Description

A young San Francisco widow is swept into a political uprising in Burma after her sister reluctantly drags her on a Southeast Asia tour. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

You feel the Heat
Beyond Rangoon is an excellent movie for understanding the struggle between freedom and oppression.

I happened to be on the Thai border in September of 1988 just prior to the massive movement of people across the border due to the response to Aung San Suu Kyi and her following. I did not know that at the time. All I remember is that on Thai TV a border war seemed to be starting and the road that I was driving on just the week before was being bombed by the Burmese.

The story, although referring to the rebellion and some of those who fled, is more about Archette's character as she struggled to forget the death of her son and husband. As a Doctor, she never took time to get away, and Rangoon seemed a place to be that was exotic.

She takes a walk one very balmy evening only to see Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers walking enmasse on the street. There is later the next day another protest, then things unravel and Archette, Dr. Laura Bowman, is forced to flee.

The flight across the jungle is intense. You actually feel the horror she feels, the close calls, yet, she is helped to flee by virtual strangers with a mutual desire to survive.

This is an excellent movie as an introduction to Myanmar/Burmese history. I have stayed on the border with some of the Karen peoples, whom you will be introduced to at the end of the movie. They are a kind people who also have been effected by the power politics that is Myanmar.

This movie is a keeper and worth watching now and again to remind you that the rest of the world does not rest as easy as we do in the west.

Painful but true
I watched this movie because having just spent 18 months living in Rangoon (Yangon to the Myanmar government at least) I was interested to see how it would be represented in a Hollywood movie. I was impressed by the attention to detail in representing the country, though I doubt very much that it was filmed in Myanmar. The government there doesn't even allow journalists in unless it feels like it, so I think the chances of a film crew being allowed in to make a movie critical of the regime are negligible. That having been said, it was a moving depiction of what did actually happen in 1988 (according to my friends there). Nothing much has changed since then - the government still brooks no criticism of its actions, as its recent treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi demonstrates.
Regarding the plot of the movie, I thought the reason for Patricia Arquette being there was a bit contrived, but apart from that, its excellent production values, solid acting, and convincing script provide a compelling and extremely watchable film.

Sad... But True
An incredible and precise depiction of the post 1988 era in the less known country of Burma.

I was appalled by the ferocity of the military regime and astonished by the courage of one woman, Aung San Su Kyi, a noble peace price laureate (1991), who stood up bravely in front of the pointed rifles for what she believes in. Although the scenes can not cover the entire brutalities, such as using rape as a weapon, carried out by the regime, the film indeed portrays the events with a moving plot; Patricia Arquette, a tourist in Burma, witnesses the inspiration of Burmese students who are willing to sacrifice for freedom.

Turning this VHS into DVD would be helpful in letting the world glimpse at the human rights conditions in Burma. Thank you!

One of my favorites
My parents owned a video store for many years, henceforth I have seen alot of movies in my time on this planet.This is one of my favorites. 'Nuff said

Profound and moving
My absolute favourite movie.
I can't believe it's still not available on DVD ??! :( ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This lush retelling of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table is a dark and engrossing tale. Director John Boorman (Deliverance) masterfully handles the tale of the mythical sword Excalibur, and its passing from the wizard Merlin to the future king of England. Arthur pulls the famed sword from a stone and is destined to be crowned king. As the king embarks on a passionate love affair with Guenevere, an illegitimate son, and Merlin's designs on power, threaten Arthur's reign. The film is visually stunning and unflinching in its scenes of combat and black magic. Featuring an impressive supporting cast, including early work from the likes of Liam Neeson and Gabriel Byrne, Excalibur is an adaptation of the legend both faithful and bold. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (242)

