Reviews (14)

"Day Lincoln Was Shot" Television Masterpiece
During a trip to our nation's capital in March of '98, I visited the Ford's Theater in downtown Washington,D.C. There I became totally enthralled with the whole Lincoln assasanation conspiracy. About a month after I returned home, I watched "The Day Lincoln Was Shot" on TNT. It was the most fascinating movie I'd ever seen. It gave an account of Lincoln's and Booth's final days and humanized the often misunderstood assasin. Rob Morrow of "Northern Exposure" & "Quiz Show" fame portrays John Wilkes Booth, the young, talented thespian son of Junius Booth, one of the most famous actors of his time. Lance Henriksen plays one of America's most revered figures, President Abraham Lincoln. Morrow's excellent portryal of Booth shows a patriotic and spirited side of him that few people ever realize. The film begins with Booth galloping through the woods, trying to escape, and then being caught in a burning barn. From then on the film is shown in hindsight, beginning with the day Richmond fell. It also shows a romantic & loving side of both Lincoln and Booth, from Lincoln's torrid but comical relationship with Mary Todd, to Booth's courtship of the young and fair Lucy Hale, daughter of an American ambassador. Lincoln's realationship with his youngest son Tad is also very well portrayed throughout the film. In retrospect I feel that this movie is one of the finest movies about President Lincoln ever made. A spectacular ensemble of actors. Morrow's portrayal is award-worthy. A masterpiece in made-for-television movies. END

Best Lincoln Portrayal I've Ever Seen!
I purchased this video recently and have watched it TWICE now within the past 24 hours - it was so well done.

Having read quite a bit on Lincoln in the past, I can tell you that this movie is very historically accurate - a rarity for Hollywood.

The actors who portrayed Abraham Lincoln (Lance Hendriksen) and John Wilkes Booth (Rob Morrow) were absolutely outstanding in their performances.

I would love to see more movies made like this dramatizing actual historical events - they educate and expand the mind, as well as entertain.

If you're an admirer of "The Great Emancipator," then this video is a must for your collection.

Fair
This wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The biggest disappointment for me were the main players. Few of them really looked like the historical persona. Lincoln's portrayal was a letdown from the start. Although he looked fairly close, his voice was all wrong. Lincoln had a squeaky voice with a real Kentucky twang. (This comes from observations by Lincoln's law partner, Herndon as well as Nicolaye & Haye, Lincoln's secretaries and biographers) Hal Holbrook actually came closest to the right pitch and tone. Even more annoying was the portrayal of Sec. of War Edward Stanton. Here, he comes across like a frustrated grandfather. The real Stanton was NOT a Lincoln fan, he once refered to Lincoln as the "original baboon" and constantly challenged the 16th president on issue after issue. Lincoln would let Stanton have his temper tantrums, but managed to "put his foot down" at the right time. Stanton himself was far from well liked by other members of the cabinet and was actually feared and loathed by many. First Lady Mary Todd was far too slender and attractive in this depiction. If you've ever seen photos of the real Mary, she looked dowdy if not downright frumpy. Her rages were legendary in Washington. She once chased a deliveryman down the street with a broomstick. Secretary Seward called her a "she-wolf" and others dubbed her a bit**. A surprise for me was the portrayal of Dr. Charles A. Leale, the 27 year old Army surgeon who took charge of Lincoln after the shooting. The actor bore more than striking resemblance. It was almost spooky to watch. Jim Bishop's book was followed closely which was one of the more appealing parts of this film. Even snippets of dialog from the book crept in with regularity.

The Day Lincoln Was Shot
This was a terrible movie. Started out slow with boring acts, didn't even get worth watching until the end. Glad I loaned the film out from the library.

A refreshing Film
Take a chance on this well made film that is simply enjoyable to watch. Rob Morrow in particular is amazing and you can't afford to miss watching this film. All TV films should be as good. Also take the time to see Rough Riders, Truman, and Conspiracy. ... Read more

Description

The Doctor and Jo travel to Devil's End Village to probe the centuries-old secret of the Devil's Hump, a mysterious burial mound. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

A Devilish Tale courtesy of Quatermass and Wheatley
One of my favourite Jon Pertwee era stories originall broadcast May 22 through June 19 1971, this adventure was extremely controversial in the UK at the time with campaigner Mary Whitehouse calling for it not to be broadcast.

Full of references to withcraft and mysticism the story combines ancient English practices of Morris Dancing and the Maypole with Dridic and Celtic legends. Throw in some witchcraft, black and white and Satanism and you have all the makings of a good science fiction story.

Actually the story links the magical elements more with superior science than with devil worship and clearly attempts to show that the representations of the horned demons owes more to early visits from aliens than satanism. The rites and rituals thus evolved as ways of communication with the aliens and ways to cope with their powers.

This story owes a lot to the earlier Quatermass movie where a strange spaceship is discovered in a London Undergound station in an area dominated by streets with devilish names. It is soon discovered to contain elements of Martian life which have a devilish appearance and which cause the local inhabitants to indulge in group killing and other alien behaviours.

There is also a strong undercurrent of the writings of Dennis Wheatly in the script as the devil worshipping practices are measure and correspondent to Christian ones, with the Master assuming the role of the High Priest.

Towards the end of the story the portrayal of the Daemon as being intelligent armed with superior science but with a simplistic moral code is a dramatic scary affair but which makes a good point.

Highly recommended.

Quiet fun
This one is a good example of why dr who is so good. One thing i like about it is it strays a bit. usually toward the end of every episode te doctor is in danger. Well in this one our old frind the Master ends up on the short end of the stick at the end off one. I thought that was neat as the master almost always has everything under control. Good show even if the brigadier wasnt in the action like you know he would like to be.

One of the best for Pertwee, Manning, and UNIT
The final story to Season Eight has its detractors, who consider it a load of rubbish, and its supporters, who declare it as one of the best in the series. I'm happy to say I belong to the latter group.

The plot: Professor Horner, an archaelogist is digging into a barrow at Devil's End that he claims contains treasure by a Bronze Age chieftain. Local resident and white witch Olive Hawthorne is against the dig, as she claims Satan will appear. After all, it is Beltane, 30 April. Something clicks in the Doctor's mind and he and Jo rush over to Devil's End. He is too late, and powerful forces send the Doctor and kills Horner.

The forces have been unleashed by the Master, masquerading as the local reverend, and he intends to invoke Azal, the last Daemon, so he can rule the world with the power given by the Daemon. The Dæmons were an alien race who gave mankind knowledge to evolve, but amorally. To make matters worse, the Master has Azal create a heat barrier encircling Devil's End, trapping the local inhabitants in, and locking everyone else out, so the Doctor and his friends are left to fend for themselves.

Here is one story where the fan/viewer can see the entire UNIT team at work, not only professionally, but in a family sort of way, where everyone looks after each other and shows genuine concern. Yates and Benton are akin to the big brothers to Jo's little sister, the Doctor is the grandfather, and the Brigadier is the uncle of the family. Jo's concern for the Doctor is all so apparent here.

In the confrontation scene between the Doctor, the Master, and Azal, who is a fearsome, satyr-like creature standing 30' tall, the Time Lord launches effective arguments for why Azal should just leave and let mankind grow up, at their own pace. "Thanks to you, he can blow up the world and he probably will. He can poison the river, the land and the air he breathes, he's already started." When the Master says that he alone possesses the strong leadership needed, the Doctor retorts with "I seem to remember someone else talking like that. Who was the bounder? Hitler. Yes, Adolf Hitler. Or was it Genghis Khan?" The Doctor's moral character in the confrontation distinguishes him as a champion for Earth and its people.

