shot in Chicago, one of the greatest cities in North America. Sorry, personal bias, I loved Chicago when I visited a couple years back. The acting is very well done, and the characters are very three-dimensional. Sometimes it feels like you're watching a modern "Les Miserables". Nice transition from action thriller to action-mystery as the film enters its second half. If you follow the plot, which is fairly easy to keep up with, the ending will shock you. All in all, "The Fugitive" is definitely worth the bang for your hard-earned buck. If you haven't seen this wonderful piece of movie-making, do so ASAP.

Quality-wise, the DVD is pretty good. Director Andrew Davis does a cool little documentary on how the train wreck was filmed.

MOVIE-10/10
DVD EXTRAS-8/10

Ford hits another home run
Ditto what that other reviewer said: this is another great Harrison Ford vehicle. They really DON'T make movies like this any more. It needs not typical DVD additions, not cut scenes, not trailers, or interviews.

Back in the day, Wednesday morning school was dominated by the discussion of the latest episode of "The Fuge" from the night before. This is the only film I can think of which actually did justice to the classic television show from which it sprang.

Tommy Lee Jones is a fantastic U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard. He appears not to be obsessed with the capture of Dr. Kimble (as was his television predecessor, portrayed by Barry Morse). Nonetheless, we get the feeling that he brings the same determination to every case he has. Ford once again is the "everyman" (if a doctor who gets sent to prison for killing his wife and then escapes can be thought of in those terms) who prevails through all manner of adversities. [As an aside, I wonder how well Ford could stretch himself - could he ever be convincing as a real bad guy, like a John Malkovich or Anthony Hopkins?]

This movie has a lot of pluses. It is a great story, updated from one of the sixties' best shows. Sure, there were great stunts. The bus crash/train wreck was stunning (made even more so by seeing Ford almost comically hobbling along, trying to outrun the carnage while wearing leg shackles).

However, it is the competition between the two dogged adversaries Jones and Ford that makes this work. They are one real pair of incredibly strong personalities- (and screen presences) Nothing better than the sequence in the dam early on with Ford protesting his innocence and Jones equally sincere reply "I don't care". Both smart, even though Jones hides his behind a gruff and self-deprecating exterior. The good and decent Doc must be determined (after all, it is his can on the line), but seeing him persevere - hiding his own persona in a hospital, evading the police while tracking down the one armed man is intense, even though we know the outcome.

Great editing; especially when we think the Marshals are getting close to the big bust, and we find out that they are actually making a collar across town.

This one is a winner.

A classic action thriller
What makes "The Fugitive" such a successful and superior film is that it knows what it is: an action/mystery film. It makes no attempt to make itself bigger or more intellectual than it is (as did the American version of "The Vanishing"). Harrison Ford, surprisingly underplaying the role of Dr. Kimball--others might have overworked his grief and angst--turns in a brilliant performance. And the always reliable Tommy Lee Jones does an icy, sparkling job as Kimball's persuer, US Marshal Sam Gerard. So good a performance that he earned a well-deserved Oscar for it.

The other key to the movie's success is Andrew Davis' dazzling direction. He keeps the pace frenetic for a good deal of the film, and the pot is always kept boiling. Close calls and intense chases keep the tension and suspense at fever pitch. "The Fugitive" will endure for a long time as a classic action thriller.

I did not kill my wife
That is well known sentence from this action hit which put an Oscar in hands of Tommy Lee Jones. Somebody killed dr. Richard Kimble's (Ford) wife, but all clues are against him. After all, who can be stupid enough to say that - One arm man did it?! His escape after bus accident will be his second chance to proove his innocents. But, that will be damn hard. Especially because after him is federal marshal who "doesn't care" about anything, except to bring the fugitive back (by any costs). Kimble will discover that he was in strong net made of lies and conspiracy, and that his only way out is to find proofes to clear his name and bring killer in front of justice. Jones supposed to be a good guy, but you'll hate him all the movie (well, it's not his falt, he's just good actor). Harrison is great, older, but still in good shape. Since Indiana Jones, he never has better role than this. You'll be right next to him, trying to solve the puzzle, hoping that he will succeed to find who ruined his life. Excellent story, good locations and ideas. Definetly collection material.

Train Wreck of Action
This is one of the best-crafted action/suspense films I've ever seen. I've viewed this many many times and have been rewarded each time by picking up on different subtle nuances.
Every element of this film works in unison and are what make this a great film and give it the punch that it has. There's the story which is as finely crafted as they get, a cast that couldn't have been any better (and boy do the actors deliver in their performances), tight pacing, great photography, and some unbelievable effects.

This is a modern masterpiece! ... Read more

Reviews (60)

The best airborne action film since Airport
I don't watch a lot of "contemporary action" flicks, but this one is really good. To me, its scenario of a jetliner being used as a weapon of terror has an eerie prescience that lends a touch of horror and plausibility that its makers, back in 1996, probably didn't anticipate. Kurt Russell plays Dr. Donald Grant, a think-tanker who, through a series of plot twists, finds himself, along with a technical engineer (Oliver Platt) and a special-forces team (John Leguizamo, Joe Morton, B. D. Wong, Whip Hubley), secretly boarding a 747 that has been hijacked by a fanatic Islamic terrorist (David Suchet) and his band--most of whom don't have a clue about his secret agenda, a nerve-gas bomb whose presence Grant has deduced from his studies of the perp. Their mission: find and disarm the bomb and take down the terrorists before they can slaughter the entire East Coast. With the help of a stewardess (Halle Berry) and a plainclothes air marshal (Richard Riehle), they do both, only to find that the pilots have been killed and Grant, who's never flown anything bigger than a single-engine Cessna, must get the damaged liner down safely. The tension keeps ratcheting up steadily as complications are tossed into the Americans' path: the loss of their leader (Steven Seagal) and much of their equipment, an injured team member (who happens to be its bomb expert), the discovery of failsafes on the bomb and a sleeper agent aboard who can set it off manually, and a flight of combat jets prepared to shoot the plane down. Even after you've viewed it once, you'll still find yourself jamming your foot on the brake in the last few minutes as the crippled liner makes a long terrifying slide through ranks of parked small craft and into an earthen berm. A wild ride and one that any lover of nonstop action should enjoy.

A lot of fun if you don't take it too seriously
A group of fanatic middle east terrorists hijacks a US-bound airliner, holding its crew and passengers hostage and demanding the release of their leader - a fearless mastermind of terror brazenly seized by US special forces in a daylight raid. We soon learn, from a brilliant civilian analyst named Grant (Kurt Russel) that the hostage bid is actually a clever smokescreen - that the airliner is actually loaded with a highly potent nerve gas, perhaps enough to end life as we know it on America's east coast. Without any proof, the US government has the choice blasting the plane into oblivion to end a threat it could never prove, or allowing the plane to reach US airspace, where it will disperse its deadly cargo. Instead, a tricky plan is chosen - use a stealth transport with a special airlock to insert a team of special forces onto the plane, to retake it and disarm the bomb.