An amazing movie
Ok, its not a perfect movie, but for this movie, which covers the mythology of Arthur, Camelot and Excalibur(very very difficult to do) it succeeds remarkably well. There are scenes that are nearly perfect throughout the film. When the Knights of the Round Table first form, when Arthur and Lancelot joust, the sins of adultery scene, the 'unholy child' scene, the search for the Grail, when Perceval strips his armor and is born anew(remarkable), when Arthur and Guenevere meet one last time with some beautifully poetic dialogue, the scene where Arhur sees Merlin in his dreams while at Stonehenge at dusk, and of course the final battle. Wow, there are just so many great scenes. Probably my favorite is when Perceval casts Excalibur back into the lake and the Lady of the Lake reaches out to take it back. Then, we see another amazing scene as Arthur is seen being taken away in a boat to Avalon. I could go on and on about this film. See it in DVD, though, the widescreen vision. A beautiful, remarkable film that few directors would even begin to attempt today. I think a younger Speilberg would be daring enough to attempt it, but I doubt he would succeed nearly as well. Zemeckis gave it a try with Sean Connery and Richard Gere. It was called First Knight. Watch that movie and then watch Excalibur and it is almost laughable how much better the latter one is... Buy this movie now, sit back and enjoy.

Not Perfect, But Darn Close...
It's tough to compress the 900-some-odd pages of text that Thomas Malory used to tell his story of Le Morte d'Arthur into 140 minutes, but director John Boorman and screenwriter Rospo Pallenberg give it a good shot. While it sometimes leaves out important details or compresses events in the interest of time, it can never be accused of playing fast and loose with the legend. However, the film also requires a bit of work on the part of the viewer to fill in some of the details, and it's obvious Boorman expects his viewer to be at least passing familiar with the traditions of the Arthurian legend (anyone unfamiliar with the mythology associated with Avalon, for example, may be baffled by the imagery in the film's closing moments).

With its darkened, cloud-streaked skies, lonely stone castles, eerie green lighting, (all caught in beautiful widescreen glory on the DVD!) and use of the music of Richard Wagner, you won't find a moodier, more beautifully shot film. In fact, there are some downright breathtaking cinematic moments in this film -- from the wedding of Arthur and Guinevere (complete with medieval chants and armor polished to a mirror-like sheen) to the Lady of the Lake's clean catch of Excalibur over the swooshing music of Wagner. Great stuff.

While Nicol Williamson turns in a very game performance as Merlin, it's Nigel Terry who carries the film in an underappreciated but wholly believeable interpretation of King Arthur. Terry leaves the scenery-chewing to Williamson, and anchors the film instead with a steady, understated performance. Look also for stars-in-the-making Liam Neeson as the jealous Gawain, and Patrick Stewart as Guenevere's father, Leodegrance.

EXCALIBUR has all the elements one expects in a fantasy; yet, in a sense, Boorman does for the sword-and-sorcery film what Sergio Leone did for the western: whereas prior horse operas showed cowboys riding across the desert and shuffing down dirt streets without a bit of sweat, and firing pistols that never drew blood, Leone made everyone look hot and sweaty, and showed that a Smith & Wesson could rip a real hole through your gut. Boorman does the same for the knight in this film -- knights clunk around clumsily in heavy armor, get skewered on pikes, get their heads bashed in, and cough their guts out in bloody mud puddles. It all lends an air of veracity to the film that makes it all seem like It Could Really Have Happened This Way.

The widescreen format available on DVD gives this film the weight and heft it has long deserved, and there are some real gems lurking among the additional features -- a surprisingly cheezy, Grade B trailer, and a really great alternate soundtrack in which director John Boorman discusses the action and shares some behind-the-scene goodies (such as the fact that Nicol Williamson and Helen Mirren couldn't stand each other, or that the actor playing the teenaged Mordred was actually a first-rate horseman).

weak but at least it sticks to the legends
Of all the horrid films based on Arthurian legends (it seems there's a curse preventing a good Arthurian film!), this is the "best" there is. The screenplay is weak and the acting bearable at best but at least it sticks (roughly) to the legends (which is more than I can say for every other "Arthurian" film in existence). For that reason, I recommend "Excalibur" over any other Arthurian film.