One of the best cliffhangers of the series comes at the end of Episode 2, when Bok, the stone gargoyle, traps the Doctor and Jo inside the cavern where they find Azal's miniaturized spaceship. How is it resolved? Yeah, right, like I'm going to tell you.

One goof noticeable is the fight between Sergeant Benton and Garvin, the Master's servant. The shotgun held by Garvin breaks during their struggle and he carries on, holding both pieces together.

The appearance of the heat barrier, the thick black marks on buildings denoting its presence, and the attempts to penetrate are some of the outstanding special effects.

The Daemons is one of those stories whose colour prints were lost during the BBC purge. Episode 4 survived, but the colour synchronized restoration from the black and white prints of the other four episodes gives it a film look. With #4 still in its original condition, the interior video shots are a big contrast to the outdoor film footage. It makes me wonder, well, why not do it to the B&W print of #4 to give the whole story a film look? Still, this is only a minor complaint.

The regulars give their best as usual, but Damaris Hayman (Miss Olive Hawthorne) is one of the best non-regulars I have seen in the entire series. John Scott-Martin has a non-speaking role as one of the villagers, and John Owens (Thorpe) may be familiar as a recurring character in The Two Ronnies.

Jo Grant is the hero of the hour, as what she does causes Azal's defeat. No, you have to watch it to find out what I mean.

The debate between science and magic is another subtopic presented here, between the Doctor and Jo and later, he and Miss Hawthorne at opposite ends. What appears to be magic in conjuring the Daemon is explained as highly advanced science, with the ceremony a means of controlling the psionic forces and the Daemon himself. To the Doctor, anything can be explained by science, as he demonstrates with to Jo by causing his yellow Roadster Bessie to run by itself via solenoids and a remote control.

Yet, let's get one thing straight here. Azal is amoral, not evil, as the Doctor points out. Take Prometheus, a cousin of Azal. In Greek mythology, Prometheus was punished by the gods for giving fire to man. He eventually escaped with the help of his brother and continued giving knowledge to man. As a Rational, Prometheus is my hero, but should he have perhaps let mankind develop at its own pace, as the Doctor claims Azal should have done? Series producer Barry Letts, using the alias Guy Leopold, wrote the story, and how wonderful it was to have had an introspective, intellectual philosopher at the helm of Doctor Who!

The Daemons remains one of my favorite Who episodes. At the end, the Doctor tells Jo, "There is magic in the world." as they and villagers dance around the Maypole. You tell'em, Doctor!

"There's no need to make a production number out of it!"
Once regarded as one of the great stories of the Jon Pertwee era, "The Daemons" unfortunately falls short of achieving "classic" status. It is a story propagated by nostalgia; the fond memories it gave viewers are probably better than the actual story itself. This is not to say that "The Daemons" is bad. On no account. It has great moments. The first episode is excellent - it builds up the tension and is extremely atmospheric. All the night scenes are wonderfully done, as are those in the pub. The second episode is also well done; unfortunately the story tends to sag during the third. It becomes a bit of an action for action's sake runaround - helicopter and motorcycle chases that just wear a bit thin. The attempts to break through the heat barrier go on far too long and are loaded with technobabble. The ending is also a bit rushed and is very implausible. However "The Daemons" is littered with some great moments. The gargoyle Bok is fun to watch (when he first moves in the cavern near the end of episode one it is downright frightening). The village meeting in episode three is an interesting probe into the lives of the inhabitants and there are nice directorial touches - for instance the shadow falling across the police constable's face when the unseen Daemon stands over him and the sweat on the Master's brow as he summons Azal at the end of part three (probably caused by the studio lighting, but works to terrific effect). Azal's presence in the cavern in the final episode is also well realised. I also feel this story is better in black and white. It was transmitted in this format the last time it was on Australian television and I feel that monochrome added to the story's horror atmosphere (especially the first episode). The colour reconstruction of episodes 1-3 and 5 give this effect slightly (you can tell it's from a black and white print), but part 4, the only surviving colour episode, just looks too slick and glossy for the type of story. All in all "The Daemons" is enjoyable - although it tends to deteriorate halfway through.

Good story... bad ending
A satisfying dark and mysterious story, with good effects, and a great performance by the Doctor, Jo and UNIT, but the ending has got to be one of the worst in the series, with Azal basically going "Arrgh! That does not make sense!" and blowing himself sky high. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Great for Teachers and other educators
Okay yes they do talk fast, but this particular video has a great learning addition: both Wakko's America and Yakko's world is on this tape. Even if they kids don't get all of it, they'll pick up on some of it, and before you know it, maybe they'll recite the state capitals without much trouble.

It is fun, and while not all of the tape is relavent to the classroom, Animaniacs do provide a screen for learning that isn't evidant in many other 'educational' tapes.

Schnitzelbank rock's
The only Song in this video that makes it worth wile is schnitzelbank so if your looking for that song this is the video to get

Animaniacs Rocks!
Animaniacs is the best show with the best music! This is my review of every song: "I'm Cute" is a very cute and funny song thanks to Yakko and Wakko getting bored. "Snitchelbank" is very funny when you are seeing the cartoon, the same thing with "Make a Gookie", a parody of "Fealing Grovy". I like how they combinded 2 cartoons to do "Our first day of School" and "Wakko's America". H.M.S. Yakko has a funny story and the songs get better and better near the end. Can you sing "Yakko's World" without the words? I can! "I'm Mad" is a great song to sing along with my sister Nina. The theame song is great and very energetic. All in all, this is great!

Schoene Schnitzelbank
V. funny - for 4 year olds, and 34 year olds :) Some cartoon violence (cannons blowing up pirates, etc). The German "Oh du schoene Schnitzelbank" song is v. catchy.

Fun but difficult
This is a fun compilation of "Animaniacs" songs. Unfortunately, "Animaniacs" songs are so rapid fire that it's hard to keep up if you know the words, much less if you're trying to follow along with the lyrics on screen. (And I'm a grownup!) ... Read more

Amazon.com

A wimpy remake of an already anemic movie (the 1947 Rita Hayworth vehicle Down to Earth), this glitzy musical from 1980 improbably stars Olivia Newton-John as a heavenly muse sent here to help open a roller-derby disco. Gene Kelly is mixed up in this well-meaning but goofy effort to fuse nostalgia with late-'70s glitter-ball trendiness, and he looks just plain silly. Directed by Robert Greenwald, the film doesn't even work as decent kitsch.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (149)

Merely the Ultimate Musical
I've watched "Xanadu" probably about fifty or sixty times - or more. I've worn out two VHS videos, and am now, even while typing this, watching my Xanadu DVD. I can't believe that anyone would call this undiscovered wonder of the world "wimpy" or "anemic". This movie deserves its current status as a cult classic.

The Stars. I'll have more to say about Gene Kelly later. Olivia Newton John, still on the top of her conversion from Country Western to Pop Rock, never sounded or looked better. Her ability to seemingly switch back and forth on a moments notice from her old image of sweetness and nice to her new image of almost a dominatrix was great. Her combination of any boy's fantasies with a girl you could take home was wonderful. Mike Beck does a good job as "Sonny" - the modern-day version of Danny McGuire, although, in comparison to Kelly and Olivia, he looks kind of flat. But who could hold a candle to that caliber of actor or actress?

The scenes. The scene where Danny dances with Kira and ends up with her in his arms ("Whenever You're Away from Me"), followed by a similar scene with Sonny and Kira minutes later in the movie ("Suddenly"), only help to reinforce the Deja-Vu like sense of wonder that permeates this entire film. We are treated to this sense of deja-vu over and over again. The scene where the Big Band era meets the rock-and-roll era still gives me a thrill. Olivia Newton John's singing blends virtually perfectly with Electric Light Orchestra's symphonic sound, but heavy rock influence.