Up until then, "ED" is content to be a generic, enjoyable yet eventually forgettable action movie involving airplanes and "reel bad arabs" (Hey, I didn't make that up - some guy wrote a book about stereotyping arabs, and somebody else recommended that instead of this flick, as if the audience of one and the other's readership overlap that much). This flick came out in March - not quite the time when people are lining up at the box office. Though not a bad movie, it somehow manages to approach what we all love as the "so bad, we love it" category. Something funny happens midway through though - you realize that you're watching a parody (probably unintentional, but why spoil the fun?) with plenty of violence, but still one that isn't quite right enough to take seriously. Steven Seagal plays the intrepid head of the special forces, but he's dispatched early on, leaving his team to shoulder the task of ending the flying seige. You really know something's wrong when, while describing the plan, Seagal suddenly but calmly tells the military brass and the political heads involved that what he really wants is Kurt Russel's character (tuxedo and all) to come along for the trip. The script suggests he's laughing inside at Russell who'll have to face these bloodthirsty terrorists alone, but he's more likely laughing at us. The flick lards it up further in its choice of miscasting - adding BD Wong and John Leguizamo in as footsoldiers in Seagal's crack outfit. Finally, in what may be a nod to all of those "Airport" flicks of the 70's (okay, so there were only 3 of them), the flick climaxes in the single least-convincing airplane crash-landing ever depicted on the modern screen. (This is perhaps the strongest proof that the flick was intentionally parodying action movies: years earlier, a cosmetically altered 707 was used to brilliantly and chillingly simulate a crash landing 747 in "White Nights"; another 707 was dispatched in speed - certainly they could have done more than used models ala something by Sid and Marty Croft) I'm conservative, but ED hadn't had me scamper around frothing about "arab terrorists", nor did I look at this flick in a new light because of September 11. (I've seen far worse arabs in other films, while this one hints that most of the hijackers were out of the loop about the plan to dump nerva gas on the east coast.) Instead, it's a welcome diversion from more self-conciously serious action movies, even if you'll forget most of it (even Donald Trump's ex, Marla Maples as a flight attendant, or the late JD Walsh as a senator) the next day.

Excecutive Decision (1996)
Director: Stuart Baird
Cast: Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, Len Cariou, B.D. Wong, Marla Maples Trump.
Running Time: 135 minutes.
Rated R for violence and language.

Although it is a formula that has been used time and time again, "Excecutive Decision" succeeds just as well, if not better, than the "hostage-takes-over-plane-so-action-hero-has-to-come-to-rescue" genre predecessors because of wonderful performances, an in-depth and enjoyable script, and top-tier direction from rookie Baird. Very simliar to 1992's "Passenger 57" staring Wesley Snipes, but with more emphasis on the supporting cast instead of one central star.

Kurt Russell stars as a United States government expert on Middle East terrorism who finds himself out of his office and on a die-or-die mission with gung ho commando Steven Seagal and Co. when an American airliner is taken hostage while in midair. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Seagal is killed about a half an hour into the film, allowing Russell to take full command of the film. With the help from gorgeous flight attendant Halle Berry, Russell is able to learn about the situation and guide his great supporting players John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, and Joe Morton as to how they need to approach the dangerous situation.

If there is one major drawback of the film, it is that "Executive Decision" is fairly fairfetched and predictable at the same time--the anti-terrorist crew actually gets onto the plane while it is in the air and without the terrorists knowing--come on! But despite some of its logical fallouts, it is a film that makes up for it with a superb lead role, fine performances from Platt as a brainiac and Leguizamo as a rough-and-tough go-getter, and a gut-wrenching, thrill-ride (literally) of a finale. A nice directorial debut. One of the better action films of the mid 1990's and is on par with other plane thrillers such as "Con Air".

Better Than I Expecter
While this movie seems just mediocre at the start, partially due to the hero role that Steven Seagal is put into, after the first twenty minutes it greatly improves. When the James Bond like scientist proves Seagal's character wrong we finally see that this movie has hope. Once Seagal's character falls to his death at 30,000 feet, the movie loses its stigma of just another action movie and opens a new avenue to the remaining characters. This then forces Russell's character into a lead position, allowing him to gain respect by one of the nation's top military strike teams. What really made this movie seem interesting was how it veered from the original action movie storyline, to a suspense action movie. Overall, this is a movie that I can, surprisingly, watch time and time again.

i need a lobotomy
another terrorist movie....another waste of video.
the lead terrorist played by xxx is pretty good.....but thats about it.
when the guy is in a neckbrace and trying to explain the bomb?.....is a bomb for the rest of the vid...this movie sucked and if you buy it?.....your taste in movies is rated zero stars.
burn it ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Dumb and Boring.
Another film from the early 90's that tries to make a stand on Hip-Hop comedy but this film falls short and doesn't deliver any good performances. Lenny Henry the star of this dumb film plays an aspiring actor who witnesss a mafia hit and changes his identity of a black man to a white man who poses as a hitman himself and the film follows in disaray after that. Henry's work on Brittish Television is nothing that hillarous either. The idea is weak and the story is bland, the only real quality in this picture is Frank Langella his performace as the demeaning mafia don is played very well, but he was in his prime when he was "DRACULA" This film is pretty much "DUMB & BORING"

This film is very funny and a lot like Mrs. Doubtfire!
This movie was clever, witty, and totally enjoyable. If you liked films with people impersonating others (examples: Two Much, The Associate, Mrs. Doubtfire etc.), this is a film for you. If you can't find it to rent, just buy it. You'll be glad you did.

Great
i reckon this film is so good, some people say that it was a bit corny but i think it was just so good and not to predictable.

I have seen this movie more than the whole world!
I am the worlds largest fan of this film pretty much because Lenny Henry is in it. It came a shock to me about four years ago, I didn't know my favorite star of my favorite sitcom actually had a large career before "Chef!" (The sitcom that is currently being runned on PBS on the BBC hour-it introduced Lenny to me in the mid 1990's.) It is Lenny's film debut (if you don't count his dramatic B-film "The Suicide Club" from 1988.) This was a much advertised summer movie of '91 hoping to launch Lenny Henry's career here in the states. which was a joke (Disney is the only one laughing). He had a three picture deal with Disney. If the first one flopped the contract was to be broken. The contract was ripped up because of it's $4,693,000 domestic gross. It is really a shame he has such a talent that most of us Americans have not seen as of yet.

On another note It is really wonderfull to see Lenny Henry in an action/comedy role that was written for Eddie Murphy. The movie itself is a bargin bin kind of movie (Lenny is the one who quoted it that way.) If you are not a Lenny fan you still might have a good time watching this movie because it is just a plane fun movie to watch. If you are looking for a good introduction to Lenny Henry you should try Chef! first. You will respect the movie a whole lot more after you see how differenct he can be (In the movie he puts on an Amercian accent but in Chef! you have his real heavy British accent coming out).

