Amazon.com essential video

Stanley Kramer's 1959 antiwar movie looks like everything Kramer did: subtle as a car wreck but undeniably affecting. Gregory Peck plays a submarine commander looking for survivors in Australia after a nuclear holocaust. Ava Gardner is among them and, somewhat improbably under the circumstances, becomes his love interest. Fred Astaire and Anthony Perkins are among the characters awaiting death from the gradual spread of radiation from the north. One might scoff at Kramer's implicit finger-wagging about nuclear politics in this mad, mad, mad, mad world, but it is hard to stop watching this compelling drama all the same. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (42)

An excellent movie, of it's own era.
I suspect that the reason so many ... customer reviews of On the Beach are negative is that the expectations of today's audiences, particularly younger audiences, are entirely different from when this movie was released, in 1959.

The movie is based quite closely on Neville Shute's excellent novel, with just a few differences. The rather strange denial of impending death, shown by most of the characters in the book, has been wisely omitted from the movie. The scientist, John Osborne, has had his name changed to Julian in the film, and is given more depth, beautifully played by Fred Astaire.

I think today's movie goers have difficulty relating to this movie because it is not an action movie and it is not a science fiction movie. Yes, it deals with the last survivors of a nuclear war as they await their own deaths. But the genre of science fiction films requires that the heroes and/or heroines confront the Problem and conquer it, whether that Problem be giant ants, invading Martians, or mutant carnivorous plants. In On the Beach, it is made plain from the beginning of both the book and the movie that there will be no triumph or escape. Instead, the theme is the maintaining of human decency and integrity in the face of imminent death. This is not the sort of stuff for young audiences raised on Bruce Lee movies.

I think it is important, too, that today's young movie-goers watch this movie with the idea firmly in mind that people in 1959 believed that they might very well be the last generation of human beings, before a nuclear holocaust wiped us all out. I was nineteen when I first saw the film, just after its release to theaters and long before the advent of VHS and home video. It was powerful stuff back then, and I don't think there's any doubt that it was an important element in the nuclear disarmament movement.

I highly recommend this movie. The acting and direction are excellent, and it deals with powerful themes. But keep in mind that you'll be watching a film from another era, when books and movies were deliberately slower paced and the depth of characterization was considered to be much more important than fast paced action.

Brilliant Human Story
To me, the poignance of On The Beach lies not in it's anti-nuclear war message, which mercifully was proved wrong by events in the real world (Julian's speech railing against the idea that nuclear weapons could keep the peace is the one dated part of the film. It's now evident that the reason why there never was another ground war horror on the order of WWI and WWII was *because* of the atomic bomb) but in it's human elements, and exploring how people react to the reality that life is fast coming to an end for all of them. In this instance, a nuclear war is simply a convenient duex ex machina to see how ordinary people react to the trauma facing them. There are fine performances all around, but to me the real strength of the movie is Ava Gardner's touching performance as Moira Davidson. Indeed, there is an almost eerie autobiograhic quality to it since Gardner had many things in common with her character.

I think sooner or later, people will look back on "On The Beach" and realize that it's timelessness lies in it's exploration of the human condition and not it's political statements which in my opinion are no longer relevant to the real world.

Worth viewing, even if not realistic
On the Beach fails the realism test in two ways: scientifically and behaviorally. The first is forgivable; 40+ years ago, there was less understanding of what nuclear war would do the planet. But the second aspect -- human behavior -- is where the story fails. The idea that people would get up, wash and shave and dress, go to their jobs, peacefully obtain their rations of food and so on, with a cloud of certain death getting closer every day... it just doesn't ring true. Looting, pillaging, murder, and general anarchy seem much more likely.
Nevertheless, the movie -- while very melancholy (or depressing, as many reviewers have said), is worth watching. (Especially, as some have noted, for Astaire's performance).

the ultimate Cold War film
This is the film that for me captures the terror I felt as a child, growing up at the height of the Cold War; it is bleak and intense, with scenes that are forever etched in my mind. It's one of the great films of that era ("Seven Days in May" and "Fail Safe" are others) that I can watch repeatedly, and their power and impact are never diminished.
Based on Nevil Shute's best seller, and brilliantly directed by Stanley Kramer, the use of sound effects combined with Ernest Gold's Oscar nominated score is very effective. Sometimes the simplest noise set against complete silence is ominous, and gives the feeling of the desolation of empty cities.
As time runs out, people try to avoid the "morbid discussion" of what awaits them, and some make the most of those precious days, weeks and months, like the elderly scientist Julian (in an exceptional performance by Fred Astaire), who completes his dream of being a race car driver.

Both strong and tender, Gregory Peck is fabulous as Dwight Towers, the commander of a submarine, who has trouble accepting that he is alive, while his family are victims of the "monstrous war". The woman who falls in love with him is Ava Gardner, who has spent far too much time being consoled by a bottle of brandy. The plot is filled out by Anthony Perkins and Donna Anderson, a young couple facing the fact that their baby has no future.
In the late 50s and early 60s, the scenario in this film was all too real; we face other dangers now, but there was something truly chilling about those Cold War years, and this film vividly brings back the memory of them. Total running time is 134 minutes.

The end of the world as we know it...
An unforgettable movie that is as important and as powerful today as when it was first released.

Shute took his title from a stanza from T S Eliot's The Hollow Men:-

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river...

The tumid (swollen) river is metaphorical, as is the beach, given that Eliot's bleak, desolate landscape is a spiritual one, as in his classic work, The Wasteland.

Shute's movie is utterly compelling all the way through, partly due to the subject matter, helped along by a stunning cast, and very capable production and direction.

The scene in which the Sub arrives in the US to check on the erratic morse signal was actually shot in Australia, as they could not obtain permission to film it in the US.

There was a very creditable 2000 Showtime version with Rachel Ward and Armand Assante, which was truer to the book, although set closer to present time, but the Peck version is still the definitive one.

You cannot top this movie for dramatic content, brilliantly delivered by Peck, Gardner, Perkins and Astaire above all.

Yes, this could still happen, and yes, nuclear deterrence may well have worked so far, but I always remember a line from Bob Dylan's "If God's On Our Side", which goes...

If God's on our side,
He'll stop the next war...

Maybe he did.

Peace y'all. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

In one of the many classic collaborations between director Akira Kurosawa and his leading man Toshirô Mifune, this 1958 film tells the story of a warrior and a princess trying against all odds to return to their homeland with their fortune. Along the way, they are simultaneously assisted and thwarted by two itinerant and not too bright farmers with their own designs on the treasure, giving the story a subtle comic bent. The Hidden Fortress combines an epic tale of struggle and honor with modern comic sensibilities, creating a masterful addition to world cinema. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (63)

Fun Kurosawa classic
Somehow Kurosawa always manages to imbue his films with an artistry that surpasses the often straightforward (but not simplistic) plots. The Hidden Fortress is no exception. Apparently an inspiration for George Lucas in his Star Wars film (though the similarities are slight), this sees Toshiro Mifune in another heroic role as he attempts to smuggle a princess across the border with the aid of two squabbling peasants (memorably played by Kamatari Fujiawara and Minoru Chiaki).

It's an entertaining, engrossing adventure, with Toshiro Mifune's stoic general butting heads against the peasants (and the princess) at every turn. Fujiawara and Chiaki pretty much steal every scene they're in, with their bickering and squabbling and amazing amount of greediness shining through at every opportunity. The black and white cinematography is gorgeous, there's ample doses of humour, a standout fight scene - what else could you ask for? Sure, it doesn't have the majesty of Seven Samurai, the depth of Throne Of Blood or the black humour of Yojimbo, but The Hidden Fortress is nonetheless another example of why Kurosawa remains one of the greatest directors in history.

It's Kurosawa so you've got to see it
Most people have only heard of The Hidden Fortress through association with Star Wars. It is quite common for reviewers to say that Lucas owed The Hidden Fortress a great debt. However, you should not go into this movie thinking you are going to see some martial arts version of America's most sucessful trilogy (if you want that take a look at Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). The Hidden Fortress is all Kurosawa and you are better off anticipating something like Yojimbo or 7 Samurai. The main similarity to Star Wars is that the tale is told from the two most insignifigant characters. The film follows two useless pesants around (much like Star wars follows around R2-D2 and C-3P0) while the action happens surrounding them. There are other similarities, but this is the most striking. As always in Kurosawa movies, there are shots that are angled a certain way to provoke a certain effect that you will probably recognize as having seen a thousand times in modern movies, but the thing that is remarkable here is that chances are this is the first time they were used. Mifune gives a typically great performance so this movie is definately worth checking out, just don't take the Star Wars comparisons too seriously. The influence is there, but if you bend over backward trying to make connections you'll miss the best that both movies have to offer.

Mediocre, for Kurosawa
Granted, Kurosawa's mediocre is any other director's masterpiece, but still, I thought this 1958 effort fell somewhat short. It doesn't have that incredible narrative crispness that the best Kurosawa has--"Seven Samurai," which is nearly an hour longer, feels about half the length of this film. No, the major point of interest in "The Hidden Fortress" for me was its inspiration of "Star Wars." This won't go down as one of my Kurosawa favorites.

Grade: B-

A change of pace from Kurosawa
A number of people, when they discuss this Kurosawa film along with The Seven Samurai and his other films, treat it like a bastard at a family reunion. Apparently, they were expecting a "HIGH DRAMA" or "BADASS" movie. If they were, then they deserve to be disappointed.

The Hidden Fortress is NOT an epic that gives great insight into the code of the samurai or other such nonsense. It's a fun romp through the misadventures of several bungling "heroes": Two greedy, cowardly peasants, a knight very similar to the young Obi-Wan Kenobi, and a bitchy, aloof Princess Yuki of Akizuki (a name that sounds like something from Dr. Seuss). They are trying to smuggle the Akizuki treasury (gold bars hidden in firewood) and the princess to safety. But greed, lust and stupidity keep getting in the way.

This movie is more of an old-style caper film than a samurai epic. The dumb, double-dealing characters are more from The Lavender Hill Mob than MacBeth. What makes the characters more interesting is that the two peasants don't hold a monopoly on greed and harebrained "cunning plans" that would make Baldric from The Black Adder proud, and the knight and the princess don't hold all the courage and nobility cards, either. In fact, the two peasants come up with a plan that literally saves their necks.

The way the film is told from the point of view of the two lowliest characters was quite novel and an obvious influence on George Lucas when he made the first Star Wars. The Hidden Fortress is a great movie in its own right, though.

To people with open minds without preconceived notions of what should and should not be in a Kurosawa film, The Hidden Fortress is a great movie.

Hidden Gem
I enjoyed this movie immensely...simply because I judged it on its own merit. While its an adventure with a bit of action and drama it is mostly comedy Kurosawa style. Its in a different category and can't be compared to Ran or Rashomon. Those were social commentaries and powerful in their own ways. However this was pure fun and adventure even though Kurosawa sneaked in a little lesson or two in it. I particularly enjoyed the song and dance routine around the the fire Once you get into the story you'll laugh so much that you won't realize its in black & white. As usual Toshiro Mifune delivered. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Anyone who fought in Vietnam can tell you that the war bore little resemblance to this propagandistic action film starring and codirected by John Wayne. But the film itself is not nearly as bad as its reputation would suggest; critics roasted its gung-ho politics while ignoring its merits as an exciting (if rather conventional and idealistic) war movie. Some notorious mistakes were made--in the final shot, the sun sets in the east!--and it's an awkward attempt to graft WWII heroics onto the Vietnam experience. But as the Duke's attempt to acknowledge the men who were fighting and dying overseas, it's a rousing film in which Wayne commands a regiment on a mission to kidnap a Viet Cong general. David Janssen plays a journalist who learns to understand Wayne's commitment to battling Communism, and Jim Hutton (Timothy's dad) plays an ill-fated soldier who adopts a Vietnamese orphan. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (63)

Good, But Flawed
Although I have seen this picture well over a dozen times and although I think it's basically a good movie, I must be objective and admit that "The Green Berets" is basically a propaganda piece that at the time of its filming was an attempt to change public sentiment about our country's involvement in Vietnam. For this reason, as well as the healing period our country went through after Vietnam, the movie seems rather archaic and naive today. Those on the far left ridicule it. Those on the far right treat it with the reverence of a Biblical tale. The truth about "The Green Berets" is that it lies somewhere between these two extremes.