The musical numbers. Done by Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton John, they include the pop hits "Xanadu" and "Magic", as well as: "I'm Alive", "All Over The World", "Dancin' Round and Round", "Suspended in Time", "Whenever You're Away from Me", "Don't Walk Away" and "Suddenly". Imagine, if you can, a blending of the best of the 30's and 40's Big Bands with the best of the 70's and 80's rock and disco. Now imagine it on the same stage - blended almost perfectly. That =is= what happens in this movie.

The dancing. What can anyone say about Gene Kelly that hasn't been said already? Watching Gene trip the light fantastic with Olivia was worth the price of admission all by itself. This was, I believe, Gene Kelly's last movie, and it is a fitting send-off to his long career. It was kind of fun to see him as a clarinet player and construction company boss. He doesn't look the least bit "silly" - it's easy to see where he could have been Kira's love interest back in the 40's. It was appropriate to see Gene's character called "Danny McGuire" as that was actually the name of one of Gene's characters in another movie.

In addition, to cap off this film, Don Bluth did the animation for a wonderful sequence ("Don't Walk Away") where Kira and Sonny are transformed into fish and birds. This provides a perfect sense of surreal to Sonny's and Kira's developing love.

This movie means more than its outer shell of "a muse is sent from 'heaven' to help with the creation of a disco roller derby". It means it's OK to have dreams - because a dream is a wish your heart makes. The emphasis, told in various ways, that you should always follow your dreams, is a message that needs to be emphasised today. Both Danny's dream of opening a new club, and Sonny's dream to do something more than his boring job of painting recreations of album covers are fused together by Kira (or should I say "Terpsichore"? :-) into a single dream that they, with her help, make a reality. Do a search on the Greek Muses and you'll find a lot of the inspiration for this movie.

If there really is a real Xanadu, I would love to go there. If there never really was a real Xanadu, there should be. This still ranks as one of the most underappreciated musicals ever. Get it. You will not be disappointed.

The movie bites big time - but the music is awesome!
Xanadu is a hard film to review, because, as a movie, it is a terrible piece of dreck. As a music video it works just fine and even succeeds immensely at times.

Originally conceived as a disco movie, the producers decided to cash in on the popularity - at the time - of roller skating, so they made the movie - at the last minute - a roller disco film. Throw in Olivia Newton John and Gene Kelly and you've got: DISASTER!

The plot of the film is so transparently thin that it falls apart several times throughout. The dialogue is so agonizingly bad that even Gene Kelly (a man not known for his acting but his dancing) must have been embarrassed by it.

As the male romantic lead, a little known actor by the name of uh, just a minute I'll think of it.....was cast on the heels of his turn in the highly successful fantasy gang film: The Warriors. Michael Beck (the actor's name) can't act, can't sing, and can't dance...... so he was cast in the lead of a musical? Huh?

Newton John plays a Muse (of the old Greek mythology variety) who comes to life off of a wall painting - why we just don't know. She decides to glom onto Michael Beck's character (an architect who wants to create the most fabulous nightclub ever - Xanadu). And that, folks, is the plot of the movie. Oh, that, and apparently John's Muse was once the inspiration for Gene Kelly's character back in WWII. Huh?

Anyway, if it weren't for the producers wisely employing Electric Light Orchestra, The Tubes, and Newton-John, then this would have been insufferably bad. As it is, the movie has some really fantastic moments of musical fun. There's an interesting mixture of styles when The Tubes performs with a pseudo-swing band from the 1940's. Then there are Newton-John's songs throughout, which were orchestrated by ELO. The title song is possibly the most fun because it is where Newton-John met her former husband Matt Lattanzi (he was a dancer in the sequence). However the sequence employs the whole roller disco thing (not terribly effectively) and feels forced and just looks terrible!

However, as I said earlier - Xanadu works as an extended music video - something that was not in true existence at the time - it would happen about a year later on MTV.

Xanadu was made in the very late 1970's and released in 1980 and just happened to hit theatrers when disco was becoming reviled and New Wave was the latest sensation. Also by 1980 roller disco was VERY passe. Xanadu laid a big old egg (although I've read that it did fairly well at the box office on Newton-John's Grease fame and general popularity alone).

Get the DVD and select the song chapters and you'll have a great time watching this. Don't bother actually watching the film.

Love the movie, but DVD transfer quality is so-so.
I really enjoyed this as a kid (10 yrs old when it was in theatres). I even have the LP soundtrack somewhere. So I was excited to buy the DVD. On the nostalgia level, it doesn't disappoint. Great scenes with Gene Kelly, Olivia Newton John, and the real star of the movie -- the Pan Pacific Auditorium in LA, an art deco landmark that burned down years ago. But technically, I think Universal did a lazy job. The sound is wimpy and muddy, which is disappointing. These awesome ELO songs should jump out of speakers, not struggle out of them. The picture quality is also substandard: it looks like a 3d generation videotape (except with the ability to freezeframe). If you're like me, you'll hold your nose and buy this, because it's the only game in town. It's unlikely that Universal will go back and remaster this for another DVD release (but who knows?). Overall, it was a great late-night, flashback DVD to watch, and I'll definitely watch it again, as time goes by. One final thing: don't expect toooo much from the DVD extras. Other than the film trailer, all you get are static text bios to flip through.

A CULT CLASSIC and an EXCELLENT SOUNDTRACK
When this big budget Olivia Newton-John vehicle hit the silver screen, it actually did make money at the box office. However, because of the high expectaions of the film's star, Olivia Newton-John's performance in "Grease", it was called a bomb, which, financially it wasn't. It also became one of the top selling videos in 1981 in days when Vhs and Betamax both ruled the markets! The soundtrack went #1 and has 5 hit songs spun off of it, and it later gained a bigger following when it hit the movie channels! Critics hate this movie, but I don't care! I LOVE IT! Olivia Newton-John is so gorgeous and sings some great tunes as well as dances it up with Gene Kelley(in his final movie role). Michael Beck, however, falls flat on his face, showing no charisma and terrible acting chops. But Olivia and Gene pick up the slack, thankfully, and the end result is a very glitzy, campy,yet dazzling old fashioned musical tinged with 80's songs by Olivia, E.L.O. and The Tubes.Light on plot, heavy on song and dnace and special effects, Xanadu is fun for the entire family. Just don't expect anything more than to be entertained and you'll love it!

Roller-Disco epic from the 70's! Outrageous!
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You have to wonder what they were thinking when they decided to re-make the Rita Hayworth film "Down to Earth" as a roller-disco musical epic starring Olivia Newton John.

It's interesting, but when you realize that the running time of this film itself lasts longer than the actual fad of roller-disco did, you have to wonder why they bothered!

Gene Kelly seems lost in a musical nightmare, and the production numbers seem to scare him silly. It's as if he wonders how he got on the soundstage at all.

The music is cute, the production numbers are a perfect example of 70's excess, and the story is ridiculous.

All in all, I think it's a guilty pleasure to watch. Just don't tell anyone you enjoyed it, because they'll probably make fun of you.

A perfect double-feature evening would be to watch this along with "Can't Stop the Music" starring the Village People. (Read my review on that one!)