To sum up the plot, it up it is an early 90's mildly entertaining movie about a black actor who dresses up as white guy to hide from the mafia, then hired to kill himself. It is pretty much what you'd expect with a plot like that. The climax at the end is tipical for these kinds of movies. Still it is very fun to watch. Too bad the movie wrecked many peoples careers for the future.

There many facts about this movie if you have any questions please feel free to email me (...) ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This stylish, smart 1987 movie stars Tom Berenger as a New York cop and family man who falls for the rich and beautiful witness (Mimi Rogers) he's assigned to protect. Ridley Scott (Blade Runner) does something here he should be doing a lot more often: directing contemporary film noir with his eye for extraordinary art direction. Berenger and Rogers rise to the occasion, seemingly aware that they're making something special. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (22)

one of the classiest thrillers ever made
This movie is fantastic. Mimi Rogers plays a wealthy socialate
who witnesses a murder. The killer is after her. Tom Berenger
plays a detective who along with two other detectives are assigned to protect her. He takes the night shift. He is married and has a son. He is impressed by Mimi Rogers upper
class lifestyle, her beautiful apartment, classical music, she
is a very classy lady. I must say Mimi Rogers was perfect for
the part she is beautiful and carries herself so gracefully.
Tom Berenger is a blue collar detective. The two actors have
excellent chemistry. Tom Berenger is married. A romance begins
with Tom Berenger and Mimi Rogers. The killer is released on
a mistake which was made for his arrest. He is crazy and goes
after Mimi Rogers. This movie has a look about it like a 1940's
movie. The sets are amazing and the locations are breathtaking.
The movie is very suspenseful and the ending is excellent. This
is one of the best movies ever made in my opinion

a smart, stylish, thriller
Mimi Rogers plays a wealthy socialate who witnesses a brutal
murder. Tom Berenger and two other detectives are to protect
her in three different shifts. Tom Berenger gets the night shift. This movie shows the side of life that Mimi Roger's
character brings to blue collar detective Tom Berenger. She
introduces him to art, classical music, fancy parties. A romance
develops. Tom Berenger is married and has a son. He is torn
between his family life and the life he can live with Mimi
Rogers. All this aside the murderer is after Mimi Rogers after
he is released from jail. This movie is full of suspense and
a classy thriller. Mimi Rogers was perfect for the part she looks beautiful. She and Tom Berenger have excellent chemistry.
The actress who plays Berenger's wife is good also. This movie
has a shocking ending worthy of the suspenseful storyline. One
of the greatest thrillers ever made

Window to the soul
I have never seen another movie in which the actors were more capable of baring their souls with nothing more than the expression in their eyes. Bracco, Rodgers and Berenger 'spoke' far more than was scripted, leading us through the changes in relationships between the characters and the depth of feeling accompanying those changes without words. In most scenes concerning the confusion, pain, desperation and love which ties Mike, Ellie and Clair together, the spoken word was practically superfluous.

Ridley Scott is a master at creating tangible atmosphere; I could feel the bite of the cold New York air and smell the aromas of the city; I could have wrapped the opulence of Clair's penthouse around me like a silk duvetyn. Mr. Scott is also a master of the understated. Consider the moment that Mike crossed the line of fidelity and kissed Clair for the first time.... There was more passion in that embrace, in that kiss, than I have seen in a dozen movies put together since, because I was left to make of it what I would. Less being more, each viewer is allowed to create their own vision of what took place behind those closed doors, and so to make this part of the movie their own.

I admire the way Mr. Scott used the Manhattan skyline to show the change in Mike's focus. First Mike waits for his train, back turned to Manhattan, absorbed in his daily paper. The next morning he glances up at the skyline wistfully, having seen up close how the other half lives, aware that he could never belong there. Finally he gazes longingly uptown to where Clair waits, unsure as to how he arrived at this impossible juncture in his life.

To add accolaids once again to the actors, director and to the screenplay, I must say that although I am not a proponent of adultery, I completely empathized with each character by the end of the film. (I truely thought that I would hate Mike). The characters were so well developed and their emotions were so clearly defined (in part due to that non-verbal communication) that I cared about each one of them, and for a moment wished that everyone could live 'happily ever after'. This is no fairy tale, though. Life is tough, but we all go on, as do Mike, Ellie and Clair.

One last note .... The only reason I gave this film 4 instead of 5 stars was that god-awful opera that played constantly throughout Clair's penthouse. Had I been Clair I would have jumped off of the building! (Yes, I realize I have just incurred the ire of all opera lovers - I'm sorry.) The saving grace was that we got to hear two renditions of that great classic "Someone To Watch Over Me". A song to soothe all souls.

Not a bad movie for a night in front of the TV...
Personally speaking, I like a nice fairly straightforward thriller-type movie, with a little suspense, and a little romance, so this was up my ally! The characters were amazingly well-developed I thought, given the genre, and their situation was really compelling. Mimi Rogers was wonderful in her role-- not at all the "shallow" socialite stereotype, but a real person with real worries and real needs... Go ahead and check this one out if you're looking for a way to pass an evening! But get the DVD if you can, I found the VHS to be pretty low quality.

Good Date Movie.
This movie somehow got overlooked in theatres, but there's no need to miss it now.

Long story short: Rich socialite Mimi Rogers witnesses a mob hit and thus becomes a target. Tom Berenger is a blue-collar cop assigned to protect her. He is attracted to her, but is married (to Lorraine Bracco, playing the same character she always played before The Sopranos). Complicating matters is that she is attracted to him and the intense situation is constantly pushing them together.

What sets "Someone..." apart from other movies with similar plots is that Bracco's character is pretty sympathetic so it's not a cut-and-dried issue. Berenger is drawn to Rogers because she is a vulnerable woman who needs protection. Bracco's character is a strong, independent Brooklynite who can challenge him in the relationship, but can't provide the one thing he needs (a chance to be needed). High-concept stuff when you think about it.

All of this romance is sandwiched in between a pretty good thriller as Berenger attempts to protect Rogers from some very bad guys. The thriller-story is what the movie was sold on and it succeeds on that level.

The DVD offers some good extras, but nothing inventive.

Don't miss this one a second time. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Blake Edwards directed this homage to both the Old West and the silent era in filmmaking that undeservedly received indifferent reviews and did little business. James Garner is perfectly cast as Wyatt Earp who, his lawman days behind him, is brought to Hollywood in the waning days of silent movies to serve as a consultant on a movie about his life. There, he hooks up with cowboy star Tom Mix (Bruce Willis, in relaxed, low-key mode) and together they solve a murder. Though Edwards includes elements of slapstick, he actually puts together a fairly involving mystery plot and a compelling cast of characters, including Malcolm McDowell, Mariel Hemingway, and Dermot Mulroney. But this is Garner's film, aided by a surprisingly likable Willis performance. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Willis and Garner make a great team
I actually enjoyed this movie tremendously, and I try to catch it whenever it appears on cable. Bruce Willis (who, for the record, looks darned sexy in a cowboy hat) and James Garner have fantastic chemistry - I really wish they'd do another picture together, preferably a western.