Classic
The thing to remember about this movie is that it was made in 1981. By that token, do not expect non stop battle sequences, one dimensional acting and obviously fake computer cg graphics. This is a movie in the old tradition, in the vein of something like "The Lion in Winter." It is not a non stop action epic and takes pride in slowly building up the story according the classical tales of King Arthur. I like to think of this as a great adaptation in the grand old style. Bravo.

Only ordinary
The Arthur story has been told and retold in dozens of ways. Some (like Mists of Avalon) give a unique perspective, others emphasize the character drama, yet others apply the newest effects to the story.

This version, though competent enough, never seemed to find itself. It has good action, reasonable interprtations of characters, and a generally high standard of craftsmanship. When the story is as familiar as Arthur et al., it takes something more for a movie to become memorable.

It's exciting and it's watchable. It just has nothing to put it ahead of other versions of the Arthur story. ... Read more

Reviews (84)

Trippy
Zardoz is an extremely heavy-handed social satire. Like most head movies of the early 1970s, it is worth watching, if for no other reason, than as a relic of a period of time when directors really started experimenting with the medium of film (with quite varied results), e.g. using psychedellic images, etc. And, like many such films, while it often comes off as pretentious, it is never actually boring.

The society in Zardoz is an analogy for our own and you get a general picture of its setup in the first 20 minutes (so I'm not giving away any surprises). Sean Connery is part of a gang which is provided with weapons by a flying figure-head (literally speaking). This gang's role is to go around killing people, raping and pillaging and, consequently, they help control the population and keep it weak. The rest of the population does things like grow food and give it as offerings to the flying head, partly because it offers some semblance of control over the brutal gangs it created (and maintains) in the first place.

Sean Connery decides to jump on board the flying head for a ride and learns that it is not a god, but a machine built by an elite race of immortals who have all their needs provided for (via the flying head) by the rest of society while they live in leisure. The immortals also have (exclusive) access to all recorded art and knowledge, but seem incapable of producing any themselves. In other words, there are clear analogies to inner-city gangs, police states, law and order government, capitalism, media control, and their interdependence. The rest of the film is then concerned with Connery's interaction with the immortals, learning their weaknesses, etc., and the immortals' reactions to Connery when they realize that he is mentally and physically superior to them when freed from their continued interference and control of the rest of society. Like I said, rather heavy- handed satire, but definitely not unrealistic. People from the inner-cities will recognize its accuracy the most.

There are many campy touches, however most (not all) I believe are intentional. And the film has Boorman's usual stunning cinematography. This film is a cult classic which is at least always interesting if not always good. And keep in mind that Boorman, that whiz (wink wink), is not being entirely serious.

Zardoz does it!
No matter how critical an attitude I bring to it, I simply cannot dislike this film! Its premises, performances, and images are a godsend to a lover of "thinking person's" science fiction. I have no idea what previous reviewers mean when they talk of a hippie sensibility pervading the film. I saw it twice during its initial release and have just seen it again after twenty some odd years; it still holds its special relevance and the satire still connects. Plus, it's a pleasure watching a science fiction film without a surfeit of gratuitous computer generated effects. Most of the story is told with the use of splendid cinematography, interesting sets, and a simple straightforward script with a few compelling twists. Some may argue that the actors' lines are trite; they are, but to wonderful biting effect. The masks worn by the Exterminators are marvelous, as is the floating head of Zardoz. The aerial photography and sound effects are also used to great effect near the beginning of the film to set the stage for the entrance into the Vortex and Zed's "big boy adventure" among the Immortals. Though Sean Connery's Zed chews most of the scenery, my favorite character was Friend played by John Alderton, especially after he received his sentence and was banished to the world of the aging Renegades. Hilarious!
Even the time lapse ending was effective. Normally this device is used as a crutch for a filmmaker simply because he/she doesn't know how to develop a denouement. Not here; it works perfectly!
This DVD release is crisp and vibrant with stunningly saturated colors and fine sound. I concur with a previous reviewer; this has to be the finest use of the Second Movement of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony ever in a film, heard in both it's original scoring and in a special choral arrangement--slow, stately and at a funeral march tempo, the way it should be despite the composer's score markings! I haven't heard the director's narrative track and am in no hurry to do so; the film speaks well for itself.
In my opinion, this rightfully ranks as a "must have" for fans of lovingly-made, imaginative, and thought-provoking films. Bring an open mind and a sense of humor along with the popcorn; you're in for a treat!