To quote Olivia Newton John: "Xanaduuuuuuu, Xanaduuuu-uuu-uuu!" ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Classic Animaniacs
The cartoons on this "Animaniacs" compilation all come from the first and best year on Fox, when the gang at Warner Bros. TV Animation were at their peak in terms of writing and visual invention. These particular cartoons were all written by John P. McCann, a specialist in finding the fun in "spooky" subject matter (and like most of the best Animaniacs writers, a gifted sketch comic). Within the general theme, this collection has a lot of variety, including two welcome contributions from the cat-dog team of Rita and Runt. Here's a cartoon-by-cartoon evaluation: "Draculee Draculaa" - one of the first Animaniacs cartoons to be recorded and animated, this cartoon shows just how quickly the show hit its stride; the TMS animation isn't as slick as it would later become, but the Warner sibs' trademark combination of innocence and knowingness is here, as are plenty of good one-liners and visual flourishes. Dan Castellanetta guest-stars as Dracula. "Phranken-Runt" - perhaps the best Rita and Runt cartoon; it's very funny, beautifully animated by TMS, and the Rocky Horror-esque songs contribute to the story rather than slowing it down. Mr. Squeak, the large but uncoordinated mouse, is the scene-stealer here. The late Richard Stone comes through with one of his finest background scores. "Meatballs Or Consequences" - One of McCann's best and most quotable scripts, replete with satirical knocks at Ingmar Bergman movies, bureaucratic red tape, and (ahem) Steven Spielberg. "Scare Happy Slappy" - a good, standard Slappy Squirrel cartoon, with plenty of pointless violence and meta-humor. The sadly defunct StarToons provides excellent animation, particularly on the hapless Walter Wolf. "Witch One" - a short Rita and Runt, nothing spectacular but with some funny "Beauty and the Beast" song parodies. "Hot, Bothered and Bedeviled" - The Warners meet Satan. Animaniacs at its best and least kid-friendly, with many unforgettable moments -- inlcuding Satan's idea of an agony that is worse than all others. No bonus material here, and some of the closing credits are inaccurate, but for 50+ minutes of pure "Animaniacs" entertainment, this tape is a sound investment.

Halloween will never look the same
Those pesky little critters and friends take you on a ride through some of the most hilarious machs on infamous ghosts and ghouls including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Grim Reaper (Who it turns out is actually Swedish), The Salem Witch Trials, and even the Devil himself. Yakko and Dot are especially funny as is Slappy the Squirrell in the fourth skit. If you are in any way a fan of the show or a general laugh a holic, I suggest you purchase this video. ... Read more

Description

Inspired by a mystical legend from Lapland, Pathfinder is an extraordinary story of a boy's deliverance into manhood filled with love, action and suspense and an uplifting sense of adventure. ... Read more

Reviews (12)

a beautiful and moving film
This film, based on an ancient Sami legend, is a coming-of-age story about a boy who witnesses his family's murder by a brutal gang of thieves. How he deals with these murderers, while protecting the rest of his tribe, makes up the principal plot. The movie is simple--simple plot, simple dialogue, simple (but stunning) visuals, and this simplicity lends a great deal of strength to this work. Everything unnecessary has been cut away, much like the lives of the Sami people, a tribal group closely tied to an unforgiving landscape and climate (Lappland).

Although most of the film is action, there is a wonderful relationship that develops between the boy and the tribe's shaman, or "pathfinder." They have only a couple of conversations before fate separates them, but in those brief exchanges the pathfinder imparts all the knowledge the boy needs to take up the mantle of pathfinder himself.

This film is beautifully crafted, well-paced, and provides a wonderful portrait of a culture which has much to teach.

Excellent good vs.evil coming of age Sami legend
This Sami legend is brilliantly set in cinematography that uses snow as well as Lawrence of Arabia used sand. It is a story of myth, and coming of age, of the presence of spirit in everyday choices, and the ongoing generations of existence. Highly recommended as art, also excellent for a discussion of ethics. The violence is not gratuitous. Good triumphs with some sorrow over evil. Everyone who participated in the film is Sami, which is also unique, and evokes an added sense of the timelessness of their existence.

Information note: Lapp is a derogatory word no longer acceptable; the people call themselves the Sami. Sami is the best word for use in English as well. Thank you.

Great!
I really love this movie, I've seen it over and over again and still I'm not tired of it. The movie combines drama, action, beautiful sceneries of my home country and very good actors. Being a Sámi myself, this movie means extra to me, and I've always recommended it to friends and others since I think it provides a good, just insight in our otherwise forgotten history. I also appreciated that the movie language is north-Sámi, the beautiful language of my people

Great movie that needs a DVD release
This is a wonderful and unique movie. The environment is beautifully filmed and plays a major role in its own right. The plot is honest and inspiring, a classic. The movie really needs a widescreen DVD release though, with a high-quality transfer. VHS pan-and-scan does not do it justice. It is amazing that brain-dead Hollywood movies come out on DVD before fine films like this one.

OUTSTANDING
Intelligent, dynamic, beautifully shot, and even spiritual, this film is in a class by itself. A story of marauding invaders and the attempts of the protagonist to resist them, it's also about being human and spiritual realization. I can't reccommend this movie enough. The portrayal of northern pre-Christian Europeans and their mystical and symbiotic relationship with nature creates a rich fabric on which to paint a story of survival. ... Read more

Description

Now stylishly re-packaged, THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT celebrates the life of the late Quentin Crisp.

Starring John Hurt, in a performance that brought him international acclaim, THE NAKED CIVIL SERVANT tells the extraordinary true-life tale of this 20th Century Oscar Wilde.

Famous for his flamboyant personal style and witty, sharp-taloned observations, Quentin Crisp was never ashamed to be...Quentin Crisp.

"When I was coming to America, I went to the American Embassy and the man asked me 'Are you a practicing homosexual?'And I said I didn't practice. I was already perfect."

Quentin was outrageous at a time when England was easily outraged. But while some were in hiding, Quentin was in mascara.From art student to male prostitute, from commercial artist to artist's model, if exhibitionism was a drug, he would soon become a lifelong addict.

"A startling, thoroughly fascinating portrait of one of those exotic creatures who adamantly refuse to behave 'properly' in this world." - The New York Times (1976)

... Read more

Reviews (8)

"Do you intend to spend your whole life admiring yourself?"
"The Naked Civil Servant" is based on the life of Quentin Crisp, and in the opening sequence, the real Quentin Crisp makes the introduction that in a film "even the worst is at least better than life." Crisp led a remarkable life--not always a very happy one--but the film manages to transport us beyond the actual events of Crisp's life, and instead concentrates on the things Crisp said and the things Crisp stood for. This is largely accomplished by John Hurt's outstanding, performance as Crisp. Hurt perfectly captures the essence of Crisp and delivers his words with an even, detached and amusing style. Crisp, who described himself as a 'flamboyant homosexual' was born in 1908 to middle-class parents. It becomes clear that Quentin is 'different' and his exasperated father really never knows quite what to do with Quentin. Quentin seems to lack ambition, and he'd rather stand in front of a mirror admiring himself than go out and find a job. Quentin abruptly leaves home and becomes a male prostitute, and eventually--an artist's model.

Crisp accepted the labels placed on him by society (moral perversion), and he dealt with it--never once offering excuses, apologizing or attempting to gain acceptance. Crisp was simply a remarkable person who showed fortitude and amazing moral courage. He was constantly humiliated, brutalized and the subject of wanton cruelty, yet he maintained dignity in spite of humanity's frequent attempts to belittle him. The film contains two outstanding segments that illustrate Crisp's approach to society. One segment occurs when Crisp encounters army recruitment officials during WWII, and the second segment covers Crisp's trial.

The film follows Crisp's life up until 1975. During his lifetime, Quentin Crisp was called "the heir of Oscar Wilde", and this film really illustrates Crisp's ironic, detached humour. If you enjoyed the film, I also recommend Crisp's autobiography "The Naked Civil Servant" and "Stately Homo: A Celebration of the Life of Quentin Crisp."--displacedhuman

where is the DVD version???
This brilliant piece of work should long since have been released on DVD. And "An evening with Quentin Crisp" (now OP even in VHS) should also be DVDized!