The movie does play fast and loose with history - but heck it's not a documentary! Repeated through the movie is the line, "That's the way it really happened - give or take a lie or two." When taken in that spirit, "Sunset" is a very entertaining couple of hours.

Always a pleasure to watch.
I must have been one of the few people who actually saw this film in a theatre when it was released. I got the impression I was the only one who liked it, too, and I'm glad to see now that I'm not alone. From James Garner's always-likeable, always-masculine performance as Wyatt Earp to Bruce Willis's engagingly flirtatious performance as Tom Mix (and wearing some incredible outfits - he manages it beautifully and believably!) to a pretty darned good murder mystery, this film always pleases me. I guess perhaps the mix of old West and silent films confuses some viewers, but I found it very intriguing.

A well made, well paced movie.
Good acting, a good script and well edited. This film captures Hollywood of the day, in it's glory and it's decadence.
Gardner's portrail of Wyatt Earp reminds me (favorably) of Kurt Russell's role in Tombstone.

"Give or Take a Lie or Two."
I happened to catch the last fifteen minutes of SUNSET while flipping through the Western channel on cable. I was so intrigued by the movie that I rented it as soon as I was able to find a copy (not an easy task). The movie stars James Garner as Wyatt Earp and Bruce Willis as Tom Mix. Mix is starring in a movie based on Earp's life and Earp has been brought in to Hollywood to serve as a consultant. The famous lawman and the colorful cowboy quickly become friends and are drawn into a murder mystery that ultimately leads to a shootout on the evening of the first Academy Awards. The movie is funny, has some good action scenes, and even a touch of romance. The film is a tribute to not only the old Westerns, but to the silent movie era in Hollywood. The setting seems very real and there are some great classic cars that are displayed throughout the film. There isn't any sex, hardly any foul language, and the violence is tame. SUNSET is an overlooked gem that's worth mining.

mining nuggets
After raking through the dross of over rated and overpriced Hollywood hype,i found this gem.Fine cast,top story line,fine acting,modest price.A little mystery,a dash of comedy,a bit of Hollywood in the twenties when the studios own'd the police and could get away with murder.I know anyone who is a Jim Garner and Bruce Willis fan won't be sorry with this dvd.
PS.If you like classic cars you'l see some beautiful restored Duesenbergs,Caddys,Packards,Rolls,etc. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Steven Seagal gets killed during the first 20 minutes of this enjoyable thriller, so the movie scores points for ingenuity because it immediately improves when you realize that Seagal's role is just a heroic cameo. That leaves Kurt Russell to star as an American intelligence expert who (due to Seagal's untimely demise) finds himself leading a strike force against Islamic terrorists who have seized in-flight control of a 747 jetliner with 400 passengers. It's not all that different from Air Force One, but the formula story perks right along with considerable suspense as Russell's cohorts (Oliver Platt, Joe Morton) try to defuse a chemical bomb that could wipe out (you guessed it) the entire Eastern seaboard. John Leguizamo plays one of the U.S. commandos attempting to stop the violent hijackers, and Halle Berry costars as a flight attendant who risks her life to assist Russell's rescue team. As action movies go, Executive Decision marked an impressive directorial debut for veteran film editor Stuart Baird. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (60)

A great way to spend a little more than two hours.
Terrorists hijack a jumbo jet with over 400 passengers. Terrorist expert Dr David Grant (Kurt Russell) believes that the terrorists have nerve gas bombs on board and therefore, they can't let the plane enter US airspace, since the nerve gas could probably destroy the entire Washington DC. And they don't want to shoot them down, since that would lead to a big scandal. Instead, they send up a special military unit, led by Lieutenant Colonel Travis (Steven Seagal), to get on board the jumbo jet and take control over it. This turns out to be even more difficult than they had thought.

This is an action thriller that unfortunately doesn't seem as unrealistic now as it would've done some months ago, and some people would maybe prefer not to watch it because of the recent attacks. On the other hand, it could be interesting to watch because of that. Either way, it's a very good and well made movie. It's not so different from Air Force One and if you liked that one, you'll probably like this one and vice versa.
Steven Seagal's role is actually quite small, he's out of the movie after approximately half an hour, or even less, and you don't miss him. Kurt Russel, Oliver Platt, Halle berry and the other actors are good.

If you like quality action movies, here is one that will keep you at the edge of your seat for a little more than two hours. I really liked it!

A lot of fun if you don't take it too seriously
A group of fanatic middle east terrorists hijacks a US-bound airliner, holding its crew and passengers hostage and demanding the release of their leader - a fearless mastermind of terror brazenly seized by US special forces in a daylight raid. We soon learn, from a brilliant civilian analyst named Grant (Kurt Russel) that the hostage bid is actually a clever smokescreen - that the airliner is actually loaded with a highly potent nerve gas, perhaps enough to end life as we know it on America's east coast. Without any proof, the US government has the choice blasting the plane into oblivion to end a threat it could never prove, or allowing the plane to reach US airspace, where it will disperse its deadly cargo. Instead, a tricky plan is chosen - use a stealth transport with a special airlock to insert a team of special forces onto the plane, to retake it and disarm the bomb.

Up until then, "ED" is content to be a generic, enjoyable yet eventually forgettable action movie involving airplanes and "reel bad arabs" (Hey, I didn't make that up - some guy wrote a book about stereotyping arabs, and somebody else recommended that instead of this flick, as if the audience of one and the other's readership overlap that much). This flick came out in March - not quite the time when people are lining up at the box office. Though not a bad movie, it somehow manages to approach what we all love as the "so bad, we love it" category. Something funny happens midway through though - you realize that you're watching a parody (probably unintentional, but why spoil the fun?) with plenty of violence, but still one that isn't quite right enough to take seriously. Steven Seagal plays the intrepid head of the special forces, but he's dispatched early on, leaving his team to shoulder the task of ending the flying seige. You really know something's wrong when, while describing the plan, Seagal suddenly but calmly tells the military brass and the political heads involved that what he really wants is Kurt Russel's character (tuxedo and all) to come along for the trip. The script suggests he's laughing inside at Russell who'll have to face these bloodthirsty terrorists alone, but he's more likely laughing at us. The flick lards it up further in its choice of miscasting - adding BD Wong and John Leguizamo in as footsoldiers in Seagal's crack outfit. Finally, in what may be a nod to all of those "Airport" flicks of the 70's (okay, so there were only 3 of them), the flick climaxes in the single least-convincing airplane crash-landing ever depicted on the modern screen. (This is perhaps the strongest proof that the flick was intentionally parodying action movies: years earlier, a cosmetically altered 707 was used to brilliantly and chillingly simulate a crash landing 747 in "White Nights"; another 707 was dispatched in speed - certainly they could have done more than used models ala something by Sid and Marty Croft) I'm conservative, but ED hadn't had me scamper around frothing about "arab terrorists", nor did I look at this flick in a new light because of September 11. (I've seen far worse arabs in other films, while this one hints that most of the hijackers were out of the loop about the plan to dump nerva gas on the east coast.) Instead, it's a welcome diversion from more self-conciously serious action movies, even if you'll forget most of it (even Donald Trump's ex, Marla Maples as a flight attendant, or the late JD Walsh as a senator) the next day.