The Fort Benning, Georgia filmed training sequences appear to be as real as anything I ever saw while I was in uniform. The combat sequences, however, contained a fair share of errors, most notably the well-known "sun setting in the east" flub. The acting was rather wooden, especially from Wayne as well as Jack Soo, portraying the ARVN officer, and the plot meandered from being quite good in some parts to being downright silly in others.

The most important thing to remember about this movie is that it should be taken for what it is...a good war movie. To casually dismiss it as irrelevant or hopelessly out of step with the truth simply doesn't do it justice. In similar fashion, it's rather stupid to portray it as an homage to the American way of life and characterize those who point out this picture's many flaws as "un-American", as one previous review did. This picture is best enjoyed with the viewer's bias, be it liberal or conservative, turned off.

from a patriot who was not afraid.
if John Wayne had made something like this today he would be ostracized from all of Hollywood and from about 2% of this nation. he was a man, a patriot and he wanted to show the good of our struggle. vietnam was a war that was not unlike every other war, the only difference was our citizens. the baby boomers grew up spoiled (founding fathers of the modern left). they didnt understand hard work and what a country need's to do for freedom. the left will today say freedom is a slogan, that we will always be free, they will say bush's war is for oil or some uneducated and clichéd response, but freedom is not just about a war or occupation, it's the freedom to not be afraid to get on a airplane, the freedom to not fear going into tall buildings, the freedom not to fear gathering large groups in public. and for the arab world it means to not be afraid to have your wife drive your car, or wear a dress in public, or to question a religious authority. the whole idea of vietnam was to prevent the spread of communism, it was a war that transcended vietnam itself, it was a war to measure our country and our people's resolve. vietnam taught our enemies (and todays modern terrorists) that if they can scare us, horrify us or kill enough of us that we will cower and not fight. Stalin, Khrushchev, khadafi, Usama, and hussein thought this, and we taught them all a lesson through might.

just because liberal's think war is not the answer it does not mean that our enemies do also. we are not europe, if we do not spend money on our military, flex our muscles, set deadlines and take action no one ele will. we do not have anyone to protect us like europe and the world have us. terrorist do not seek peace, they do not hate us because we are us they hate us because of hollywood, because of our freedom from starvation, our comfort in life and from our belief that we can live life any way we want without regard.

John wayne in his portrayal of vietnam was not "propaganda" it was to boost moral for the country, to support our efforts in defeating communism. i read before someone said john wayne was no patriot, what is a patriot if not to support the united states and to keep it's moral up? john wayne did that, ask any soldier from WWII to the present day. i feel bad for the liberal's they hate everyone, stand for everything while believing in nothing and really do not know anything of history or of humanity.

THE DUKE HAS THE LEFT TIED IN KNOTS
In 1969, John Wayne infuriated the Left with "The Green Berets", a film that made no apologies in its all-out support of America's effort in Vietnam. It was lambasted by critics, but in a very interesting sign, sold out at the box office. It plays today and while it is heavy-handed, there is little about it that rings untrue. The soldiers do not swear, complain or bastardize their uniforms like the actual guys did, but their patriotism and military professionalism was the real deal. The Communists they fight in the film are shifty little pissants. This does not deviate from the essential truth.

STEVEN TRAVERS
AUTHOR OF "BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMAN"
STWRITES@AOL.COM

bad propoganda but a couple of gem performances
the performances of david jansaan and jim hutton stand out in this really blatant propoganda piece.
wayne the director and producer is not someone i empathize with but i do believe wayne the actor was vastly underrated.
too many people, myslef included, often let waynes politcs get in the way of acknowledging his acting powers.
this film is that in a nutshull.
his politics are unavoidable but the scen in which he wells up, on the verge of tears, trying to tell the young boy of huttons death is powerhouse acting pure and simple.
try to appreciate it.

A solid, well-made film
John Wayne like any other American had the right to promote his opinion. Period. ...

Now, the film is as accurate as any other Vietnam film made in that last 30 years because films are created to promote an opinion. (I've known Vietnam Vets who were not dope smoking, gun-totting genocidists.)

As far as action and commitment, the Green Berets succeeds as a solid "war film." No one who cares about good film making can argue that, unless they believe in censorship. The film is panoramic and energetic in cinematic quality. The characters are strong male types (like Vets I've known.) The film chose its side and promoted it. There is one strong element that the film brings home. The US military was better at killing, and it had to be. Most US detachments were generally outnumbered, fighting an opposition armed by numerous totalitarian countries from Europe to Asia. That is a historical fact, which interestingly enough, was introduced into a film over 35 years old.

The Green Berets, again, is a solid war-film and interestingly enough, is less fancifully than Platoon. The Green Berets is worth the time to see. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

An Obscure Gem - Technicolor from the 1940s
If ever there was a film crying out to be remade, this is it! Where is Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, or Robert Rodriguez for this project? I would cast Salma Hayek as Malintzin (Marina), Mexican Novela star Andres Garcia as Cortez, find a role for Cuban actor Cesar Evora, and film the whole thing in Spanish and Nahuatl. Rather than focus on Tyrone Power's Diego de Vargas, I might select Malintzin's earlier life in Tabasco and perhaps that of Cortez in Spain and or Cuba. Given the recent rise of long films (LOTR), historic period epics (Titanic & Gladiator), and subtitled antique language films (Passion of the Christ), this seems more possible than ever. This is one of the most magnificent stories in human history, and could certainly make one of the greatest films ever as well.

Back to this feature, I was very impressed that it was filmed in Mexico, had fairly good attention to detail on historic costumes, and the Mexica were actually speaking the Aztec language of Nahuatl. I liked the sequence with the Inquisition (showed that Europe was barbarous as well), and loved the Spanish guitar scene, although it could have used a powerful Mexica dance (climaxed by human sacrifice, of course!). The beating drums were perfect for mood, growing stronger as they moved closer and closer to the heart of Mexico. The most disappointing part is when the film ends just where it should have gotten good, with the Lago Texcoco and the magnificent floating city of Tenochtitlan in the distance. Mr. Spielberg, are you taking notes???

History and Hollywood Merge
I remember seeing "Captain From Castile" as a young boy on our B/W TV set with a 14" screen. My Dad had read the book years before and was as excited as I to see the movie in our home. The film captured all the romance, adventure, and swashbuckling drama that I loved then, and still love as a man in my 50s. Since then, I've seen this film many times and have read extensively about the Conquest of Mexico (In English AND Spanish!) and find much of the movie historically accurate with regard to the conquistadors' confrontation with the Mejica, the indigenous people who built the city of Tenochtitlan. Samuel Shellabarger's novel is more exciting to read, of course, especially the "Noche Triste" chapter, which was not in the movie, but I feel that the film should also be enjoyed as pure entertainment. It brings out the boy in me every time. I wish my Dad was still alive to enjoy seeing Tyrone Power and Jean Peters follow Cesar Romero's Cortes on his "conquest."

This is a wonderful movie.
"Captain from Castile" is a wonderful movie.Please release this movie onto DVD.

Greatest Historical Fiction Film.
Not only the movie has some of the greatest movie stars and future movie stars, it tells one of the great episodes in the
history of the world at the time.
Clean cut movie making also here in this movie. No vulgar language, high class acting and love at its best..

Good book turned into a masterpice!
Capatin From Castile was, as one reviewer mentions, the "TITANIC of its time". A costly monumental picture.
It is a spectacle and has one of the most impressive cinematrographic styles of the late 40's. On top of that, it is well directed and superbly acted by the handsome Tyrone Power, the very beautiful Jean Peters (in her first role), Cesar Romero, John Sutton, Thomas Gomez and Lee J. Cobb.
Alfred Newman's score is today a classic and also a masterpice.
And despite what anyone may think, most of it is based on factual history.
A bit of TRIVIA
During the filming of this flick, Power was seeing Lana Turner who had just broken up an affair with Howard Hughes. Hughes was then seeing Jean Peters, whom he had just met (and later married), but Jean had fallen in love with the film's assistant director Stan Hough (whom she married after she divorced Hughes, some 20 years after Captain From Castile was released). On the other hand it was rumored that Ty Power had a relationship with another actor involved in the film, who was then seeing a male friend of Hughes, and that Power had once been Errol Flynn's secret lover. Cary Grant flew with Hughes to Mexico (it was also rumored that Grant had an alledged affair with an alledged ex lover of Hughes - Randolph Scott). More rumors: It was also rumored that Hughes once bedded Flynn. Cesar Romero, who made three films with Jean Peters, years later joked about all this.
What is most unbelievable(and this is on record in FBI files)is that during one repose during the filming of Castile, all these people stayed at the Hotel Reforma in Mexico. And there were some nasty confrontations there. An example: Someone told a story that Lana Turner confronted Hughes in his room and scolded him for having ditched her for Peters. With tears in her eyes Lana exclaimed, "I thought you loved me Howard. I thought you wanted to marry me". Peters is said to have quietly left the room to join a group of friends. Her friends had all heard about the incident and so Jean remarked with a grin, "For that performance Lana should be given an Academy Award".
The role of Catana (Peters's role) had been offered to Linda Darnell who had also been Hughes's lover and to Jennifer Jones, who was not involved with anyone on this film but had ditched her husband, actor Robert Walker, to become (and later marry) producer David O'Selsnick's lover - who had refused to lend his contract player (Jones) to FOX to play Catana in CASTILE - and that was lucky for Jean.
CAPTAIN FROM CASTILLE deserves more respect than it has been given and it is certainly a MUST SEE FLICK!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Stanley Kramer's sprawling 1963 comedy about a search for buried treasure by at least a dozen people--all played by well-known entertainers of their day--is the kind of mass comedy that Hollywood hasn't made in many years. (Another example from around the same time is Blake Edwards's The Great Race.) After a number of strangers (including Milton Berle, Jonathan Winters, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, and others) witness a dying stranger (Jimmy Durante) identify the location of hidden money, a conflict-ridden hunt begins, watched over carefully by a suspicious cop (Spencer Tracy). The ensuing two and a half hours of mayhem has its ups and downs--some bits and performers are certainly funnier than others. But Kramer, who is better known for socially conscious, serious cinema (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?), is in a mood for broad comic characterization, and some of his jokes are so intentionally obvious (Durante literally kicks a bucket when he dies), they'd have a place in Airplane! Watch for lots of cameo appearances, including Jerry Lewis (who had called Kramer and asked him why he hadn't been invited to participate). --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (212)

Comedy For All Eternity
It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World is a comedy for all eternity. This is one of those big box, big budget, long-running-time, cameo-loaded, expensive, broad-canvas farces of the 60's that I love so much. Released in 1962, this was one of Stanley Kramer's greatest and last movies. This award-winning movie is a timeless masterpiece for the whole family.

After a bouncy, splashy Saul Bass animated title sequence, the story begins with a brief car chase in the California desert. Bank robber Smiler Grogan (Jimmy Durante) wrecks his car, and with his dying words reveals a secret about buried treasure to the seven strangers who stopped on the roadside. 'Look for the big W' in Santa Rosita, he says, and then he kicks the bucket.