Top of the "A" list
This film was an excellant mix of outstanding acting, fantastic script and overall an uplifting story. I totally enjoyed the film and could not even start to tell you why without a mile long list. I would strongly suggest that you buy it and you will understand. This is an excellant investment. The truth is even better than fiction and I now have a new found understanding and respect for Q. Crisp. One of the strongest persons, that I know of in the past 100 years. Be inspired!! Be grateful for the times we live in. A tool to help find pride in the victories of the past.

I WANNA BE ME...
This is an amazingly good film with a superlative performance by John Hurt in the role of Quentin Crisp, a flamboyant English homosexual in the days when being such was anything but comfortable. Brilliantly played by Hurt, Crisp was a born in 1908 and was aware that he was different from an early age. He grew up in an era where homosexuality was not an option as a life style. Still, he managed to make it in a world that was decidely unfriendly to those like him. Witty and self assured, he lived his life as he wanted, despite the hardships he faced due to his self professed homosexuality. He was a trailblazer and poster boy for an alternative life style.

John Hurt deservedly won the British Best Actor award for his incisive portrayal of Quentin Cristp. It is no wonder that his performance was critically acclaimed. It is nothing short of brilliant. His is a touching and sympathetic portrayal of an individual who wanted nothing more than to be able to be himself. It is a performance that is not to be missed. The film is an absolute gem.

Sad and funny
"John Hurt", quoth Quentin Crisp, "is my representative on earth." And so he is. The two men become indistinguishable. I bought this film because I wanted to see John Hurt and didn't really care in whatever character - in fact I was afraid this might be a silly exploitative fairy comedy like "A cage of fools". But then I got captivated, and not only because Hurt makes a really cute fairy (and shows so much skin). The film has a lot of atmosphere, there are many witticisms - my favorite is Quentins reason why he thinks he'd make a good soldier: "Anyone can get killed. Even I can do that." There is so much that is ridiculous and sometimes repulsive, so much that is sad, or funny, or deeply moving like the courtroom scene. In the end the film left me wondering why a man must suffer so much for simply being different, when his being different hurts no one. ... Read more

Description

Returning from their adventure in medieval England, the Doctor and Sarah Jane are bewildered to find London deserted and under marshal law. Even more startling is the sudden appearance of a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the street. When they reach UNIT headquarters, they learn from the Brigadier that the city had to be evacuated when dinosaurs began appearing all over London. Fortunately, the prehistoric reptiles disappear almost as soon as they appear, but their random visits naturally caused "considerable panic and some loss of life."The Doctor believes that the dinosaurs are being transported through time from the Mesozoic age, but he needs a live specimen to test his theory. Meanwhile, Sarah applies her reporter's instincts to uncovering a hidden agenda.This video features over two hours in color, but Episode 1 is in black-and-white. ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Substance Over Style II
Anthony J. LaRocca, I couldn't have said it any better myself! I completely agree. I've read critiques of this story which crucify the special effects, especially the credulous dinosaurs. So what? Dr. Who was a low budget BBC series. Let's not expect Star Wars-type effects. The critics just don't have the imagination required to look past substandard special effects and enjoy a good story. It would be one thing if this was a poorly told story, but it isn't. It keeps the viewer's interest throughout.

And thanks to the video, Who fans can finally witness the first episode, albeit in B&W. Many PBS stations began showing this story starting with episode 2, as episode 1 was trashed during the BBC purge. Thank goodness the B&W version existed.

Substance over style!
This was my first introduction to Doctor Who when I was a child, and immediately I was hooked. My whole family sat rapt around a 13" black and white television set, watching it on PBS back when you could see the good Doctor for free. Even today, the shoestring special effects don't bother me a bit- they multiply the fun. "Dinosaurs" has a great story you can enjoy, even though it is stretched a little bit to fill six episodes. The Jon Pertwee and (pre John Nathan-Turner) Tom Baker eras are my favorites in Doctor Who: I love the charm of the hand-puppet dinosaurs, the way the painted-canvas sets shake when Jon Pertwee slams doors, the Gallifreyian technology that looks like it was made with parts from Radio Shack. We live in a time when science fiction shows and movies are full of special effects with no plot or characters to care about. Give me a good sonic screwdriver over a computer generated phaser blast any day!

"On the contrary. I'm just in time to prevent an atrocity!"
The Doctor and Sarah exit the TARDIS and discover a deserted London. Martial Law has been declared after the metropolis has been evacuated due to dinosaurs appearing and disappearing creating havoc! Like many, many fans have already noted, this ain't no Jurrasic Park, nor is it Dinosaurus(!). Actually, Invasion of the Dinosaurs really isn't that bad. Malcolm Hulke's last script for the program is pretty good, except for one thing: the dinosaurs. The puppet dinosaurs give this serial its' bad reputation. They are woeful, pathetic, and just plain bad. Also, the story, like a lot of Pertwee six-parters, is ploddingly pedestrian. But we can go on all day about the should've dones and shouldn't have dones for this story. But, if you can get beyond the poor effects, you might find an enjoyable runaround. UNIT working with the military is fun. Sgt Benton gets to sock it to General Finch. The whole setting on the faux space ark is a nice touch. It's a shame all these scenes couldn't be self contained as not to spoil the surprise. And Capt Yates' actions against his old friends is a nice touch, too. The b/w episode 1 is very atmospheric, and possibly the best thing about this serial. But if you're a non-discriminating Who fan, you're more than likely to find the high points of this much maligned adventure.

Bad dino models sink this story
The Doctor and Sarah Jane return from medieval England to find the city deserted, under martial law and under attack by dinosaurs. Eight million Londoners have been evacuated. The government has temporarily moved to Harrogate, with Sir Charles Grover, minister with special powers, running things in Central London. UNIT have no idea where they come and go, as no one actually sees them leave--they just vanish into thin air. The Doctor wants to capture and study one, and trace it to find the source of the temporal displacement. However, there is sabotage and attempted murder involved, and unfortunately, there's a mole within UNIT itself.

The Brigadier has to work with General Finch of the regular army, and he's not exactly a pleasant person to be with. He takes an instant dislike to the Doctor and thinks some madman has been breeding the dinosaurs and they have gotten loose.

As for Grover, he not started the Save Planet Earth Society, but also wrote the book Last Chance For Man, bewailing the effects of post-industrial pollution on mankind and the world. The Doctor is keen on people like him. After all, "it's not the oil, the filth, and the poisonous chemicals that are the cause of pollution. It's simply greed." Indeed, Captain Yates likes the silence. "The air is clean, no cars, no people..." Sarah though, likes ordinary London, "traffic jams and all." She investigates a hunch which leads her into trouble and into the heart of the matter.

The reason why Episode 1 is in B&W is that as a surprise, the first episode was merely titled "Invasion." That unfortunately led the BBC archivists to confuse it with the Patrick Troughton story, "The Invasion", and the colour version was junked. Until its release now, it was shown on PBS stations beginning with Episode 2.

Other interesting things: the phrase "back in the Cold War days" indicate that in the Earth of the Whoniverse, detente and easing of tensions was achieved during the 1960's, which is some relief. Also, the Brigadier pointing to a sedated dinosaur and saying "don't you worry, nothing can break those chains" owes a nod to King Kong.

This story also features the Doctor's new car, the Whomobile, a large silver with graceful shark-like fins on both side that's more graceful than Luke Skywalker's landspeeder that seems to glide across the road.