Excecutive Decision (1996)
Director: Stuart Baird
Cast: Kurt Russell, Steven Seagal, Halle Berry, John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, Joe Morton, David Suchet, Len Cariou, B.D. Wong, Marla Maples Trump.
Running Time: 135 minutes.
Rated R for violence and language.

Although it is a formula that has been used time and time again, "Excecutive Decision" succeeds just as well, if not better, than the "hostage-takes-over-plane-so-action-hero-has-to-come-to-rescue" genre predecessors because of wonderful performances, an in-depth and enjoyable script, and top-tier direction from rookie Baird. Very simliar to 1992's "Passenger 57" staring Wesley Snipes, but with more emphasis on the supporting cast instead of one central star.

Kurt Russell stars as a United States government expert on Middle East terrorism who finds himself out of his office and on a die-or-die mission with gung ho commando Steven Seagal and Co. when an American airliner is taken hostage while in midair. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), Seagal is killed about a half an hour into the film, allowing Russell to take full command of the film. With the help from gorgeous flight attendant Halle Berry, Russell is able to learn about the situation and guide his great supporting players John Leguizamo, Oliver Platt, and Joe Morton as to how they need to approach the dangerous situation.

If there is one major drawback of the film, it is that "Executive Decision" is fairly fairfetched and predictable at the same time--the anti-terrorist crew actually gets onto the plane while it is in the air and without the terrorists knowing--come on! But despite some of its logical fallouts, it is a film that makes up for it with a superb lead role, fine performances from Platt as a brainiac and Leguizamo as a rough-and-tough go-getter, and a gut-wrenching, thrill-ride (literally) of a finale. A nice directorial debut. One of the better action films of the mid 1990's and is on par with other plane thrillers such as "Con Air".

Better Than I Expecter
While this movie seems just mediocre at the start, partially due to the hero role that Steven Seagal is put into, after the first twenty minutes it greatly improves. When the James Bond like scientist proves Seagal's character wrong we finally see that this movie has hope. Once Seagal's character falls to his death at 30,000 feet, the movie loses its stigma of just another action movie and opens a new avenue to the remaining characters. This then forces Russell's character into a lead position, allowing him to gain respect by one of the nation's top military strike teams. What really made this movie seem interesting was how it veered from the original action movie storyline, to a suspense action movie. Overall, this is a movie that I can, surprisingly, watch time and time again.

i need a lobotomy
another terrorist movie....another waste of video.
the lead terrorist played by xxx is pretty good.....but thats about it.
when the guy is in a neckbrace and trying to explain the bomb?.....is a bomb for the rest of the vid...this movie sucked and if you buy it?.....your taste in movies is rated zero stars.
burn it ... Read more

Description

Based on the true story of an American born Israeli spy sent to coerce an Iraqi pilot into hijacking a Soviet jet for Israeli defense research. Which intervention will prove more deadly - their love, or the Iraqi air force? Heart-stopping action builds to an explosive climax. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Great movie
It is a very entertaining movie. It is very fast paced, and you will never be bored watching it.

Exciting sound track music with the Yanni touch.
One probably would expect Yanni to emphasize the romantic aspect of a movie more than the action and suspense elements, but that's not the case here at all. Much is said in the music. Much of it has an ominous counterpoint to it which helps keep a viewer entranced.

Especially good here is the "Stealing the Jet" sequence. However, the entire soundtrack is good listening. The bonus track, the Beatles' "Nowhere Man" played by an Arabic ensemble during a Baghdad party scene does hit an odd note. But this is good movie scoring.

Dissappointing
Lagely dramatized account of how the Israeli secret service persuaded an Iraqui pilot to defect to Israel with his plane - the then new MiG-21 - as the 1967 war became inevitable. Although accounts have agreed that a young American female was instrumental in getting pilot Munir Redfa to defect to the west, much of the persuasion was aimed at Redfa's background as a Maronite Christian in a largely Islamic country. The film notes Redfa's sadness at his government's treatment of Kurds, though some may bristle at how the film compares that to Israeli treatment of its Arab population. The film leans heavily on Hemingway as the mystery woman, and its jacket is a clear nod to Top Gun - which is irresponsible given how seriously many in the mideast take the tired old cliche of Mossad agents baiting honest anti-Zionists with sex. Neither will the aviation scenes win any awards - the producers weren't able to get any real MiG-21's, so they relied on what appear to be MiG-17's, which are much older. To stay consistent, all the airplanes appear to be a generation out of date, with Refa being met at the Israeli border by an IAF T-33 - with Korean-war vintage aviation substituting for the cutting edge of aero-technology in the Vietnam-war era.

Very good fast film
This is a very fine film with great music. Good acting although a bit dated. Very provocative retelling of a true story of a woman spy who seduces an Arab pilot to get him to fly new technology into Israel. Very interesting piece if Israeli and middle East history. Fast paced.

Great
This music is just beautiful for the film. The film itself is very provocative and woth seeing. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

100% fun
I've seen it and I would see this a hundred times ans still
laugh. Typical Dudley Moore misunderstanding trama (Micki &
Maude, Unfaithfuly yours)that would make you laugh besides
Patsy Kensit is a very attractive and talented actress.

Good entertainment
Sure the movie is silly and the story farfetched and somewhat predictable, but it is good entertainment and joy for 1 1/2 hours. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In the early spring of 1993, a year before the series was launched, the two-hour movie and series pilot Babylon 5: The Gathering appeared. This proto-Babylon staked out the initial territory for the series (some of which would change by the first episode), introducing primary characters and sketching out the alliances and rifts in interplanetary diplomacy. Some of the primary characters bowed out after their initial appearances (Tamlyn Tomita's Lt. Commander Laurel Takashima and Johnny Seka's Dr. Benjamin Kyle never returned; Patricia Tallman's telepath Lyta Alexander made periodic revisits beginning in the second season, eventually rejoining the cast permanently). Set on the first anniversary of the Babylon 5 (none of the first four stations survived even a month), the central story involves the attempted assassination of the newly arrived Vorlon, the mysterious Ambassador Kosh, at the hands of (perhaps) Commander Jeffrey Sinclair (Michael O'Hare). Security Chief Michael Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle, a smart-aleck tough guy in the Bruce Willis vein) investigates and uncovers a web of conspirators, a portent of things to come. When TNT picked up the series for the fifth season Straczynski reedited the pilot, weaving back in a dropped subplot while cutting the rest of the film more tightly, tweaking special effects, and commissioning a new score from Christopher Franke. This is the cut released on video, a stronger, more engaging film, but still a broad first stab at characters that would redefine themselves through the course of the show's run. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (14)

Babylon 5 -- And So It Begins
I still remember the first time I saw this pilot episode on television. Having watched the Star Trek franchises for many years, I thought they were the benchmark against which all other science fiction storylines would be compared. My first impression of the B5 pilot, "The Gathering," seemed to bear that out.