After a brief attempt at cooperation, the treasure hunt is on and it's every man for himself, in four teams. Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett decide to take to the air but their pilot, Jim Backus, gets hammered on Old Fashioneds. Husband-and-wife Sid Caesar and Edie Adams can only find a biplane cropduster. The lone truck driver, Jonathan Winters, can't get gas. And his mother-in-law Ethel Merman fatally hampers Milton Berle, with his wife Dorothy Provine.

So all four teams scamper across the landscape, across the broad canvas of this movie, wound tight by desperate greed and calmly monitored by a Sergeant Culpepper, Spencer Tracy. This is the framing story for an amazing string of billed appearances and unbilled cameos so many that at last your senses are sort of dulled. Oh, it's Carl Reiner in the control tower. Oh, look, it's Stan Freberg, yeah. The best cameo, hands down, is Jerry Lewis, who comes barreling down Long Beach Boulevard in a moment of exuberant stupidity and runs over Spencer Tracy's hat.

Probably my favorite, I have so many, co-star was Terry Thomas who plays a vacationing Englishman in a rattling station wagon, who picks up Milton Berle. He's talkative. He prattles away (accurately) about why it is that the American male is positively preoccupied with booo-sums, and says things like, "I'll wager you anything you like, if American women stopped wearing brassieres, your whole national economy would collapse overnight!" This sequence, within the context of the movie so far, has a single funny moment when this whole vast farce might come alive, find its voice, and this circus might make sense - Terry-Thomas finds the tone for the rest of the movie. I find it compelling that the aesthetic success of all this footage, all these appearances, all this thoroughly American spectacle, suddenly pivots around a few fussy syllables about breasts. But once the moment passes, Terry-Thomas is efficiently neutralized and dismissed by Ethel Merman, and on we go.

The array of challengers eventually reach Santa Rosita, and several unexplainably humorous events occur. These I will not reveal to you and allow you to view the movie on your own time. I must add though, that if you do see this movie, reserve several hours. Like most from its decade its LONG... VERY LONG... But allow me to assure you, you wont be disappointed.

Madness is Genius
Eight traveling vacationers witness the sudden car-crash and slow final death of con-man Smiler Grogan in the hills above Palm Desert, Cal.. Grogan's dying words reveal the secret location of $350,000 hidden in Santa Rosita Park, near San Diego. This sparks a wild, hectic race for the dough. Pure greed,buried treasure, and car crashes. It's all here. "It's a Mad,Mad,Mad, Mad World" was the most successful movie directed by ace Stanley Kramer. All of the famous television and film comics from 1963 appear in this wild comedy. Only Bob Hope is missing. The cast includes Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Phil Silvers, Jerry Lewis, Joe E. Brown, The Three Stooges, Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Jack Benny, Jonathan Winters, and Spencer Tracy. Ernest Gold composed an original booming, wonderful soundtrack you'll be humming for days. At two hours and 41 minutes, "Mad World" is too long, but an incredible cast and mad-cap action propel the story along. This new MGM DVD is presented in widescreen anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect. The colors are crisp and vibrant. The "Mad World" DVD includes an excellent 1991 documentary with all the major surviving cast members. There's also 1 hour of "out-takes", faded and damaged, from the original Cinerama 70mm release. And there's two trailers. The year 2001 produced an obvious remake of "Mad World" called "Rat Race", a modest hit. Stanley Kramer and Spencer Tracy made 4 classic films together. The last was the inspiring "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" in 1967. In ill health, sadly, Tracy died just days after shooting ended. Stanley Kramer himself died in Feb. 2001. His genius is now gone. His legacy lies before you.

It's a Bad, Bad, Bad, Bad DVD
I would give this DVD 5 stars if all the movie was here, but it isn't, hence 3 stars. There's no excuse for this considering that no major restoration has been attempted here, the storage capabilities of DVDs are huge, and MGM has already released the full-length movie on VHS. The deleted scene feature is a mess. Watching the scenes seperately is tedious and not much fun. The least they could do would be to put the deleted scenes in the order that they appeared in the original film. The third and fourth scenes appear to be exactly the same as do others later on. Sometimes the scene appears the same only zoomed in. Others scenes have no sound. Some of the last scenes go on and on up to 10 minutes and contains everything that is included in the feature except for very minor snippets of dialogue. Sometimes you can't detect anything new, like in the money dividing proposal scene.

I can see why MGM would want to keep their pristine 35mm print whole and transfer that to DVD but perhaps they should have included a 2nd disc and a 2nd version that patched together all the missing scenes, no matter what condition, and reconstructed the film as best as they could to the longest originally released version.

MGM, when you finally "Special Edition" this movie offer a rebate with the proof of purchase from this inferior edition!

Best, Most Memorable Comedy Ever Made !!
I originally saw the movie in '63. I was 8. Dad started my Birthday party with it. After the movie, Dad drove the route of the Santa Monica portion of the car chase(yes, there really was a "Big W").
Just finished watching the movie on Turner TV. The narrator came on after the movie and said that THE ORIGINAL WAS 5 HOURS long(Just too much "good stuff"). The movie studio had it edited to the shortened current version of three hours.
Back in '63 it was a terrific movie-In '04 it is still a terrific movie.

An all star cast of comics, great comedy

Director: Stanley Kramer
Format: Color
Studio: Mgm/Ua Studios
Video Release Date: September 26, 1995

Cast:

Spencer Tracy ... Capt. T.G. Culpeper
Milton Berle ... J. Russell Finch
Sid Caesar ... Melville Crump, DDS
Buddy Hackett ... Benjy Benjamin
Ethel Merman ... Mrs. Marcus
Mickey Rooney ... Ding 'Dingy' Bell
Dick Shawn ... Sylvester Marcus
Phil Silvers ... Otto Meyer
Terry-Thomas ... Lt.Col. J. Algernon Hawthorne
Jonathan Winters ... Lennie Pike
Edie Adams ... Monica Crump
Dorothy Provine ... Emeline Marcus-Finch
Eddie 'Rochester' Anderson ... Second cab driver
Jim Backus ... Tyler Fitzgerald
Ben Blue ... Biplane pilot
Joe E. Brown ... Union official
Alan Carney ... Police sergeant
Chick Chandler ... Detective outside Chinese laundromat
Barrie Chase ... Sylvester's girlfriend
Lloyd Corrigan ... The Mayor
William Demarest ... Police Chief Aloysius
Andy Devine ... Sheriff of Crockett County
Selma Diamond ... Ginger Culpeper
Peter Falk ... Third cab driver
Norman Fell ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Paul Ford ... Col. Wilberforce
Stan Freberg ... Deputy sheriff
Louise Glenn ... Billie Sue Culpeper
Leo Gorcey ... First cab driver
Sterling Holloway ... Fire Chief
Edward Everett Horton ... Mr. Dinckler
Marvin Kaplan ... Irwin
Buster Keaton ... Jimmy the boatman
Don Knotts ... Nervous man
Charles Lane ... Airport manager
Mike Mazurki ... Miner
Charles McGraw ... Lt. Matthews
Cliff Norton ... Reporter
Zasu Pitts ... Switchboard operator Gertie
Carl Reiner ... Tower controller at Rancho Conejo
Madlyn Rhue ... Secretary Schwartz
Roy Roberts ... Policeman outside Irwin & Ray's Garage
Arnold Stang ... Ray
Nick Stewart ... Migrant truck driver
Joe DeRita ... Fireman
Larry Fine ... Fireman
Moe Howard ... Fireman
Sammee Tong ... Chinese laundryman
Jesse White ... Radio tower operator at Rancho Conejo
Jimmy Durante ... Smiler Grogan
Roy Engel ... Patrolman/Police radio voice unit F-14
Nicholas Georgiade ... Detective at Grogan's crash site
Stacy Harris ... Police radio voice unit F-7
Don C. Harvey ... Policeman in helicopter
Allen Jenkins ... Police officer
Tom Kennedy ... Traffic cop
Harry Lauter ... Police dispatcher
Ben Lessy ... George the steward
Jerry Lewis ... Man who runs over hat
Bob Mazurki ... Eddie (miner's son)
Jack Benny ... Man in car in desert
Eddie Ryder ... Air traffic control tower staffer
Paul Birch ... Policeman
Doodles Weaver ... Dinckler's Hardware Store clerk
Stanley Clements ... Detective in squad room
Bobo Lewis ... Pilot's wife
Minta Durfee ... Bit Part

Intended to be the comedy to end all comedies, with a cast including virtually all the name comedians at the time.

Jimmy Durante plays a guy who is in a fatal auto accident, but before he dies, tells 5 bystanders where there is $350,000 hidden under a "W", whuch leads to a chase to find the money.

Meanwhile, Capt. T.G. Culpeper (Spencer Tracy) is aware of the stolen money and he and his policemen observe the chase with interest through the desert, mountains, and along the California coast, with the contestants using aircraft, cars, trucks, a bicycle and every method of transportation in their attempt to be first to reach the money.

Tracy was ill when the film was shot, and so only worked four hours per day. The long shots and physical stuff was performed by stand-ins.

This is a fun movie. If there is a criticism, it is that the comedy is perhaps overdone. With so many top comedians, there is certainly no dearth of funny lines, pratfalls, and laughs--that's for sure.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

author of Handguns and Freedom...their care and maintenance
and other books

... Read more

Reviews (6)

The Haunting of Seacliff Inn
I first saw this film on BBC1, UK in 1996. It was very late at night which was the right setting for this lovely film. The story makes the viewer confused and bewildered as to why all these strange things are happening during the day and night! The scariest part is when this strange wolf-like dog constantly appearing. But I must admit, that the ending is quite sexy and sad, when this dashing cad comes out of time and sweeps the lady in present time off her feet.
I would watch out for the fire scenes where hell takes the evil souls to rest. Enjoy the film.

Just plain fun
This is just a "fun" ghost story not to be analyzed to death so go and watch it on a rainy Sunday afternoon with the lights low and just enjoy.

lucinda weist
the female ghost in this movie is one of the most lovely women ever to walk the face of earth.

I SAW THIS MOVIE ON TV
AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A WELL DONE MOVIE. IT STARS ALLY SHEEHY AND WILLIAM MOSES AS A MARRIED COUPLE WHO FIND A TOTALLY AWESOME HOUSE AND BUY IT. WHAT THEY DON'T KNOW IS THAT THERE IS A MYSTERIOUS WOMAN WHO COMES AND STAYS WITH THEM AND HAS A PREVIOUS CONNECTION TO THE HOUSE, AND IT'S NOT A VERY GOOD ONE EITHER.

IT IS MORE ON THE LINES OF A THRILLER THAN AN ACTUAL HORROR FILM. STILL IT'S WELL DONE AND A GREAT CAST AND A GOOD MOVIE TO WATCH ON A RAINY DAY OR ON A NIGHT WITH THE LIGHTS OUT AND A VERY VERY BIG BOWL OF POPCORN.

Hauntingly Entertaining!
This movie is a scary movie. Watch this movie at night with all the lights turned off while you eat a bowl full of popcorn and you won't be disappointed. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not an accurate depiction
Some good action scenes, but historically innacurate. Cha Cha's halo is a little tarnished in real life.

What A Woman!
What a great movie! I have watched this movie over and over since I was about 9 years old... What an inspiration Shirley Muldowney was! Great movie, awesome racing, wonderful acting!! Three cheers for CHA-CHA MULDOWNEY!!

Heart Like a Wheel
Simply put, this move rocks. If you are or ever have been a fan of drag racing this movie should appeal to you.

A historically impacting drama
This little gem of a movie has inspired so many people to achieve their goals in life. Everyone has seen this movie but no one wants to admit that they have watched it over ten times. A notorious time filler for HBO in the early 80's, Heart Like a Wheel is an epic drama with major historical impact. I raise a glass to you Shirley and may your heart and wheel spin as one.