This isn't a very popular story and with good reason--the dinosaurs. Some are realized horribly. The worst ones are the Tyrannosaurus and the pterodactyls, the latter which squawk like crows. Many times, the Tyrannosaurus move as if being dragged away or raised without moving their limbs, as if someone was playing with toy dinosaurs, and that, coupled with the dodgy bluescreen, sink this story. The Stegosaurus is the best realized model. Also, there is a protracted chase in Episode 5 that's just filler. Still, the James Bond-like plot and mystery makes its six episodes worth it.

See Mike Yates betray UNIT and the Doctor!
I'm glad this episode finally became available. The last time I saw this episode was over 15 years ago when I used to watch the reruns on WTTW Chicago.

This is a really good 6-part episode. One of the few that paired Pertwee with Sarah Jane Smith as companion. Yes, yes, yes, the dinosaurs themselves set a new standard for cheesy, low budget special affects (even by Dr. Who standards!). But the acting is good and it has an engaging story line. Many of the elements that make Dr. Who so enjoyable to its' many fans can be found in this episode.

An especially good episode for fans of UNIT. Also a must for anyone whose favorite Doctor is John Pertwee (like me).

Be advised part 1 is in black & white. However, all remaining episodes are in color. ... Read more

Description

On the campus of an English public school the Doctor becomes separated from companions by six years, and the only link is his old friend, the Brigadier. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

I'd give it six stars if I could!
Like all Peter Davsion stories this is brilliant, fabulous SF,
with a stunning script and great acting, especially from the dashing young man of action himself, Peter Davison, the coollest Doctor of them all! Here he's joined by the good old Brigadier who gets one of his best scripts ever and gives a great dual performance and even proves powerful and moving when he talks about his nervous breakdown!
This is the start of the Gaurdian trilogy. Like the E-Space Trilogy, the Master trilogy and the Mara double Kinda and Snakedance, the Black Guardian Trilogy is one of the triumphs of 1980s Dr.Who, which prove to anyone who takes the time to watch them that the 1980s was far superior in terms of intelligence and depth of story than any of the shallow, B-grade tripe which filled up the 1970s. There's not a man in a monster or robot suit anywhere in this story, or most of the scripts in the trilogies I've mentioned, instead, we have strong ideas and themes. Here the main theme is immortality and death, and the plight of Mawdryn (well played by David Collings) reminds us that death makes life worth valuing and that the pursuit of immortality can lead to terrible consequences, just as plastic surgery often disfigures those who seek medical science to provide a fountain of youth in real life. The trilogy gets slow, but by no means really bad in Terminus, and then climaxes in the fabulous Enlightenment! Enlightenment, on very close examination, is a story which may even inpsire you to a new understanding of the nature of the Dr.Who Universe, if Terminus doesn't beat it to the punch! I recommend this and it's two sequels. They are a triumph of substance over style, brilliant scripting over low budget, and they are one more reason why Peter Davison is the best Doctor of them all!

The Black Guardian's back... but so's the Brigadier
A story where the action takes place in two closely related time zones is a first, and this forms the crux of Mawdryn Undead. A weaselly red-haired schoolboy, Turlough, is recruited by the Black Guardian (q.v. The Armageddon Factor) to kill the Doctor in exchange for a return to his home planet.

The Doctor and his companions materialize inside a spaceship set in a warp ellipse around Earth. Someone aboard the ship transmatted to Earth six years before. The Doctor, who meets Turlough aboard the ship, goes to the present, 1983, to fix the transmat equipment on Earth, planning for Nyssa and Tegan to follow him on the TARDIS. However, they get diverted to 1977. The transmat appears, where they encounter who they think is a horribly burned Doctor. Tegan runs to Brendon School for help, where she meets the Brigadier.

The reappearance of the Brigadier for the first time since Terror Of The Zygons is welcome. However, when the Brigadier tells the schoolboy Ibbetson, "Take it from me, boy. A solid object just can't dematerialize," we know something's going on. Evidence of that is proved further when he doesn't remember who the Doctor or the TARDIS is. And when he says fondly, "How could I forget?" The Doctor says "Exactly." So should the viewer. How could one of the Doctor's closest associates forget? We learn that the Brigadier suffered a nervous breakdown in 1977, and that he did meet Tegan. The Doctor tries to get him to remember, and as we learn later, what happened to the Brigadier is indeed the cause of his breakdown. The Brigadier has a good line in this: "After all, if I was to suffer from amnesia, I'd be the first to know."

The setting of Mawdryn's ship is impressive with its red and gold ornate decor. One of Mawdryn's associates sees the 1977 Brigadier and refers to him as a deviant, meaning that he shouldn't be aboard the ship, as his 1983 self is also there. Deviant... now there's a double meaning.

Nyssa and Tegan's personalities are easily discernible here. Nyssa is more logical, trusting, while Tegan is more tough-minded, less trusting, and values security and familiarity. One exchange between them regarding Turlough is good. Tegan: "Nobody from Earth is just going to walk into a transmat capsule." Nyssa: "As you did in the TARDIS on the Barnett Bypass?" Game, set, and match to Nyssa, I think.

The late Valentine Dyall provides a strong menacing presence as the Black Guardian, as evidenced by his effectively harsh demonic voice. And Nicholas Courtney plays the Brig as if he never took a hiatus from the character.

Links to the show's past are shown when the Brigadier regains his memory, via black-and-white clips of various adventures, Doctors, and companions. The homing device from Full Circle makes another appearance here, as does the Fourth Doctor's red coat, worn by Mawdryn. There is a subtle clue that the Doctor knows about the Black Guardian's involvement. He finds Turlough's crystal, which the BG gave him. Presumably, it's made from the same material as the Key To Time.

This is yet another of producer John Nathan-Turner's trilogies, presenting a villain out to get the Doctor and phasing out one companion for another. In this case, Nyssa leaves the TARDIS crew in the next story, Terminus, while Turlough joins the crew.
Mawdryn Undead shows that it's possible to have a story that's fascinating without having sensational alien monsters.

The Best Ever!
This episode has always been my personal favorite,as well as being the one I've seen the most times. It contains probably the least padding out of any episode ever, making it enjoyable from beginning to end. The plotline is also the best ever, the aspect of two Brigadiers from different times is truly thought-provoking. Unlike many fans, I've always loved the stories that delve into the series' past, I think the Tom Baker era could have used a few more of these. This episode also seems to be the most British out of the entire series, due to the public school setting and the talk of the Queens Silver Jubilee. Even the so-called villian of the story, Mawdryn, who is very well realized and very sympathetic, seems like a very British character. This story deals with the aspect of time travel better than any in the history of the program, which is what this show is supposed to be about in the first place. Also, the return of the Black Guardian and the introduction of Turlough are added bonuses, but the story is so great it would have been just as good without them. The real highlight of the story is the long awaited return of the Brigadier(s). The flashback scene where the Doctor reminds him of his adventures is the best in the show's history, right up there with Earthshock's flashback sequences. At first, the Brigadier looks much older than we would expect, but then we realize why when we see his 1977 couterpart.(When we see him again in The Five Doctors, he looks more like this version.) Also, the explanation of why he lost his memory at the end, when he meets his future self, is brilliant. This episode, along with Earthshock, The Five Doctors, and Resurrection of the Daleks, makes it easy to see why the Davison era is a fan's dream come true. However, if you're new to the series, it is advisable to first watch older episodes of the series, especially ones including the Brigadier, to fully appreciate this story.