I felt this B5 storyline was too dark, and I especially disliked the make-up of Mira Furlan's character, D'Lenn. She looked TOO evil, especially her chin. How could a prominent character like hers project a sense of compassion for the human race? "Humans form communities, and from that comes a strength that no race can defeat." She would make a statement like this later in the series. So, it would do her character an injustice to make her look like an evil and malevolent person.

Then there was G'Kar -- he, too, had an evil look to him. Granted, his race is malevolent and seeks only to advance its personal agenda, and it has suffered dearly at the hands of its former masters, the Centauri. But I got no sense that there was any redeeming quality in G'Kar, and that he would just be a stereotypically evil person.

Then there was Londo Mollari -- I thought of him as a "Broom Head." He looked like all he was good for was sweeping up messes. Nor did he project a sense of authority that was due his position. In effect, he was nothing more than a clown.

I also didn't like the musical score for the original pilot episode. It made Babylon 5 feel like a funeral parlour, rather than "Our last, best hope for peace."

In essence, I felt that "The Gathering" was a waste of time, and that it had no future on television.

However, having seen how the five-year storyline unfolded after that pilot episode, I really started to appreciate JMS's vision.

In addition, when the new version of "The Gathering" came out on DVD in 2001, I felt that JMS had really done a good job of cleaning the pilot episode up. There was a new sound track that didn't feel as depressing, although it still retained that dark nature that I came to appreciate even better than I originally did. Then there are the additional scenes that were put in, especially those with Sinclair and his girlfriend. These added more depth to the plot.

I was also happy to see in the series that Mira Furlan lost the evil chin and that the facial features of Andreas Katsulas' character were also softened to make him look less malevolent.

All in all, this new version of the pilot episode is much better than its original broadcast in 1993. While I cannot give it five stars out of five, it definitely deserves four stars for having been cleaned up.

Not the best, but still an intriguing start to Babylon 5
This series pilot does a very good job introducing the major alien races, their history with the Earth Alliance, and their diplomats, all of whom will play an important part in the unfolding Babylon 5 saga. This updated, revised edition of the pilot gives a darker, more sinister edge to some of the plot and main characters, most notably, Lieutenant Commander Laurel Takashima (Tamlyn Tomita) and Minbari ambassador Delenn (Mira Furlan). Anyone who expects "Star Trek" may be disappointed, since the story is far more complex and thoughtful than almost anything I have seen in all the versions of "Star Trek". While this is not "Babylon 5" at its best, it offers the viewer much promise, along with tantalizing hints as to what will follow over the course of the five year-long saga.

Not as advertised, not the best
As you have no doubt already read, this is *not* the premiere movie from 1993 but rather the 1998 TNT version. That irked me, and I hope that the distributors of this movie and amazon.com correct this mistake.

This DVD literally contains an ad for Season 1 on DVD and the TNT version of "The Gathering". Nothing else. There's not even a menu on this DVD. This is as bare-bones as it gets, but then again, you are paying a few bucks for it so you get what you pay for.

The only reason this merits two stars is literally the content. This is a editing of the movie that started it all for Babylon 5, laying the groundwork for a five year storyline. While it can seem a bit drab and drawn out, if you watch the show you will return to this movie and see things you never saw before.

For completists, get this. For everyone else, wait until the Babylon 5 movies set comes out and buy that instead. You will get a much better experience with the same movie as part of that set.

Babylon 5's pilot TV Movie The Gathering now in WIDESCREEN!
I bought this DVD in the store even though I have the original two-story release DVD The Gathering/In the Beginning and am planning to get the movie box set.

The reason I did so was because that it said on the label that it was the original pilot episode from March 8, 1993. That version was only ever released on VHS not DVD. I was skeptical but for a few dollars I decided to take a chance.

Not to my surprise it was the TNT Special Edition not the original. The Gathering Special Edition much like the Star Wars Special Editions added scenes, deleted scenes and redid effects and dialogue. Strangely the creator of B5 J. Michael Straczynski was praised by his fans for doing so whereas Lucas was condemned for his changes.

The thing though that made this DVD worth getting after all was that they have reformatted the movie which was only made in 1:33:1 fullscreen to a widescreen presentation like they did the Kung Fu TV series DVD's even though the labeling on the back says it is in standard format like it's original exhibition.

Don't buy this
This is not a wide screen version on this, because unlike the rest of the show, the pilot was not shot in wide screen. There will not be a wide-screen version unless they crop it down. Don't buy this unless you are a collector, because they are about to release a box set with all the movies including this one with commentary. This is a waste of a few bucks unless you are going to buy everything b-5 that was ever made. If not hold out for the Movie Box set due out soon. ... Read more

Reviews (15)

One of the great 1980s films, unseen until now.
I'm thrilled that the complete version of Michael Cimino's masterpiece is FINALLY going to be available in the United States! I caught this in Paris during its first week in October of 1987 and was floored by the movie. Brilliantly literate screenplay by the uncredited Gore Vidal, with Terrance Stamp as Vidal's stnad-in. Elegant mise-en-scene and a tight dramatic arc that I wouldn't have thought Cimino capable of. (I'm one of the minority that hated "The Deer Hunter" but thouht "Heaven's Gate" was brilliant.) When I got back to the United States I was shocked to find out "The Sicilian" had been released in a version cut by 25 minutes and was roundly trashed as incoherent. The rumor was also out that when Fox demanded that Cimino deliver a 120 minute version, he deliberately cut it to make no sense thinking that the studio would then have no choice but to release his complete film. But they released the deliberately sabotaged version instead. Anybody know the truth about this? Anyway, this is one of the great American-produced films of the 1980s -- if you love Scorsese and Visconti,and want something both passionate and cerebral, political and exciting, you must see this.

DVD lies about format size. WAS filmed in Widescreen
THIS REVIEW IS ON THE DVD, NOT ABOUT THE MOVIE ITSELF.The movie in my opinion was better than the critics gave it. I enjoyed it for a slow-paced mafia movie in the obscure Cimino style.THE DVD though, FOR THOSE WIDESCREEN LOVERS OUT THERE, STATES (on the back cover) that it "IS PRESENTED IN THE FORMAT IN WHICH THE FILM WAS SHOT OF 1:33:1. STANDARD "old fashion TV" FORMAT. I believe this is most deffintaly a lie.Why do I say this? Because, just a week ago it was on the High Definition Channel--INHD Channel, and they showed it in a TRUE ASPECT RATIO of WIDESCREEN 2:35:1, Cinnmascope. There is noway they could've shown the movie in that format if Ciminio had it filmed in standard format, AS STATED ON THE BACK COVER OF THE DVD.SO, THE DVD IS PRESENTED IN STANDARD FORMAT, while in reality IT WAS FILMED IN WIDESCREEN.SO, I give the DVD 2 stars just for decent picture quality & mediocre sound. The people who released this DVD version of the movie I believe lies when they state it was filmed in standard format when IT WAS FILMED IN WIDESCREEN.Maybe someday another company will release the orginal Widescreen version - THE WAY IT WAS SHOWN IN THEATRES.I was fortunate enough to tape it on the high def channel and get my copy of the movie in it's ORGINAL WIDESCREEN FORMAT.