Heart Like A Wheel
In this movie, Bonnie Bedelia portrays real life drag racing pioneer Shirley Muldowney. Bonnie brilliantly captured Shirley's firecracker no nonsense essence. You feel the triumphs as well as the setbacks that Shirley went through to ensure her racing dream became a reality. This was an excellent movie and I hope that it gets re-released on video. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Beverly Hills 90210 is one of my favorite shows!
This video is a must for anyone who loves 90210.It gives bits and pieces of the first two seasons, which brings back happy and sad memories of the characters.The video also talks about the character's feeling about graduating from high school and about leaving each other.If you have graduated or going to graduate from high school, this video will make you feel sad as you recall high school experiences.The saddest scene is at the end when they are looking at the sign that says, West Bev 93 and are staring at it.This is a video that you will love to own about all of the 90210 characters!

90210 is the best show on television!
I am a big huge Beverly Hills, 90210 fan! It's the coolest show on FOX, it even has a great soundtrack too. I watch the show all the time and all the actors are good. It's still a good show even though if it's been on for awhile. For those of you 90210 fans you can catch 2 episodes on FX every weekday at 4:00 and 5:00 (I think).

The sadness of 90210 ending
It is such a shame that 90210 had to go off the air. It was my favorite show ever since i've been alive. I will miss Luke Perry alot on T.V. I recorded almost every episode they made so at least the memories will stay with me forever. All I hope is that they make another show just like that. It really feels good to watch a great show and have the characters go through some of the same issues you might be going through. It was a great show and they did a great job. 90210 will be in memory forever...

Huge Fan from Brazil
I'm a huge, huge fan of BV 90210 from Brazil and I have never missed an episode of all ten seasons. I really look forward for their release on DVD!!! Beverly Hills 90210 definitely needs to be on DVD ASAP! I still watch the show everyday! Maybe this is the third time!!! But I NEVER get tired of it! I REALLY LOVE THE SHOW! I wish they would come out with all the DVDS soon.

90210 big fan!
i want to buy this video but with some of the reviews ive seen im not sure if i still want to. but i was young when the show started so i never watched it untill about the begining of 2004. see i really think luke perry (dylan mckay) is so hot so i started watching it and my dad records it every week day and on sat and sun. i love it so much! i wish they would come out with all the DVDS! season 1/10 cuz i would buy them all. i need to catch up with the early days. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Produced with assistance from George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, Dreams is an omnibus of eight short stories and parables that spell enchantment at every turn. The opening story, "Sun Under the Rain," emerges from director Akira Kurosawa's personal memories, as a child (whose house is modeled after Kurosawa's childhood home in Koishikawa) witnesses a fox's wedding ceremony in a magical forest. The Garden of Eden motif continues in "The Peach Orchard," while Lucas's ILM special effects group shines in the glorious "Crows" segment, in which an art admirer finds himself living within the paintings of Van Gogh (played with concentrated energy by Kurosawa enthusiast Martin Scorsese). In the idyllic closing fable, "The Village of the Watermills," a centenarian claims that "people nowadays have forgotten that they are also part of nature." The equally wise Kurosawa reinforces the old man's claim through these vivid but ultimately life-affirming tableaux. --Kevin Mulhall ... Read more

Reviews (90)

Breathtaking Beauty. Glorious and a Masterpiece!
I love this Film! It contains eight Dreams, Sunshine Through the Rain, The Peach Orchard, The Blizzard, The Tunnel, Crows, Mount Fuji in Red, The Weeping Demon and Village of the Watermills. Every Dream is unique, beautifull and Breathtaking.

The Dreams shows us how destructive humans are towards the nature and ourselves. Kurosawa criticizes the past, the presence and the future.

Kurosawa (not the real kurosawa) plays in every Dream, from when he was a child in Sunshine through the Rain to when he is old and visits the Village of the Watermills.

All in all This is the best film ever and my personal favorite Kurosawa film. Its Beauty is so splendid and I loved every single Dream. I encourage everyone in the world to watch this film. The Masters Masterpiece

Captivatingly beautiful
I am a huge Akira Kurosawa fan, I love all of his movies that I have seen. I am always impressed at his masterful story telling and cinematography. "Dreams" holds a special place in my heart because of it's breathtaking beauty. Beyond "eye candy", however, this film speaks intelligently of many things, life, death, solitude, guilt, redemption. This is one of those rare movies that can be discussed and analyzed and questioned for hours after viewing.

The Amazon.com review stated that this movie was "slow". How could one notice when one is busy looking at the amazing color, scenery, and imagery that is so masterfully created? "Preachy"? Perhaps, but they are good subjects to be preachy about - nuclear distruction, environmental distruction, not appreciating what one has... These complaints are the weak wingeing of shallow minds.

After every viewing of his films, I feel compelled to bow respectfully and say "Domo Arigato - Thank you very much".

One of Kurosawa's Best
I first saw this on TV and taped it. I was blown away by the visual beauty and terror of it all. The last story about the windmills? That is how I want my funeral. Music and joy, not tears and sadness. We all die, but it is how we live that really matters.

OK, really only for Kurosawa Die Hard Fans
The first short story was really cool. The others were Ok. Not really much to say. This was my first Kurosawa film. Wasn't too impressed. Was impressed with Hidden Fortress and Really impressed with 7 Samurai.
Rent-Maybe
Buy-No

Beautiful
In just eight "dreams," Akira Kurosawa managed to capture my attention and, most importantly, my heart. These many stories, some on the personal level individually and some on the personal level culturally, continue to evoke thought and emotion the whole way.

Amazingly, I can see these dreams in sections themselves. The first two, "Sunshine Through the Rain" and "The Peach Orchard" both involve a young Kurosawa (we can assume). While "Sunshine" may take a dark and very depressing turn, "Orchard" offers some hope in its symbolic ending of the lone orchard and the young boy going after the girl.

The third dream, "The Blizzard," seemed at first to me like a story all its own, but the book "The Films of Akira Kurosawa," by Donald Richie, explains it as the tale of an "adolescent Kurosawa," although I would prefer to guess it as a fictional "mountain man Kurosawa" as the next tale offers a fictional "officer Kurosawa." (again, to quote Richie) Lost in a snow storm, the adolescent Kurosawa sees a "yuki-onna," or snow-woman, who warms him until the storm lifts and it reveals their camp. When I first saw this tale I thought it was the slowest thing I had ever seen, but the second time it was far more fascinating. The sound affects are well done, and the shots of the pure white blizzard and dark shapes of the four struggling men became beautiful in a haunting manner. And, of course, the yuki-onna was a nice touch.

The fourth dream is called "The Tunnel" and shows us an "officer Kurosawa" returning from the war. As he walks through a long tunnel he is revisited by his former comrades-in-arms...who had been lost in the war. This reflects the inner feelings of many Japanese soldiers returning from WWII, feeling as if they had failed their nation and their friends, and the agony of returning defeated with no gain in sight.

The next few films take a young adult Kurosawa in different dream-like circumstances, most often as observer. To me, these are the most fascinating ones, as the Kurosawa character in each is more of an observer, asking characters in his dream at what is happening and why. Starting with "Crows," Kurosawa actually ENTERS an Impressionist painting, heading off to meet Van Gogh in person. He continues to travel through different paintings as if they were real environments, which Kurosawa once explained in person he would often imagine himself doing when he looked upon great pieces of art. I have to confess that this sequence is a double-plus for me...not only is it done by my favorite film maker Akira Kurosawa, but Van Gogh is played by Martin Scorcese, another film maker I adore.

The next two sequences, "Mount Fuji in Red" and "The Weeping Demon" portray nightmares about a Japan that might be. The first is a more possible story about a nuclear fallout of Japan's nuclear power plants - which causes Mount Fuji to erupt and howl like an awakened god. Some consider this as nothing more than another anti-nuclear sentiment from Japan, but I believe it to be instead a classic Japanese nightmare of a horrible event happening on their island and they have no where to run to - a similar type of story was done in a 1960's about Japan sinking into the sea and no one offering any aide to the survivors. "Demon" tells the story of Japan after a nuclear war, combining apocalyptic storytelling with Japanese legend. The Kurosawa character comes across a deformed man with one horn, called an oni but in actuality a victim of radiation. Society has become nothing but demons who eat each other based on a class system, but every night howling in pain caused by their horns. The shot of the entire oni race howling and walking about as humanity's doomed future is perhaps one of the most frightening shots I've seen on film.

The final dream, "Village of the Watermills," is actually fairly positive after the last two. Kurosawa comes across a village of primitive people and has a chat with an old man fixing a new watermill. Much of it is the old man's philosophy on life and how society is going, including the efforts of science and technology.

While this film may not have the narrative storyline or be fast-paced enough for some, I have found this film to be very meditative. Some images, including the blizzard as well as the dance of the dolls, can be very hypnotic, and by the end of the film I even found myself watching during the credits to observe the plants in the water. Obviously this was a very personal work, but it is also a very moving one at that. It was also meditative in sense of emotion, for I feel so many different things watching this: I feel sadness in "Sunshine," I feel sentimental in "Tunnel," I feel horrified in "Demon," and hopeful in "Village." In being personal with himself, Kurosawa has made this film personal for the viewer. I am not Japanese, and I don't pretend to be, but I am also human - and human sentiment is what this film is all about. ... Read more

Amazon.com

John Wayne and Kirk Douglas make a delightful duo in this comedic Western in which Wayne seeks revenge on a ruthless mine owner (Bruce Cabot) who had him framed and sent to prison. Upon his release, Wayne recruits Douglas in a scheme to raid and rob one of Cabot's gold-laden wagons, despite the fact that Douglas had been offered good money to kill Wayne. He joins Wayne instead (the potential profits being much greater), and they set out to ambush the War Wagon, so named because it's heavily armored, mounted with a Gatling gun, and guarded by a dozen gunmen on horses. Costarring Keenan Wynn and Howard Keel as a wise-cracking Indian, The War Wagon was a Western precursor to the action buddy films of the 1980s and '90s, serving up plenty of exciting action and constant comic relief. The interplay between Wayne and Douglas is sharp and sarcastic, and their motley crew of accomplices provides yet another source of character-driven humor. Not one of the greatest Westerns ever made, but certainly one of the most lightly entertaining. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Mission Impossible in the Old West.
Gunfighter Taw Jackson (John Wayne) recruits a motley crew of sidekicks to rob ruthless mine owner, Frank Pierce (Bruce Cabot). Pierce routinely transports a fortune in gold dust in an armored stagecoach called "The War Wagon." Complete with a small army of guards and a Gatling gun, The War Wagon is formidable. Taw figures to settle old scores by devising a complex plan to steal the gold. John Wayne was good at big budget B pictures. This flick is very different from a John Ford masterpiece, but so what? This movie is a typical Batjac action-adventure flick with comic overtones. Wayne trades verbal barbs with Lomax (Kirk Douglas), a too-cool hired gun. Howard Keel is Levi Walking Bear, a comic and politically incorrect Indian. Robert Walker is a drunken explosives expert. Keenan Wynn is a sadistic teamster. They each play a role in the carefully timed execution of the robbery. Unaware of their thieving alliance, Pierce hires Lomax to kill Taw, setting up several tense situations. The supporting cast includes members of Wayne's Batjac production company family. Look for Bruce Dern, Gene Evans, and Sheb Wooley in small roles. Throw in colorful outdoor locations, a saloon brawl, lots of hard-riding action, and it's great fun for Western movie fans. It's well worth the price. ;-)

A Good Shoot'em Up Western
Taw Jackson, played by John Wayne, is out on parole and building a team to heist a shipment of Gold dust. The problem is, the town where he's planning his heist is filled with his worst enemies. Kirk Douglas as Lomax, is one of Taw's partners. Together they study to work out every detail to commit their crime. All they got to do now is do the deed. Will they make it? Lots of fancy gun slinging, fighting, and a really neat Saloon fight add to the flavor of this movie. Oh, and you gotta see the way Kirk Douglas mounts his horse, it's Peachy! One of the most suspenseful scenes is where Taw and another of his cohort's line a bridge they plan to blow up with nitroglycerin. Also, look for a very short role by Bruce Dern . He, as he has in most films, plays a bad guy, and when he's confronted by Taw Jackson he quickly learns what "BAD" really is.