Playable even to a Star Trek fan.
On a list of Doctor Who's most playable shows at a party or with friends who are unfamilar with The Doctor or Sci-fi buddies that have succombed to a Star Trek one sighted vision this is the best. The story is has elements to carry seamlessly into this decade. The story is fun, has excellent thought stimuli in the plot and is as good as any modern sci-movie that comes out today. (forgiving a little old computer graphics in dream sequences and some cheesy music in the begining)

Turlough! Where is that boy?
A new three story arc begins with Mawdryn Undead which also turns out to be the strongest of the three. The Black Guardian returns with a new attempt to kill the Doctor. As he cannot interfere directly, he sends in young Turlough, the alien trapped in a British public school in the 20th century. Turlough was one of the best compnaions when he first premiered in the series. Unfortunately, the writers didn't keep it up and he devolved into one of the most boring by the endof his run. In Mawdryn Undead, the Doctor is forced to give up his remaining regenerations in order to save a group of scientists who are trapped in an eternal, painful regeneration cycle. His only saving grace is the appearance of two Brigadier Lethbridge Stuarts from two different time lines. It's great seeing Nicholas Courtney in the role once again. Of the three stories in the series, this is the only one really worth owning. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Hey tygerkitten...
It sounds like you and I had the same teen years! The soundtrack to "Times Square" blew my head open in about '83 & then I saw this movie on Night Flight in '84 & immediately bought the album. Yes, this must come out on DVD. OK, the storyline is predictable, but Hazel's impassioned performances make this a standout in the "sad rock story" genre. And the music is just wonderful - and still relevant dammit!

I want this on DVD!!!
The things I want most that I can't have right now are for this and a movie called "the Quiet Earth" to be released on DVD, and for the soundtrack of an obscure punk rock movie called "Times Square" to come out on CD. This movie changed my life. I loved it, no matter what someone seeing it for the first time today would think of it, I loved it when I first saw it and I still love it. Hazel O'Connor was outstanding.

Living in the shadow of the mushroom tower
It's 1982 and I'm a teenager stuck in a small town in Southeast Missouri. Then, one fateful night, I saw 'BREAKING GLASS' on a show called Night Flight. This movie, along with 'SMITHEREENS','THE FABULOUS STAINS', and 'LIQUID SKY' completely lead me into the world of art and music I am surrounded by today. I am begging for this movie to be released on DVD in the United States.I know it may only be a silly low budget movie to some, but, it truly reflects everything I treasure about my youth and I can not praise it enough.

Star '80
An interesting, but dramatically flat time capsule of the English "No Wave" scene that followed the first explosion of Punk. Real-life aspiring rock star Hazel O'Connor displays a certain amount of on-screen charisma and gives a credible performance playing, er, an aspiring rock star in 1980 London. The energetic cast features Phil Daniels (star of "Quadrophenia", released the previous year) and "Brazil" star Jonathan Pryce. Unfortunately, the script humorlessly trots out every predictable music-biz cliche, and the film suffers for it. O'Connor performs a couple catchy tunes, but the relentless assault of her music (vocally reminiscent of Nina Hagen or Lene Lovich) may start to grate on you if you aren't a fan of that frenetic, "herky-jerky" early 80's sound. Like the Clash's "Rude Boy" (also released the same year), most of the political context of the film has not dated well and has lost any impact it may have had at the time. Ultimately, the movie just takes itself too seriously for its own good. For pure entertainment value, there are several other similar "female punk" films of the era that I would recommend before this one, such as "The Fabulous Stains", "Starstruck" or "Smithereens". Early Punk/New Wave diehards may experience a slight nostalgic twinge (guilty!) but still find the story curiously uninvolving.

DVD Please
One of the best movies I have seen about 80's England. Please, please, please release this movie on U.S. DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Excellent Example Of Dark Comedy
This is such a funny movie, but not in the obvious slapstick or toilet humor vein that passes for modern movie comedy nowadays. In this spoof of the Mafia and an attempted "hostile takeover", the humor is dark, sometimes subtle, with hilarity that simmers just under the surface. It helps to know something about Italian families---both regular and criminal---, but this movie is painfully funny nevertheless, much in the same way as the great British series "Fawlty Towers". This is a very 70's type of comedy, demanding that the viewer have an attention span and a sharp eye for detail. Like British and other genre comedies, it may not be for everyone, but we found it very enjoyable.

The cast is terrific: Jerry Orbach is perfect for the part of the luckless Sally Palumbo, Jo Van Fleet gives an incredible performance as his creepy mother, Leigh Taylor-Young is both tough and sweet as his little sister, and a young Robert DeNiro is superb as the con-artist Mario. The others, including Herve Villechaize, Lionel Stander, Joe Stantos and Frank Campanella, are all great and there isn't a bad actor in the wide array of supporting players. The story line is also well-written, taking the viewer on one sick and crazy ride through the bowels of both the Mafia and a "typical" Italian family---and who can say which is worse?

Pay close attention when watching this; some jokes are more readily apparent than others. Our personal favorites included: the panties' check done on the little sister by the neighborhood thugs as she heads for school (After which they report to her mother that, yes, she's wearing them.), the attempted knife-throw that cuts the power line, the professional mourner at the funerals, the demolitions expert who gets blown up by the cops using their radio to report his suspicious activity, and Sally Palumbo feeding his pet lion the wrong brown paper bag. The list could go on for a mile, but we don't want to spoil things for folks who have never seen this movie.

In summary, this is a great example of a 70's dark comedy in which whatever can go wrong for this hapless gang will go wrong. If you prefer slapstick or obvious humor, you may not like this film, but most people should find it at least reasonably enjoyable. We felt like we got more than our money's worth, if only to get a look at DeNiro when he was a kid. "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight" is a wonderfully good time, well-written and well-acted.

NOW this is Entertainment!
Unfortunely this movie was a sleeper in the theatres when it first came out. But check out the cast! Jo Ann Fleet (thoughtly modern millie) and Robert DeNiro in a comedy.An a comedy it is. It's just pure fun and a great uplifing movie if you have the blues. It's so funny and you won't be disappointed,,,i promise..

keystone mafia?
this is a very funny movie with a lot of action. original book written by jimmy breslin; this is the mafia as never seen before. very early robert deniro in a comedy role. hilarious. must see! ... Read more

Description

A hyperspace collision fuses the TARDIS with a cargo ship. The Doctor and Romana's efforts to separate the ships draws them under suspicion of drug-smuggling.Worse still, a malfunctioning Continuous Event Transmitter is releasing monsters in the halls. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

A superb production!
After sitting through a 12-story-line Dr.Who marathon, I'd obviously saved the best for last. Camera work, sound engineering, acting, stage direction, and editing was much more mature than previous episodes. Sure, the Doctor will always be loved, but why not do a quality job at producing it? This one's got it! This one could well have been shot in Hollywood. Great job! Though the details of the plot became quickly guessable, the whole production held my interest throughout. BRAVO!

"Here, have a jellybaby! Don't forget to brush your teeth!"
"Nightmare of Eden" is actually a hidden gem. Even though the acting and direction is alittle awkward at times, and the design of the Mandrels(why is the Graham Williams era filled with unimaginative monsters?) is laughable, the story itself is very adult, one of the few Who strories to deal with the addiction of drugs. The script is absolutely hilarious! Tom Baker excells(as does Ward)! The scene where Rigg has been drugged by Vraxion, witnessing the massacre of his passengers on the Empress by the Mandrels is a scream: "What's all the fuss? They're only economy class?" David Briely's voice for K-9 this season is also a welcome change, almost giving him a personality and humor. Tryst gives us his best Dr. Strangelove/Peter Sellers impersonation(without the physical humor). I used to think that "The Creature From the Pit" was the funniest ever Tom Baker adventure, I might be wrong. But don't take my word for it, I liked "Time and the Rani"!

Ah...my everything!
The Doctor and Romana arrive in a ship which has materialized out of light space around another ship, soon find a dangerous creature has somehow found its way on board.