Garbage, I wish there was zero Stars
Don't waste your money on this.It is not worth seeing. It is an insult to the movie going public.I threw mine into the Garbage

Just try to sit through this...
Absolutely some of the worst acting and story continuity I have ever seen. Christopher Lambert is not the only bad actor here - Joss Ackland as Don Masino and Barbara Sukowa as the Duchess are not much better. The dialogue can be so hard to follow, and the film jumps around so much, that towards the end of the movie you can barely (if at all) understand what's going on. Instead of spending more time on the "why" and "how" of Giuliano's campaign for Sicilian revolution, this film wastes time on smaller, less important scenes. One in particular, where Giuliano is robbing the Duchess of her jewels, and ends up frolicking in bed with her, is absolutely excruciating to watch - the acting and dialogue is that bad. Don't waste 2 1/2 hours of your life on this.

Sadly, no option for zero stars
What a terrible movie and a waste of talent. Trying to be another Godfather flick, but falling way short. There is some nice cinematography and a musical score that starts out promising but ends up being grating. The worst and most insurmountable problem is, naturally, Christopher Lambert. He can't act, doesn't look or sound Italian (let alone Sicilian) and is too old for the part (Guliano is supposed to be very young -- everyone comments on this -- and is compared to Alexander the Great, while Lambert is clearly in his mid-thirties). A OK enough actor for action films, he is way out of his depth here. Also, the always excellent John Turturro makes him look awful feeble. What power-that-be in the casting department decided on Lambert as the lead and NOT Turturro -- who looks and is of Italian ancestry? There is some kind of interesting story here about the modern history of Sicily after WWII, and the struggle between the church, government, rich landowners, poor peasants and communists...but darned if I could make out what it was. It was buried under a barrage of odd accents -- some American, some "fake" Italian, some generic "European" -- and dialogue that stinks. I hung on to the dogged end of this long (uncut version) flick, but I was wasting my time. It didn't improve or get any clearer. A movie to be avoided. ... Read more

Amazon.com

At its best, Babylon 5 functioned more like chapters in an epic than stand-alone episodes in the Star Trek vein of science fiction shows. These initial episodes, like much of the first season, are in that latter tradition: short, mostly self-contained stories that nonetheless serve to expand our understanding of the Babylon 5 universe. The series pilot "The Gathering" is a conspiratorial adventure with a futuristic twist, set in the murky web of alien alliances and intergalactic political tensions. "Midnight on the Firing Line," set six months after the pilot, is the first broadcast episode of the series proper and introduces five new series regulars. As deadly raiders plunder space freighters around the galaxy, the Narn invade a Centauri colony in an act of revenge for wrongs done to their race decades ago, hinting at the blood fury that will drive these races to even greater evils against one another. "Soul Hunter" introduces a race that imprisons the souls of great artists and leaders at the moment of death. When one of them arrives on the station, it sets off a near panic in the alien races and an emotional response from the usually circumspect Delenn (Mira Furlan) that borders on homicidal. "Born to the Purple" plays on the weakness of Ambassador Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik) for pretty young women and drink, in a plot by a manipulative information peddler (guest star Clive Revill) to secure secret blackmail files (which, we find out, is the only coin worth anything in Centauri politics). "Infection" stars David McCallum as an archeologist who draws his former protégé Dr. Richard Franklin (Richard Biggs) into a scheme involving a technological find that carries a deadly secret. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (12)

A Must-Have for Collectors and Fans
First of all, you have to understand: This box contains the first four one-hour episodes of Season One and the two-hour pilot episode, The Gathering, for only $35 dollars. Considering the pilot as 2 episodes, that's less that 6 dollars a shot. (Other popular SF shows sell single episodes for $15. Or 2 for $20.) Secondly, it is the Special Edition pilot episode - complete with new score by Christopher Franke and missing footage. The result is a tighter, faster paced, more staisfying introduction to the complex world of Babylon 5. Thirdly, each video jacket has it's own individual cover design. One gets the feeling that each video is a special part of a much greater whole. Fourthly, it's just good TV - arguably the most compelling SF TV ever. Midnight on the Firing Line goes for your throat right at the beginning and doesn't let go. Other episodes include, in order, Soul Hunter, Born to the Purple, and Infection.

The only deterrent may be a desire to wait until the entire series appears on DVD. But... well. I'll let you decide.

The Best Sci-Fi series, ever!
Babylon 5 easily buries any television science fiction series. Star Trek is nothing to it, Battlestar Galactica ended very badly, and all the Star Trek spin offs make me sick. Babylon 5 is an epic. Babylon 5 is indeed a rare gem. Bravo jms!

Babylon 5 is what Sci Fi was meant to be!
When Babylon 5 first came around, I thought, bah, just another sci fi show. I'll just go watch DS9. Eventually, my friends talked me into watching it. Fortunately, a friend had copied all the episodes to tape. Thus, I was able to view them in sequence from the beginning, to what was then current...without commercials. I was HOOKED. I now own a complete set of episodes (or at least, very close)... Political intrigue, characters with depth, POWERFUL story, no "perfect" society. And a side comment, though the picture on the box appears to be the station "upsidedown". There is no "up" in space, and therefore, it cannot be upsidedown. :)

Beginning of a very deep rich sci-fi experience
I could write a review of each B5 video, but instead I decided to consolidate my thoughts into 1 review at the start of the published series. As a 48 year old professional man who has historically had little interest in sci-fi, I was deeply touched and engrossed in B5, when it originally aired on UPN, and subsequently moved to TNT. This is a series written by a master story teller, mapped out with great detail and depth with a 5 season plan. Not like your typical TV sci-fi show (e.g., the perennial Star Trek derivatives that seem to often rely on the "monster/alien invasion/crisis of the week" and contain characters who march around in skin tight military body suits doing their non-thinking duty like the personified ideal of some totalitarian society of the future), B5 portrays a world of real human beings. There is still poverty, corruption, back biting, political pressure, dirt, grime, swearing, humor, mourning, hope, charity and kindness. In other words, the future is still a REAL PLACE, not a white washed Disney Land where high technology has somehow solved all mankind's problems so we can focus on testosterone goals, such as boldly going where we were not invited!

Instead, B5 (in a sense a huge metaphor for our times), shows a cosmos populated with the self-interest of bickering alien races and the attempts of the crew of B5 to maintain a space station created by earth (after a devastating war that almost destroyed human kind) to bring them all together to discuss peace (yet another attempt at a UN that works?). The eventual acknowledged failure of that goal leads to interplanetary war between 2 "older races", the Vorlons and Shadows with the younger races being caught in the middle, (a metaphor for the cold war when America and Russia were at each other's throats and the other nations of the planet were pawn pieces?).