It's like "Oceans Eleven" in the West
This is a movie about revenge. It's about the quest of one man, Taw Jackson (Wayne), to get even with the man who set him up and stole his ranch. To get his vengeance, Taw puts together a small group of men, including a gunfighter who's been hired to kill him (Douglas), to help him rob the "War Wagon," so named because it is an iron stagecoach complete with a gattling gun and a large complement of mounted guards. The five men scheme, plan, and concoct a plan to steal the wagon, and Taw and Lomax (Douglas) try to refrain from killing each other in the process.

This is not meant to be a completely serious Western, and in fact it is quite lighthearted. It is also funny, with just enough comic relief to keep things lively. Douglas and Wayne are absolutely fabulous together, and the rest of the cast works well too. This is a great all-around Western.

Entertaining comedy western
The War Wagon is a good comedy western starring John Wayne and Kirk Douglass as two men attempting to steal a shipment of gold. Wayne stars as Taw Jackson, a man recently released from prison after being framed, who wants to get revenge on the man who put him in jail(Bruce Cabot). Kirk Douglass is Lomax, Wayne's greedy, cocky partner. These two are perfect together as they try and figure out how to rob the "war wagon." Their dialogue is sharp and cutting with insults being handed back and forth.

The movie is very entertaining to watch. Excellent cast backing up Wayne and Douglass including Howard Keel as Levi Walking Bear. There is enough action and humor for everybody in this western. DVD presentation is good in widescreen with a trailer included even though it is a little pricey. Well worth it for Duke fans!

A get even movie
well it's a good movie some light humor a get even type movie.Enjoyable intertianing but you've to know one thing I
am a big JOHN WAYNE FAN. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

One of the best trucking movies.
Having driven a truck myself and been exposed to the industry since the 70s, when my father was an owner-operator, I've long had an interest in trucking related movies. Most movies that portray truckers and their work are very unrealistic: the drivers are often borderline lunatics and there's usually no focus at all on the nitty-gritty realities of the trucking lifestyle. Unquestionably enjoyable gems such as Smokey and the Bandit, Convoy, and High Ballin' typify the over-the-top antics of most "trucking" movies. White Line Fever is one of the earliest and best films of the genre, because it's relatively low-key, and the traveling sequences feel true-to-life. There are, of course, the inevitable "big rig movie" cliches - fights, chases, crashes, and not least, the independent-trucker-fights-corruption storyline itself. But the performances of Jan-Michael Vincent (who also performed all his own stunts in the movie), Slim Pickens, Kay Lenz, L.Q. Jones and Sam Laws keep things believable and interesting. Also note that this was one of the early directorial efforts of Jonathan Kaplan, who later won acclaim for The Accused. Ultimately, this movie may have the most appeal to those who have an abiding interest in the truck driver mystique. The opening montage is made memorable by the use of the wonderful, haunting song "Drifting and Dreaming" by Valerie Carter.

independant trucker -vs- large scale corp. trking company
very good movie depicting the hardships of an independant trucker
trying to support his family, pay his bills, ect... but is inadvertantly confronted by strongarm BIG business hardball players, who undercut the freight prices, brutally beat- mame- rape- wreck- run off the road- anything to put the little guy independant trucker out of business. The "Blue Mule" handle for Jan Micheal Vincent, ultimately, gets his revenge, at the Glass House,where the corporate Big wigs hang out. A must see movie if you are a trucker, or happen to know anyone who is...

Good ole trucker movie!
I remember when White Line Fever was being filmed on location in Tucson Arizona back 1974. It is a decent movie about a young truck driver trying to make it in the corrupt trucking industry. If you are interested in and like trucks, you will enjoy this movie from the early 70's. The fifty dollar price tag for the video is high. I taped the movie several years ago one night off HBO.

GREAT MOVIE
I saw this White Line Fever when it first came out in the early 70s' in a theatre. Excellent movie, I really didn't understand it that well when I saw it back then being that I was only 7 years old. I just wanted to see the big semi trucks!! White Line Fever was on late night TV a few nights ago. I had almost completely forgotten this great 70s' flick until then. I still enjoyed the big trucks but I could also appreciate the story which I really didn't understand back then in the 70s'. The climax of White Line Fever is one of the best ever on film!! I was thrilled to see it available on VHS until I saw the 50 dollar price tag!! Great film, great story, great acting by Jan Michael Vincent.

UK equivilant
I am a U.K. owner operator, when I started up in 1974 there was no films in this country (England) that remotely ressembled White Line Fever, I now own a small sized U.K. Operation, 6: 6X4 Tractor units. 10: tri-axle semi trailors. 4: 2 Axle riggids and 2: tandem axle drag trailors. As an indipendant haulier I have no conflict with a trade union, for or against. I have been fully inspired to continue in my life's work. I, as you might call it, have diesel running through my veins. this films is the tops. I hope you will be as inspired as I am.

Don Johnson owner operator. Johnsons Transport U.K. U.K/Europe. ... Read more

Description

Tommy, the former Green Ranger, is coming home, and the other rangers are planning a surprise party for him. But the evil Lord Zedd has other ideas. He unleashes his most deadly monster yet -- the Scarlet Sentinel -- and no amount of morphing or Mega Zord action can stop it. To make matters worse, Lord Zedd's dreaded wife, Rita Repulsa, is on the war path, and Zordon and Alpha have disappeared. It looks like the end of the Rangers when the mysterious White Ranger appears to help them. But who is he and can he be trusted? Does this mean Tommy is off the team for good? And does the White Ranger have the right stuff to save the day? This colossal collection features two back-to-back classic episodes from the original MIGHTY MORPHIN POWER RANGERS -- the series that launched "Power Mania." Packed with Mega Morphin Action, marauding monsters, and edge-of-your-seat suspense -- it's white hot! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Good episode
This episode features the return of the former Green Ranger Tommy who comes back as the White Ranger and assumes the role as leader of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. If you are a true Power Ranger fan this movie is for you, especially if you are a fan of the relationship that Tommy and Kimberly shared. The moment they shared when Tommy first came back was what made the episode worth watching, and considering I am the biggest fan of thier relationship ever!!!!!!!! Then I had to have this video

Power Ranger Classics now on tape
As a long time fan, I'm glad to finally beable to get the classic Power Ranger episodes that sparked many childrens interests across America. This tape contains plenty of action, adventure, and comedy for your child and you to enjoy. Good and Evil collide to bring to life an explosive experience to learn and treasure. Its definitely a must see as are all the Power Ranger episodes.

This show is soooooooo bad.
Do not get any of the MMPR films or TV shows. they all are so dull. well mote of the Scenes from the show are cool, but this show is soooooo bad. O.k. you get my poit by know, i does go.

cool! i love power rangers they atre the best in the world
i love tommy the white ranger because he is cool and i like the
pink ranger too! on one show of power rangers rocky the red ranger didn`t like tommy. but maybe he likes him now.

Original Power Rangers are the best
I started watching this when it first came out back in 1993. I loved it the first time I saw it. Tommy was always my favrotite male ranger and kimberly was my favorite girl ranger and I was so glad when he came back as the White Ranger. This mini series is by far one of my favorite. IF you like the original powers rangers you should get this video. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The classic Ernest Hemingway novel about man battling nature and the demons within himself is adapted admirably in this 1958 film starring the legendary Spencer Tracy. Playing the fisherman who goes on an intense and futile quest as he contemplates his own nature, Tracy turns in a spellbinding performance of understated power. He plays an itinerant Cuban fisherman whose luck at catching his prey has been poor of late, until he becomes embroiled in an intense pursuit of a giant marlin and in the process must confront his own frailties. Though the visual aspect of the film seems dated, Tracy is more than enough reason to see this effort at bringing one of the modern classics of literature to life on the screen. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Spencer Tracy gives a great performance.
In these times where ignorance (high school high is an example) is produced for the public to consume, and special effects are the driving force in many movies, it is very pleasing to watch a movie where the message is positive. The old man & the sea is a story of an aged fisherman living in Cuba who finds himself not only chasing a giant Marlin, but himself. He has reached a point in his life where he has almost lost hope in himself and in life. The ironic point is that although he landed and brought the fish back to shore, it was devoured by a group of sharks. He showed people his luck did not wear out, only that persistence (hard work) pays does pay off. If only he had a bigger boat... If you are interested in another great performance, see "Going My Way" starring Bing Crosby who won an academy award for best actor for the movie.

Eighty-Four Straight Days Without A Fish
Santiago is an aged Cuban fisherman who has not caught any fish for eighty-four straight days. Because he is considered unlucky by the other villagers, the young boy who usually assists Santiago is told by his parents to join a luckier boat which has recently been catching some fish.

On the eighty-fifth day Santiago sets out alone and after a while he hooks a huge marlin. Most of the rest of the movie is about Santiago's struggle with the marlin and his battles with attacking sharks which are trying to eat the big fish. The story is also about Santiago's relationship with the boy who cares for the old man both before and after his epic voyage. The boy is indebted to Santiago for all that he has learned from him about fishing. Santiago is a widower and childless.

Much of the film shows Santiago alone at sea struggling with the marlin. In other words the movie is mostly focused on Spencer Tracy who does an excellent job of holding the viewer's interest.

In spite of Tracy's great performance, however, I still think that Anthony Quinn would have been a better choice for the role of Santiago - except for the fact that Quinn was fifteen years younger than Tracy.

The script closely follows Hemingway's novel which makes the movie even more remarkable.

A mythical cycle!
Hemingway decide to make an apparent simple story when in reality , he would write one of his most emblematic and passionate works.
Santiago is a simple man . In all his life nothing has happened , a flat life in the middle of this fisher community.
Suddenly the fate's call comes for him . 84 days in the sea Ñ twelve weeks without getting any important piece.
This means the unavoidable journey , the invisible conflicy between the man and the nature . You have to realize that the sea has been for this single fisherman a friend and a silent lover and witeness of his miseries and hopeless.
Suddenly he catchs a gorgeous piece; a beauty blue needle fish. His triumph deserved all the hunger since three months he left his home. This means the epic fight. But the long arm of the fate smiled him just for a brief moment , the sharks will appear and the tragedy begins .
Now Santiago has to fight to preserve his piece . The fight is inhuman and awful , he must leave that zone and keep the fish .
More than a fish you've killed a man replies in loud voice our simple man.
When our hero arrives to the coast he's another man . He won the combat and no matter there were no witeness . The life in many times it's capricious , but you must never give up . You must follow your bliss , no matter how high be the prize you pay.
Spencer Tracy made a top knotch performance with this one.
The film keeps its inner force and the spirit of the original novel, since its release forty six years ago.
Watch this movie . It goes far beyond than a simple entertaining !
Dazzling direction and obviously who can fail with a script like this one?
A cult movie !

the old man and the sea review
Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is a story about an old sea fisherman and his struggle with a greatest fish he has ever seen. The story takes place on the coast of Cuba in a small fishing village. Due to the fact he has not caught a fish in eighty-four days, his young apprentice is forced to go fish in a more prosperous boat. Although the book seems to have a simple plot, there is a lot of symbolism and the ending was interesting.
Some criticize The Old Man and the Sea for dragging on, but the character development only makes it more interesting to find out what happens. The main character, Santiago, is modest and keeps up hope despite his circumstance. His willingness to keep on, even despite his outcome, is moving.
Hemingway's style of writing also creates a detailed environment. The plot may be too straightforward but what it lacks, it makes up for rich detail. The way Hemingway depicts man's battle with nature makes it a good book to read.
The symbolism in the book is hard to read at first. As the book goes on, Hemingway uses more and more words that link Santiago to Christ and are very hard to miss. During the old man's battle with the fish, fishing cable cuts his palms. When carrying a mast across his shoulders in the village, images of Christ's march to Calgary can be related.
I would suggest this book to almost anyone over fifteen. The book is short (around a hundred pages) and straightforward. Although it has such a simple plot, the symbolism is a little more difficult to understand. Writing in short declarative sentences, Hemingway's style of writing makes it harder to read.