The later years of the Tom Baker era were filled with rather unmemorable and silly stories, but this one stands out like a rose in a bed of thorns. The adult theme of drug-smuggling and its consequences, the wonderfully scheming villains and the genuinely gripping and blood-freezing scenes in the creepy Eden forest make this a classic. Even K9 is tolerable for once. So what if the special effects are iffy? In these days of sci-fi which is just effects-laden dross it's a real treat to remember the days when proper storylines and memorable adventures mattered.

"Have a jelly baby, and don't forget to brush your teeth"
One day, they will make a TV-movie about the October 2003 Staten Island Ferry disaster, and that movie will be atrocious. Right before the ferry is about to crash, some actor, who's already seen "Nightmare of Eden", will utter the line, "Oh no!". That's what actor David Daker did right before his character's starship collided with a space freighter. It is not, on its face, a proud moment, or a good beginning for a story.

"Nightmare" tops several "Worst of" lists in the "Doctor Who" pantheon. Worst costumes, certainly. There's not a single character in this piece who's dressed sensibly. Starting at the top, Romana appears to be dressed in a gray maternity gown. With red trim. Most of the starship crew is dressed in leather: the ship's crewmen are wearing red sleeveless vests with glitter added. And white pancake makeup, to boot. The two federal agents whose comic banter takes over the second half of the story, are dressed like the biker from the Village People. Tryst's team wears white T-shirts under black vests, so the only thing missing, cleary, is the rhinestone studding. Daker's black jumpsuit has spandex sleeves. I won't even get into what the starship passengers are wearing. I fly coach three times a month and they just don't issue that at the departure gate.

The special effects are bad. The opening shot is of a styrofoam spaceship wobbling its way across the stars. There's a lot of experimental computer imaging in this 1979 epic, but explosions happen before the gun blasts which cause them, and after Della is shot in the neck, she famously falls to the floor clutching her midriff.

So why, then, is "Nightmare of Eden" so entertaining? At what point does "bad" become "good"?

Make no mistake, this is deep in the doldrums of Season 17. There's the serious plot masked by the off-the-wall script. Two spaceships collide, one still half in hyperspace. The resulting dimensional instability causes a bunch of ape-like monsters wearing bell-bottoms to kill a dozen extras merely by brushing their elongated arms across the victims' heads. Seriously, what is the message of "Nightmare of Eden"? With the customs agents trampling over everyone's civil rights, and the drugs giving several people a really bad trip (including, presumably, the director who quit and the costume designer), you could package this on the "Starsky & Hutch" DVD and it would seem right at home.

There are moments of great subtlety in the script. Before Vraxoin is slipped into his Kool-Aid, Rigg is unusually competent for a "Doctor Who" starship captain. He blows the Doctor's cover after just one scene, and holds his own on the witty banter front for several scenes after that. Once he gets high, he gets to deliver some wickedly funny lines ("They were only economy class, what's all the fuss about?"). The rest of the comedy is a little too broad (Geoffrey Hinsliff and Peter Craze are awful), and Lewis Fiander's accent remains baffling, but at least Fiander seems to be intentionally overacting, so I can take the joke. I do not understand, however, why he pronounced the word "three" as "ten". Or why customs officer Fisk is introduced as a "Water Guard". There was no water in this story. Again, it wasn't just Captain Rigg who was on the Vraxoin.

Tom Baker is completely off the wall. He's already been much maligned for the "Oh! My fingers! My arms! My legs! My everything! Ohh!" shtick. But he also bites into a phallic green appendage for the second story in a row (remember "The Creature From the Pit"?) and tells us that it "didn't taste at all bad." Lalla Ward remains the picture of confidence and competence. Maybe she was having flashbacks to "Hamlet".

I come away from "Nightmare" with Lewis Fiander saying: "We worked on this idea together, before he died, of course. Then we stopped." If I close my eyes, I am having a great time. And learning to brush my teeth after meals.

The profits of suffering...
"First a collision, then a dead navigator, and now a monster's roaming about my ship. Well, it's totally inexplicable." So says Rigg, captain of the passenger liner Empress, to the Doctor.

What happened? A freak accident takes place within orbit of planet Azure. The Empress nearly collides with a small ship, the Hecate, while in lightspeed and materializes around the smaller ship so that they have fused together. The nose of the Hecate is sticking into the Empress, blocking the larger ship's access to the power room and passenger deck. The blurred overlap areas, or matter interfaces between the ships, however, are unstable.

Into this situation comes the Doctor, Romana, and K9. The Doctor offers to help separate the ships, something to which both Rigg and Dymond, pilot of the Hecate on a survey contract job, are amenable to. All that has to be done is to recreate the circumstances of the accident: "excite the molecules, full thrust, then full reverse." However, Rigg's navigator Secker, who got them into this accident, is on vraxoin, a highly addictive drug that "induces a warm complacency and total apathy until it wears off that is, and soon you're dead." In fact the Doctor's seen entire planets destroyed by this drug. Secker's then attacked and killed by something clawed. The questions are, who provided Secker with the vraxoin, and what killed Secker? After all, vraxoin can be detected by the Empress's scanning device, and the Empress's route is the milk run from Station 9 to Azure, nowhere else, with no stops inbetween. And who is the mystery man who knocks out the Doctor, then tries to evade him later?

There's also Tryst, a zoologist with a funny accent and really thin trendy rectangular glasses, on a research expedition to preserve rare species on government funding, made difficult by the Galactic recession. With the aid of the CET (Continuous Event Transmuter) machine, he records the flora and fauna of planets on an event crystal that continue to exist in the machine. A simpler way of naming the CET is an electric zoo. However, the lack of a dimensional osmosis damper in the CET means that with the freak accident, the unstable overlap zones affects the dimensional matrix of the machine, meaning things can go in and out of the machine.

Things heat up when two trigger-happy and bureaucratic Azure excise men, Fisk and Costa, try to arrest the Doctor and Romana as the vraxoin smugglers, and someone slips some vraxoin in Rigg's drink.

The cliffhanger to Episode 1 is effective, as a shaggy monster with glowing green appears from a wall panel K-9 has lasered away. And some interesting special effects are used when the Doctor enters the unstable matter interfaces. However, two goofs are apparent. When Della, Tryst's colleague, is shot in the head, she clutches her stomach. Also, Fisk calls Tryst "Fisk" in Episode 4.

Two funny lines from Tom Baker. When the Doctor's cover as an insurance agent is blown, he says, "I wonder why I hadn't been paid." "That's not good enough," says Rigg. "That's what I said." responds the Doctor. Also, he playfully says that Tryst helps conserve species in the same way a jam-maker conserves raspberries.

If one adds a shaggy beard to David Daker (Rigg), one will recognize him as the warlord Irongron from the Who story The Time Warrior. His transformation from an upright responsible captain to a complacent, laughing, apathetic man addicted to vraxoin is good. When someone points out to passengers being killed, the vraxoin-addicted captain says "They're only economy class, what's the fuss?"

The issue of drug addiction is key here, but are the dealers justified in saying of the buyers, "they had a choice"? If it's something dangerously addictive that totally incapacitates a person, as in vraxoin, well, no, but what about something less or not addictive, like marijuana?

Apart from the flaws in Episode 4, Nightmare Of Eden is watcheable, with laudable special effects, but nothing too special. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Quatermass Experiment aka THE CREEPING UNKNOWN
Fans of Doctor Who, Blake 7, and later BBC ventures will love this older U.K. science fiction. Unfortunately the British were not very good about recording their television programs, or keeping the tapes afterwards, and thus we will not be seeing the televised original for this story. The original live six-part 1953 TV production went some 200 minutes. The Quatermass author,