If you are looking for an ADULT sci-fi masterpiece that evolves via a continuing connected story line over 5 seasons, try B5. Although not a rich man, I have bought ALL the published videos to enjoy the greater visual quality, even though I taped many of them from the original live TV broadcast.

My only complaint is much of seasons 3 and 4 are not available via Amazon.com. I would hope this will be remedied at some point in the future. If you did not have access to these seasons of B5 on TV (now showing them on the sci-fi channel), you may be a bit lost if you must rely only on the tapes available on Amazon.com for the complete story line.

Final note: do not judge the series by the first tape in this series. I understand it was originally a made-for-TV movie that was later transformed into the weekly series. Characterizations were still weak at that point, the scenery was much more murky (dark) than what became standard in the series, and some of the major characters (who I also saw as weak) were replaced by the first episode of the TV series. So much the better! Evolution is the word that springs to mind for this series, not filler between internet provider commercials (casting a final aspirsion upon Star Trek, the boom-bam show that high tech advertisers cattering to yuppie boredom love...).

Masterpiece of Fiction
Having long been a fan of the early and newer Star Trek shows,I was somewhat apprehensive about this series when it first premiered...HOWEVER,boy was I floored!!..This show is what Star Trek never really was.While Star Trek always seemed to present the future in rose colored glasses,with thouchy feely episodes.Babylon 5 offered a more REALISTIC view of the future..And more importantly,the series had a beggining and end..From the very first episode to the last,the series was building charachter and plot lines that would lead to its 5 year conclusion...Simply outstanding actors and performances,allowed for the viewer to become part of this universe,and learn from both its good and bad personalities..Everyone in this show had a purpose,and every episode,(unlike many Star Trek)was fascinating..Actually,you really couldnt miss an episode because of the many subtle hints that were key to the finale...This show probably offered the best view of ourselves and our "growth" as a species,and didnt resort to gimmicky "beam me up" and "hollow deck" technological fantasies...Ok,yes Im being hard on what was considered the best sci-fi of all time..However,after experiencing the run of Babylon 5,I now KNOW that the best vision,storytelling and charachter developement in a sci-fi drama belongs to Babylon 5.....I have all the old and new Star Trek shows,(voyager also) recoreded...However,I only find myself drawn back to view my collection of Babylon 5 episodes...I think you will also..! ... Read more

Reviews (126)

Fugitive is Dr. Richard Kimball: Go get this movie.
If I were stranded on a desert island and all I could have was my abysmally sparse movie collection, I would make sure "The Fugitive" was in it. Thankfully, it is. This is one of the most entertaining and engaging movies ever, far superior to a lot of movies playing these days. For the few of you who don't know the plot, I'll run it past you without spoiling much...

The story revolves around a Chicago surgeon named Dr. Richard Kimball (Harrison Ford) who is convicted of murdering his wife (Sela Ward). He pleads innocent, claiming that a one-armed man committed the heinous crime (the opening sequence, showing the murder in flashback style, is chillingly realistic). Well, no one believes the good doctor's alibi, and he is sentenced to death. However, after his prison bus crashes into a train, he escapes back to Chicago to find the murderer, while keeping away from US Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) and his team of deputies.

Having never seen the old TV series, this movie was nevertheless fantastic. The thrills just keep coming, as well as the tongue-in-cheek humor, courtesy of Tommy Lee Jones and Joe Pantoliano (as Cosmo, Sam's deputy), who really steal the show in a lot of scenes. The screenplay is obviously very sharp. The train-and-bus wreck will take your breath away, as will the waterfall sequence. Aside from these action scenes, it's great that this movie is shot in Chicago, one of the greatest cities in North America. Sorry, personal bias, I loved Chicago when I visited a couple years back. The acting is very well done, and the characters are very three-dimensional. Sometimes it feels like you're watching a modern "Les Miserables". Nice transition from action thriller to action-mystery as the film enters its second half. If you follow the plot, which is fairly easy to keep up with, the ending will shock you. All in all, "The Fugitive" is definitely worth the bang for your hard-earned buck. If you haven't seen this wonderful piece of movie-making, do so ASAP.

Quality-wise, the DVD is pretty good. Director Andrew Davis does a cool little documentary on how the train wreck was filmed.

MOVIE-10/10
DVD EXTRAS-8/10

Ford hits another home run
Ditto what that other reviewer said: this is another great Harrison Ford vehicle. They really DON'T make movies like this any more. It needs not typical DVD additions, not cut scenes, not trailers, or interviews.

Back in the day, Wednesday morning school was dominated by the discussion of the latest episode of "The Fuge" from the night before. This is the only film I can think of which actually did justice to the classic television show from which it sprang.

Tommy Lee Jones is a fantastic U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard. He appears not to be obsessed with the capture of Dr. Kimble (as was his television predecessor, portrayed by Barry Morse). Nonetheless, we get the feeling that he brings the same determination to every case he has. Ford once again is the "everyman" (if a doctor who gets sent to prison for killing his wife and then escapes can be thought of in those terms) who prevails through all manner of adversities. [As an aside, I wonder how well Ford could stretch himself - could he ever be convincing as a real bad guy, like a John Malkovich or Anthony Hopkins?]

This movie has a lot of pluses. It is a great story, updated from one of the sixties' best shows. Sure, there were great stunts. The bus crash/train wreck was stunning (made even more so by seeing Ford almost comically hobbling along, trying to outrun the carnage while wearing leg shackles).

However, it is the competition between the two dogged adversaries Jones and Ford that makes this work. They are one real pair of incredibly strong personalities- (and screen presences) Nothing better than the sequence in the dam early on with Ford protesting his innocence and Jones equally sincere reply "I don't care". Both smart, even though Jones hides his behind a gruff and self-deprecating exterior. The good and decent Doc must be determined (after all, it is his can on the line), but seeing him persevere - hiding his own persona in a hospital, evading the police while tracking down the one armed man is intense, even though we know the outcome.

Great editing; especially when we think the Marshals are getting close to the big bust, and we find out that they are actually making a collar across town.

This one is a winner.

A classic action thriller
What makes "The Fugitive" such a successful and superior film is that it knows what it is: an action/mystery film. It makes no attempt to make itself bigger or more intellectual than it is (as did the American version of "The Vanishing"). Harrison Ford, surprisingly underplaying the role of Dr. Kimball--others might have overworked his grief and angst--turns in a brilliant performance. And the always reliable Tommy Lee Jones does an icy, sparkling job as Kimball's persuer, US Marshal Sam Gerard. So good a performance that he earned a well-deserved Oscar for it.

The other key to the movie's success is Andrew Davis' dazzling direction. He keeps the pace frenetic for a good deal of the film, and the pot is always kept boiling. Close calls and intense chases keep the tension and suspense at fever pitch. "The Fugitive" will endure for a long time as a classic action thriller.

I did not kill my wife
That is well known sentence from this action hit which put an Oscar in hands of Tommy Lee Jones. Somebody killed dr. Richard Kimble's (Ford) wife, but all clues are against him. After all, who can be stupid