First Movie with a Saving The Planet Message.
When I first saw this movie, I thought this was an early save the planet movie. Well In addition to Spencer Tracy's powerful performance as a fisherman trying to catch the Marlan, there is also a lot of natural/wildlife photography in it that serves as the background for the movie and it's quite extensive for a 1958 film. I heard that Hemmingway really enjoyed the outdoor world, well this movie certainly had plenty of the natural world to show of. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

A QUANDARY FOR MS. SIEMASZKO
The lovely Nina Siemaszko is faced with the quandary of choosing between two adept lovers, the suave continental Phillipe or a wholesome all American type who is just a delivery boy to the office where she works. However, the latter does get her into an elevator where he shows her, to her delight, just how adept he is. Phillipe, though, is no fool and can make her wiggle with delight in bed too. Plenty of nipple kissing and simulated sex here. She resolves the quandry by dumping both. I would suggest that another solution would be to have her engage in what the adult film industry calls a DP.

Recommended
I've been into this Red Shoe-concept since its inception, mostly due to the presence of David Duchovny, so I've viewed a good many of these segments. The segment involving Richard Tyson is absolutely a breed apart from most anything I've seen in the soft-core category. Maybe all that means is that I've led a sheltered life. In any case, I've (watched ...) this video more than once, and I strongly encourage others to view it as well.

EXCELLENT SOFT CORE FILM
An excellent soft core film from the Showtime Red Shoe Diaries series, not all of which are on video. High production values and a pretty good plot. It's always a pleasure to see Nina Siemaszko, a very beautiful and sexy woman, in action. I recently saw her in "Sinatra" where she does a pretty good job portraying Mia Farrow, one of Sinatra's wives.

very cool and with taste
have been watching these for a while and we are not ever tired of them, they are done very nicely and very erotic for lovers only for sure ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Good ideas, bad form
Pinky shows the conflicted views of a black woman passing as white. We see her search for some identity while she is torn between the world of blacks and her heritage and the world of whites, those who persecute her ancestors.However; the film was a bit dull. There was an overall lack of action, and the ending was abrupt and poorly constructed. The ideas behind the movie were good, but the plot was almost too simple, and her internal conflict was resolved too quickly. They also neglected to show her lasting emotions for Tom, and it is unrealistic to think that she could drop contact with Tom so quickly and recover so well.

Pinky was a landmark film
And "Pinky" came 10 years before "Imitation of Life."

The criticism of casting "lily-white Jeanne Crain" for the part of Pinky is quite unjust.

I was born and raised in the South and and I saw nothing unbelievable in casting Ms. Crain in this part. Genetics - skin color, eye color and other physical characteristics are capable of being quite capricious.

The fact that this film was banned in the South should tell us something about the power in this movie "Pinky."

The movie itself was a wee bit over-acted as old dramatic flicks sometimes are, but I really enjoyed it. A lot of substance in the message - about how to define what we really are and how to define what makes a family and the power of unconditional love to heal and to save.

But my favorite character was Ethel Waters (the Aunt who raises Pinky). She was an incredible actress and completely believable in this role. Humble, gentle, self-sacrificing and ever-loving - while enduring her thankless jobs as nursemaid to a grouch and washwoman who worked for pennies - her part stole the show.

The white Negro and the concept of freedom
To be Negro does not always mean to be black, nor a black skin need remain black any more, nowadays...

Elia Kazan's irreverent and pervasive humour marks skin colour as a matter of the person's spiritual choice, between the world and one's own self-the spirit of temptation is again a character test ...

A natural white Negro is pressed (tempted) to forget (lose) oneself , stay on the better part of the world, reserved for "whites", and avoid the pains of conflict -- the same way professionals (not only actors) assume roles, wear new faces, cut new teeth and confront the lights with broad, lying smiles, thus becoming "images"...

The tragedy is that in one's quest to avoid pain, sometimes will suffer deep, and weep more, inside a persona encrusted on person and soul...

Human rights of a white Negro.

But in this film we follow a naturally white Negro girl who returns home (a town in the South), now a graduate nurse. She is angry, --- and her education allows her enough freedom to express her anger articulately --- for the social predicament in which she has to re-lapse, as a poor Negro woman, despite her brilliant education.
But, because of her rampant anger and her acquired quick reflexes to the challenges she faces, she fails to see other, fundamental aspects of life, that transcend the race-difference concept through which she experiences life, so painfully. This counts as a failure to communicate with her grandmother and friends. ("Nobody hates you, Pinky!")

This is one main theme of the story: Concepts, as the title of the film itself, ("Pinky") which is the name of the heroine, true to the reality of her skin colour, which can fit either of two races.
So, a white woman (as Pinky is taken for on appearance) is pressingly offered two white males' unsolicited patronage to exit the territory she is not supposed to walk about alone, in the Negro neighbourhood, for fear of molestation by the blacks. But when Pinky says she is in her very neighbourhood, there immediately arises the threat and violence of molestation by the white "protectors"-- the end concept being that woman is the Negro of the world, in any case...

These two women figures, the white mistress and her black faithful servant have evolved closely together, despite their colour, their class and even their educational differences. They seem different , but their spirit is revealed to be kindred.

They both care for Pinky, and they succeed to help in her spiritual development in their way.

As the grand mother says,"When you grow so old there is no such thing as a place you have to keep», you move to a unity that has no colour or class concept to keep people apart. So the old teacher, to whom Pinky near forcibly becomes a nurse, bequeaths her estate to her-to compensate her for her service-or/and to give her a reason to fight, an outlet for her anger-or/and to make a place for her in her own world , which she was so tempted to abandon, along with a part of her own self...

Pinky addresses the best in the lawyer who will defend her case in court. And though the trial is seen as preoccupied with the white peoples' view, the judge finally finds for the defendant, and admonishes the town folks who would not tolerate a Negro with substantial property among them.

Justice is done "but the community issues have not been served".

Now that her anger has been atoned, Pinky will answer the question what she really wants to do. She will not marry nor follow away the Yankee doctor she thought she loved, because she will not abandon the "black" part of her soul.

She stays, turns the house she inherited to a nurse school, thus finding her purpose of life.

These are the three main characters of the film, Pinky, the angry white Negro woman, her grandmother, the illiterate voluminous negro Mother who, by serving others and by the pains of her love, has earned wisdom; and the frail, brittle yet imperative white teacher, who little by little has earned the wisdom of the essential, to know the truth.

There are many lesser but memorable characters in the narrative:

The loving fiancé, who is ready to make big sacrifices for his love, Patricia, even when he discovers that she is Pinky, a Negro. He is a big-city man, ready to move away from "home", to another state, to avoid gossip about the "dark background" of his woman; there they can both "lose themselves" among an indifferent crowd, who need not know them...

Educated member of the community, the lawyer, a southern gentleman with a deep sence of honour, loyalty and duty, who makes sure Pinky receives a fair trial, and finally full justice, although he doubts if other matters of the community have been served by this confrontation.

There is also the vulgar and greedy, ripe yet dumb "belle", who would have inherited, who makes a spectacular point of putting Pinky in her place, of a coloured woman, in case she had forgotten or anyone else had not noticed...

There is the pathetic Negro clever dick, who "lives by his brains", serving the powerful and oppressing the needy.

Most comical is the scene of the arrest, by two policemen, who haste to protect a lady (Pinky) from the blacks that mistreat her. But when they are told that Pinky is black herself, their attitude becomes equally violent to all, regardless of sex...

As vivacity and functionality of a society is not just a matter of a corpus of legislation on oh Human Rights, but these qualities are measured by their fruits, the alleviation of pain and the incorporation of more individuality, we can reconsider the Yankee externality in comparison with the southern holistic interest in the person, when this is achieved of course, as in this story.

Kazan in this film must have had a hilarious ball, by miss- arranging all social preoccupations and certainties, north and south, to add at the end that people need love as they also need the law.

An elaborate, well articulated with real issues and dilemmas film by the genius director Elia Kazan, whose every film is a host of critical social matters, demanding philosophical examination.

Accept who you are...
I love the fact that when she came back home that she didn't hide her heritage. Pinky, who called herself Patricia when 'passing' as white. Came back to her hometown to see her grandmother and a patient, (who is her grandmother's employer) tells her to accept who she is. And that the black side of the town needed medical attention,and schooling young,black women to
become nurses also.

TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE...
This is a landmark film, as it tackled issues that were considered to be taboo at the time. Race hate, miscegenation, and passing for white are some of its themes. Unlike "Imitation of Life (1934), which in its own fashion dealt with the themes of passing for white and the unequal opportunities afforded blacks, this is not a sentimental tearjerker of a movie. Rather, there is an undercurrent of anger and righteousness that permeates it, and rightly so. It is a hard edged, no holds barred type of film. There is nothing sentimental about it.

Controversial in its time, the film is about a young bi-racial woman known as "Pinky" (Jeanne Crain), sent up north by her southern granny (Ethel Waters), so that she could receive an education. While up North, she begins passing for white inadvertently, as that is how she is apparently perceived, and makes no move to correct that perception. She studies and works hard, becoming a nurse. She then meets white Dr. Thomas Adams (William Lundigan), and they fall head over heels in love. He has no idea, however, of her background and knows her as "Patricia" not "Pinky".

Pinky, leaving him behind, returns home to the South one last time to confront her past and her personal demons. She ends up meeting bigotry head on, as down South where Pinky is known she is treated as blacks are treated, and does not like it one bit. It hardens her resolve all the more to return North and continue passing for white. She would like nothing better than to put as much distance as is possible between herself and her racial heritage. Helping out her grandmother, however, she ends up playing nurse to Miss Em (Ethel Barrymore), a crotchety, crusty, and ill eighty year old former plantation owner who has come down on hard times.

When Miss Em dies, she wills her estate to Pinky, creating a controversy that rocks the town when the will is challenged by distant relatives, the Wooleys. They are outraged and claim that the "colored girl" used undue influence over the elderly Miss Em. This galvanizes Pinky to stand up for her rights, enduring a mockery of a trial. Moreover, when Dr. Adams comes looking for her, Pinky finds herself taking a position with respect to their relationship that is a revelation to herself.

This is a film that at the time was highly controversial, due to its themes. It was a film that was certainly daring for its times. Why they cast a white woman for the part of a biracial character may seem puzzling to those of us in the twenty first century. I presume that this casting was mandated because there were love scenes between Pinky and her fiance, Dr. Adams, and this type of scene would have been forbidden in those days, if the actress cast for the part of Pinky were other than white. While a bi-racial woman was cast for the role of Peola, the woman who passed for white, in "Imitation of Life" in 1934, it was a safe bet to do so, as she had no love scenes with which to contend. Notwithstanding the casting of Jeanne Crain in the role of Pinky, this film was cutting edge stuff in 1949.

Wonderful performances are given by the entire cast. Ethel Waters, Jeanne Crain, and Ethel Barrymore all received Academy Award nominations for their roles in this film, though none of them won. While Jeanne Crain's casting was a stretch for her as an actress, she did give it her all, letting the viewer sense Pinky's discomfort and angst over the racial divide. Ethel Waters is superb as the hard working, humble soul who did the best that she could for her beloved Pinky. As the imperious Miss Em, Ethel Barrymore was perfectly cast and gives a superlative performance, imbuing the character with a humanity that a lesser actress may not have. All in all, this is a movie that lovers of classic films should enjoy and one that should be in any serious movie lover's collection. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This clunky road movie about three drag queens (Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, and John Leguziamo) who get stranded in a sleepy Nebraska town on their way to a beauty contest, is too uplifting for its own good. Released during drag's mid-'90s heyday when RuPaul and the Wigstock documentary were all the rage, To Wong Foo aimed straight for the mainstream with its inoffensive camp and "can't we all get along" moralism. While gay-activist groups howled about straights getting the lead roles in To Wong Foo, in the end the filmmakers really couldn't have done better than this trio of actors. John Leguziamo provides real sass and bite as a Latino (or should we saw Latina?) drag queen, and Wesley Snipes is surprisingly fierce as the imposing leader of the pack. Saddled with a cloying Southern accent and off-kilter wig, Patrick Swayze barely holds his own with his costars, though. To Wong Foo is best viewed as a cultural artifact of a time when it seemed as though drag could rule all tomorrow's parties. --Ethan Brown ... Read more

Reviews (74)

Schmaltz In A Purple Wrapper
[Add a half-star if you don't mind being manipulated.]

All during the summer, in seeing previews, I was worried about To Wong Foo... being an American version or rip-off of Priscilla: Queen Of The Desert. Trust me, there are a lot of similarities; however To Wong Foo... stands on its own as an enjoyable movie experience. In the audience I sat in, there was laughter and applause throughout and I found myself laughing and applauding along. (I hadn't expected to.)

Patrick Swayze is Vida Boheme, a drag queen from Bala Cynwyd, PA living in New York City. Bala Cynwyd is pivotal in his story. So is Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes). Boheme and Jackson are friends competing against Chi Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo) and others for "Drag Queen of the Year". Well, as luck would have it, Boheme and Jackson tie for the honors and both win an all-expense paid trip to Hollywood.

Well, Boheme is a queen with a heart. She can't stand to see Chi Chi, who lives in the same building, so upset about not winning the crown; so, Vida bullies Noxeema into trading their paid-for airline tickets for a car and, together, the three set off to drive cross-country. Shades of Boys On The Side.

Early on, the trio is stopped in the middle of nowhere by a county sheriff (Chris Penn in a hoot of a role). What happens next brings more remembrances of Boys On The Side.

Eventually, our fun-loving "females" end up in Snydersville, a small hamlet where everyone seems to have a problem and our girls have a solution for every single one of them. Despite this manipulation, To Wong Foo... delights at every turn. It's laugh-out-loud funny and not at all subtle. Normally, that would be a criticism, but in this case, it turns out to be a refreshing change of pace.

Of course, all of the elements in the story come together for a schmaltzy conclusion. But, that's OK. You'll get all wrapped up in it anyway, just like I did.

(Boy, was I surprised.)

[Originally written 10 September 1995]

A Fine, Fun and Snazzy Film, anything but a Drag!
This movie is one of those rare perfect films. Casting is brilliant (especially Stockard Channing, who only gets better and better as the years go by--and she was always totally incapable of less than a fantastic performance). The general plot line of the movie is a congenial road trip, as three drag queens drive from New York City to California to compete in a contest, and the themes are fulfilling.

In essence, the movie deals with the healing of "broken people." (For other such films, see such gems as "Batteries Not Included" and "Fried Green Tomatoes.") The unlikely angels? The three drag queens. The situation? Their car breaks down in a red-neck hamlet. Unlikely hijinks and dangerous confrontations lead to a satisfying conclusion.

And Julie Newmar was never better!

Uneven but when it's good it's GREAT
"To Wong Foo" seemed horribly miscast when you found out who was in it ... I mean, John Leguizamo had done drag before, proving himself to be very convincing and most definitely in touch with his "feminine side" -- but Wesley Snipes and Patrick Swayze??! Two macho movie stars pulling off parts as drag queens on a road trip?

But then you saw the movie ...

The three men do excellent jobs, Wesley Snipes in particular a total surprise in his role as Noxeema Jackson, drag queen with Attitude. Swayze, as Vida Boheme, is the "lady" of the trio who can get down and dirty when she has to -- and Leguziamo as Chi Chi Rodriguez is nothing short of perfection.

The plot is simple: At New York's Drag Queen of the Year contest, Noxeema and Vida tie for the crown. The title comes with a free airline ticket to Los Angeles, to compete in the Drag Queen of America competition, and the two "girls" couldn't be more excited. But then they meet little Latin Chi Chi Rodriguez, whose drag queen self-esteem was not at all helped by losing this competition. Vida, the kind of person who always believes in helping those less fortunate, talks a VERY disgruntled Noxeema into selling their plane tickets ... and using the money instead to buy a cheap car and drive to the L.A. contest. The night of the win, Vida spots an autographed photo of Miss Julie Newmar on the wall of the reataurant they are dining in, and reads the inscription: "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar". For those not in the know ... for years actress/model Julie Newmar, best known for her role at Catwoman on the tv series "Batman," has had rumors floating around saying that she's a drag queen in real life -- not a woman. She's just too statuesque, her face too strong on bone structure, to be a real woman! When Vida sees the framed autographed photo on the wall, she takes this as a sign that the three of them will be blessed on their quest. She also takes the photograph.

Halfway 'cross country, in Nebraska, the threesome is stopped by a racist sheriff who notices their tail light is out. Taking Vide back toward his car, he comes onto her, thinking she is a real woman. When he reaches under her dress and learns the truth, Vida tries to break free ... and knocks the sheriff to the ground, where he conks his head. They drive off quickly, before he can come to and REALLY do them all some damage.

Soon after, their old Cadillac breaks down, and Chi Chi hitchhikes them all a ride into Snydersville, a town that makes Mayberry look like New York City. Tiny and hick and populated with small-town minds as well, Snydersville seems to be the LAST place three drag queens would want to get stranded (if they want to live, that is), but when these three are stalled there for the weekend, until they get their car repaired, they decide to make the best of it by making over the town's women, addding some spark to a Strawberry Social - and, in general, bringing tons of color to an otherwise drab existence. But little do they know that Sheriff Dollard (Chris Penn) - who is less than thrilled by being knocked unconscious by a "boy in a dress," is out to find them ...

The movie is uneven in spots - the scenes in the town go from hysterical to being too stage - but overall whenever Snipes or Swayze or Leguizamo are on-screen, you could never be bored. Funny and with some VERY sharp one-liners, the movie comes close (especially in the end) to turning sappy with its "why can't we all just get along" mind-set -- but never quite pushes that envelope. The three leads are EXCELLENT, and backed beautifully by a great supporting cast the includes Stockard Channig, Melinda Dillon, Chris Penn, Jason London - even "Alias" star Michael Vartan. Ru Paul and Robin Williams add both class and style to brief cameos ... as does the one and only Miss Julie Newmar herself.

Stylish and funny and just corny enough to work, this comedy is anything but a drag ...

Oh no girlfriend, did you just do a ue?
Nothing but praise for this great flick! Let's face it, while it may not be a movie that George Bush would ever watch (mind you if he did he could learn a thing or two about love and acceptance). I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to watch a great movie. Even after seeing it over five times I still laugh out loud and get a kick out of all three "ladies"! Robin Williams is hilarious and RuPaul makes a surprise visit! Rent it today and you will be glad you did!

"It comes down to that age-old decision: style or substance"
One year after the success of the 1994 Australian film "The Adventures Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", Amblin Entertainment and Universal Pictures joined to produce the 1995 American version, "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar". Like the Australian film, which featured a trio of drag queens traveling across the rugged Australian outback from Sydney to the isolated resort of Alice Springs in a pink bus, the American version featured its own drag queen trio traveling from NYC to Los Angeles in an aging yellow Cadillac convertible; but the similarities end there. The drag queen trio featured in the American version was Miss Noxeema Jackson (Wesley Snipes), Miss Vida Boheme (Patrick Swayze) and Miss Chi-Chi Rodriguez (John Leguizamo). After Noxeema and Vida share the title of a drag queen contest, they invite (with Noxeema's reluctance) Chi-Chi to join them to participate in a national contest in Los Angeles. Not having enough money for all three to fly to Los Angeles from NYC, Vida convinces them to instead use their winnings to purchase a car that all three could travel in. The film's title comes from an autographed picture of Julie Newmar that Vida steals from a restaurant and places in the used yellow Cadillac convertible that the trio purchases. Similar to the Australian version, the car breaks down along the way, forcing the trio to stay a few days in a small, languishing town. There, they meet the town's assorted residents that include hotel owner Carol Ann (Stockard Channing), her abusive husband Virgil (Arliss Howard), Beatrice (Blythe Danner), the polite Bobby Ray (Jason London), Merna (Melinda Dillon), Loretta (Beth Grant), the aging Clara (Alice Drummond) and restaurant owner Jimmy Joe (Mike Hodge) to name a few. They also meet law enforcement officer Sheriff Dollard (Chris Penn) who wants to arrest them.

Though arguably not as well made as "The Adventures Priscilla, Queen of the Desert", "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar" is still a very entertaining and engaging film that is sufficiently different from the former to not be redundant. Cameo appearances in the film include Julie Newmar, Robin Williams (as John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt), RuPaul (as Miss Rachel Tensions) and Naomi Campbell. Memorable scenes in the film include the restaurant, the used car lot, Vida seeing her mother (Margaret H. Flynn), Chi-Chi earning rites of passage, Sheriff Dollard, Noxeema's interactions with townsfolk, the clothing store, the beauty parlor and the closing scenes. Patrick Swawye received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical, and John Leguizamo received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor in the Comedy/Musical. Sadly, Wesley Snipes did not receive a nomination for his excellent performance. Overall, I rate the film with 4 out of 5 stars. After watching the deleted scenes on the DVD, I concluded that they were best left deleted. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

A Cute Movie that is in Need of a DVD Transfer!
I saw Tammy and the Doctor on the Family Channel and as a sequel to Tammy and the Bachelor it's good but instead of being played by Debbie Reynolds Tammy is in this movie played by Sandra Dee and while Debbie Reynolds is my favorite Tammy I think Sandra Dee did a good job as Tammy and I think one of the reasons her casting as Tammy works is because Tammy is a sweet character and Sandra Dee was very popular for playing sweet wholesome girls like Gidget, etc. In this movie Tammy is a nurse and unfortunately no longer with Pete but she falls in love with a doctor played by Peter Fonda and I think that both he and Sandra were good and I thought this was an entertaining movie. There is another Tammy move that starred Sandra Dee I believe it is called Tammy Tell Me True but it doesn't seem to be available on video and there is also a movie called Tammy and the Millionaire with another actress playing Tammy but I haven't seen that movie yet but anyway I would like to see all of the Tammy movies transferred to DVD including the one I haven't seen yet.

Tammy And The Doctor
I have this movie and I think it was a wonderful family movie. I like all the Tammy movies, but I think this is the best. She gets into a lot of trouble when she goes to the hospital with her friend.

Tammy Told True
Tammy and the Doctor is a delightful, lighthearted, very enjoyable movie. Sandra Dee gives a fine performance as Tammy, perhaps not as good as Debbie Reynolds, but still she gives life to the character. Unfortunately, the writers unnecesarily pilfered several of the lines from Tammy and the Bachelor, they could have easily have written new ones. Unfortunately also, Universal studios has not seen fit to issue Tammy Tell Me True, so the viewers are sometimes at a lost as to things that are being referred to in Tammy's past. Tammy and the Doctor is a sweet, gentle movie, a welcome diversion from the meaningless sex and gross violence that blankets the screens today.

:o(
Sorry, but I found this movie disappointing. I'm a big fan of Tammy and the Bachelor, and putting Tammy with anyone but Pete just doesn't work in my mind.

The magnificent Dee at her best!
The beautiful and talented Sandra Dee was the ideal choice to play that adorable and irrepressible country bumpkin Tammy Tyree. In this sequel to TAMMY TELL ME TRUE(still unavailable on video as of this writing), the lovable country girl gets a job in a hospital to be near an elderly friend(the great character actress Beulah Bondi) who is going in for surgery. While unwittingly causing several mishaps, Tammy finds herself irresistably attracted to a good-looking young doctor(Peter Fonda in his film debut). If you're a serious Sandra Dee fan like I am, then you must make TAMMY AND THE DOCTOR part of your collection today! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Perhaps if The Bishop's Wife had lapsed on its copyright and fallen into the public domain like It's a Wonderful Life, it would be as much a Christmas staple as that classic. It certainly deserves to be. Dudley (Cary Grant) is an angel sent down by the prayers of a new bishop (David Niven). The bishop is trying to build a new cathedral, and he's so entrenched in his fundraising that he's watching his own marriage crumble around him. Loretta Young is devoted, moist-eyed, and basically a great date for the tempted Dudley. They drink in the afternoon, go skating at night, and make impulse buys. The skating sequence beats mightily on one's suspension of disbelief, but the rest of the film is an absolute joy. Grant is suave, worldly, and enchanting. A wonderful present for anyone who has not seen it. --Keith Simanton ... Read more

Reviews (58)

Delightful Holiday Story
Cary Grant stars as an angel named Dudley who suddenly appears and befriends an Episcopal bishop (David Niven) who is completely focused on raising money for his new church, and the bishop's wife (Loretta Young), who has become lonely and unhappy as her husband has gotten lost in his work. Grant uses little bits of heavenly magic and loads of charm to help Niven raise money and to help Young rediscover the joy of life. He also helps Niven and Young rediscover each other and realize that love must be the highest priority for anyone, including an ambitious bishop who's devoted to his job.

The acting is superb, as one would expect from this stellar cast. The story takes place at Christmas and, while not shown as much as other Christmas movies, I think it's one of the best. Cary Grant, all charm and suave coolness, plays this part perfectly, and the viewer even sees a touch of wistful envy in the angel who cannot have the Earthly love and happiness he helps Niven and Young rekindle for themselves. Buy this one and watch it every Christmas (or any other time you need a happiness booster or a reminder of the importance of love and kindness).

P.S.: "It's a Wonderful Life" is a good movie, but definitely I prefer "The Bishop's Wife".

A Family Favorite!
This film is one of the best of the Christmas Classics. The Bishop's Wife tells a story of an angel (Cary Grant) who comes down to earth in answer to a busy Bishop's (David Niven) prayer. The angel helps the Bishop learn to adjust his priorities and comes close to falling in love with Julia, the Bishop's wife (Loretta Young). The movie includes a lovely Skating/ Dance scene that defies description. Make this movie a tradition for your family this year.

Christmas with Cary Grant.
I think overall, this movie is maybe my favourite that was set around Christmas time. It's better than the brilliant - although overrated - Capra classic, "It's a Wonderful Life". I am in no way meaning to compare the two though. "The Bishop's Wife" is not really like that movie. But both films remain the two greatest christmas time classics to come out of the 1940's.

The film is, as one would have already guessed, set around christmas time. The main plot of the story, is that David Niven is this Bishop, who prays for guidance, of how to get a new cathedral built. Dudley (Cary Grant) is an Angel, who has been sent to help, although the Bishop does not take to him being an Angel too seriously, for some time. Dudley helps everyone he meets, but not always in the way they might prefer, to start off with. Dudley spends a lot of time with the Bishop's wife (Loretta Young) and he is not liking it. Dudley becomes the popular friend among all the people he meets, and helps, but the Bishop is the odd one out, becoming more annoyed, and frustrated with him as it goes along. It all ends nicely though, of course.

The film is really wonferful. There is a skating scene, that is inparticularly memorable, among Cary Grant always charming, excellent performance. The acting in this movie, is simply brilliant. I cant possibly have seen it being any better. The script, the story, everything about this movie is great. Repeated viewings are easy, and its one of Cary Grant best movies.

This DVD from MGM has a great print. It contains very few signs of scratching, and the other little artifacts you find in some movies of this age, and is an overall good looking transfer. The extras are lousy. You get the trailer (which is quite fun, might I add) but absolutely nothing else. Oh well, the print is the main thing, and they have done a good job in that part. Highly recommended.

Charming but overlong
Bishop: Are you expecting a letter?
Dudley: Well, you never know. If I did get one, the stamp would certainly be worth saving.

That's because Dudley (Cary Grant) is an angel sent to give guidance to forlorn Bishop Henry Brougham (David Niven), and who eventually lights up the lives of everyone else in the Bishop's life, especially The Bishop's Wife in this delightful Christmas film from 1947. When the Bishop prays for help in getting a new cathedral built (the local millionairess widow will only give if her late husband's name is prominently displayed), Cary Grant shows up as his "assistant" but soon makes the Bishop even more miserable by charming his wife Julia (radiant Loretta Young), daughter Debby, and even housemaid Matilda (Elsa Lanchester, always wonderful).

The Bishop's Wife is truly "heavenly" with Grant playing off his tried-and-true persona. Originally Grant and Niven were supposed to have the opposite roles, but Grant decided he could do more with the angel role -- and Grant was a bigger star -- so they were exchanged. Good thing, too: I can't imagine Cary playing the indecisive Bishop any more than I can imagine Niven charming a woman away from Cary Grant.

Only a few things keep The Bishop's Wife from being perfect. There is an overlong ice-skating scene that really stretches the believability (I had to keep telling myself "he's an angel; he can do anything), and the film runs on about twenty minutes too long. In the beginning, Grant is so taken by Young that, if he weren't an angel, those looks would feel really sleazy. Turns out that Cary is just discovering temptations, which makes the ending all the more noble.

Watching The Bishop's Wife in June (during a Cary Grant festival on Turner Classic Movies) is a little strange, but the movie is so ... happy that it's easy to slip into the vibe, especially with all the Christmas carols being bandied about like so many candy canes. I'd certainly recommend that fans of the stars watch it at least once (especially since Loretta Young, whom I don't find all that attractive, is made, through Gregg Toland's photography, into a very appealing woman). Niven is rather on the milquetoasty side and his richest scene involves him being stuck in a chair, but the rest of the film is two hours of Christmas joy.

Charming!
THE BISHOP'S WIFE is a thoroughly charming movie about an "angel" (Cary Grant) who changes the life of a bishop (David Niven) who at Christmas time is trying desperately to raise funds to build an elaborate cathedral and has consequently neglected his wife, Julia (Loretta Young). The three leads give beautiful performances, and there is a wonderful supporting cast, including Monty Woolley as a kindly if doubting professor and James Gleason as a loveable cab driver. The screenplay is subtle, as is the musical score. The scene near the end of the film in which Grant, Young, and Gleason take time out for some ice skating is a delightful respite, very much like a number in a movie musical. THE BISHOP'S WIFE is a relatively recent addition to my video library, but it has quickly become my favorite classic Christmas movie -- next to MIRACLE ON 34th STREET and Alastair Sim's A CHRISTMAS CAROL, that is. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Why isn't this on DVD?
This is one of the greatest movies of all time in my opinion. I am very pleased it has lasted and not been blacklisted like Disney's 'Song Of The South'. The black cast does speak with an overly Southern accent of the time, and that's what makes this so charming. Rex Ingram is delightful as "De Lawd". Don't miss Eddie "Rochester" Anderson as Noah. ("I guess I can get de animals, Lawd. There was a circus in town last week...")

With every junky new movie coming out on DVD, why hasn't this classic come out?

Triumphant!
I first saw this movie as a child, probably aged 5 or six, and I'd never forgotten it. For some reason, I had never been able to catch it on t.v., and as the years went by, it became very sketchy in my mind, but still there. Last night, about 44 years after the first time I viewed it, I had the profound pleasure of seeing it again. It was worth the wait.
The cast is spectacular, the sets charming and beautiful. It tells the story of creation, Adam and Eve, Noah ect, with a child-like simplicity. Often hilarious, sometimes very poignant and moving but always reverent, it illustrates what has given African Americans the strength to survive the tremendous struggles we have faced as a people. A simple, steadfast faith in God, who, for many of us, is as real as the sun, flowers, storms, and just as much a part of our every day lives. It is an awesome movie, and one that I think every one should see, at least once.

A True
I keep watching this film over & over again. It displays some of the very best cinematography in Black & White film making, I have ever seen.The film encompasses; Drama, comedy, visualizations & tremendous conversation of the old time south. The feeling of watching the all African - American cast, in a true southern depiction & context, is compelling to me. This is the time before the media introduced a rediculous control over what we, as Americans, can watch & enjoy as main stream filming.

I would love to see this & other classics of it's time being replayed on todays television a lot more frequently. To me, todays black film makers are to reluctant to create films of life, in much lesser, simpleminded & wholesome environment. I recommend for all ages,to be a " must see " motion picture.

Please the King!
This movie is a throwback to a better time; a time when political correctness didn't get in the way of a good laugh. It consists of bible stories seen through the eyes of poor Southern blacks in the 1930s. You will roar with laughter as adorable pickaninnies ride clouds in Heaven and Noah debates with De Lawd about how many "kegs o' likka" he can take on the Ark. My favorite scene is when Moses and Aaron confront Old King Pharaoh to demand that he "let the Hebrew chillun' go." Moses is portrayed as a simple yet pious half-wit empowered by De Lawd with a magical walking stick and a few extra IQ points (okay, make that a lot of extra IQ points). You will cheer when he gives the Pharaoh his comeuppance by showing him that you can't out-trick De Lawd. Rex Ingram does some fine acting in his triple roles of De Lawd, Adam, and Hezdrel. The scene where Hezdrel tells De Lawd about how mankind found "moicy" is heart-touching. I wholeheartedly recommend this film to anyone interested in cinema the way it used to be, without the liberal bias and distortions of fact we are subjected to today. So if you'd like an old-fashioned good time, just rare back with a ten-cent ceegar and a bottle of sonny-kick-mammy wine and pop this one in the VCR. It's more fun than a fish-fry in Heaven!

Wish I could get it on DVD
Well, Im settling for VHS although I really want it on DVD. This has got to be the best movie of all time...in my opinion of course. I saw this movie some years ago and Ive been looking for it ever since. I was actually on my way to a church revival that night and this movie came on AMC so i watched it as i got dressed. I then found myself debating whether i should go to church late and see the end or go to church on time and see the movie later? This was during black history month so I was sure it would come on again. Well I went to church hoping that Id catch the movie again another time and I never did because..OH WOW! I never caught the name of the movie. Ive spent my day today looking up every old African American movie I could find and I actually found it on someones list. Its a wonderful movie yall, funny as I dont know what although I doubt its meant to be. The vernacular is what sealed it for me. If you want to hear some real serious Ebonics, buy this movie!! For real. Gods name in the movie was Lawd! I wish we could rate higher than 5 stars cuz I'd give this movie a 10! ... Read more