Something to Think About ¿ Burt Reynold Was Originally Sched
One afternoon, 10 years after it was released, I saw Zardoz in a moviehouse in Georgetown and didn't get it - except that Sean Connery was still very sexy. Recently, the serendipity of watching The Swimmng Pool with Charlotte Rampling suggested giving this Boorman allegory another chance. I finally get it and had fun seeing it again. Three reasons to watch Zardoz are John Boorman's emerging vision and personal iconography, the power of Sean Connery's presence and acting (especially at the point in his career when he was trying to break from the Bond type-cast), and Geoffrey Unsworth's masterful photography.

Boorman and his actors put their hearts and talent on the line. Connery pulls off wearing the red loincloth and wedding dress, pulling a rickshaw and effectively performing scenes like the lecture on libido with subtle irony. Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, and other actresses can survive wearing go-go boots or performing nude while portraying strong women in conflict reacting to Zed's mojo. The whole cast of immortals are such good actors that you can giggle about the horror of wearing macramé tops and overly foofed hair, but they suspend your belief in the nightmare society these characters have created. Unsworth not only films this movie; he validates the vision with clear images that indulges Boorman's penchant for setting archetypes and going all Jungian on us. It is beautiful to watch and mostly poetic.

Boorman stuffs the movie with cinematic references like Welles and Peckinpah, much like the immortals have stuffed their museum. In his commentary, he admits putting too much in the film and that he would do things differently with more money and experience. At the beginning, there are moments that almost feel like Monty Python's Holy Grail or Woody Allen's Sleeper, but the movie progresses past that. The set design was interesting, but I felt that the costuming was just a little too groovy. He also admits that some of this cult classic is laughable, but the actors and the camera take it seriously enough to trap us in the Vortex and follow Zed as he searches for the truth. I am a sucker for personal films, and everybody involved made this personal to their truth.

Given what has been going on in Silicon Valley, Zardoz is still very pertinent. The irony is that celluloid projections on glass, superimposed images on film and light refracting from faceted crystals simulated computers, which were used to depict John Boorman's vision of 2293. In any remake, instead of green bread, Boorman's successor would have to direct the brutals in assembling green pizzas, and a notion of a religious mystery commanding the terminators would be named by the corruption of the phrase - Stock Option. Their god would be called Ckoption. Nyahhh! Just watch Zardoz.

Strange, uneven and often beautiful
This is a very strange work, a large-scale but highly personal film with many beauties as well as some dubious elements. The opening fifteen minutes are among the most memorable: Boorman begins the movie with numerous striking compositions (greatly enhanced by this pristine DVD edition), and a dreamlike, largely silent progression which highlights his storytelling talent; Zed's 'learning sequence', later in the film, is also remarkably put together. The main character's quest for truth and knowledge is mostly compelling, but brought down a bit by Boorman's simplistic, rarely subtle views on sexuality and spirituality. On the other hand, his use of mythology, classical art and fairy tales is adept and intelligent, and the twist he gives to the Indo-European functional tripartition famously noted by Georges Dumezil (sovereign-religious / physical strength-war / fecundity) is quite provocative. 'Zardoz' is a cult movie par excellence: flawed but ambitious, its weaknesses are as definitive as its strengths in defining its special flavour. This unique film should be seen by adventurous viewers.

Director John Boorman's Classic
ZARDOZ is director John Boorman's classic tale of future events. This came at a time when Sean Connery was giving up his James Bond image. ZARDOZ was one of the greatest "sleepers"of its time. This DVD combined with the film's shocking ending is very good. ... Read more

Reviews (104)

What REALLY happened on the Cahulawassee River?
When it comes to fictional survival stories, few can approach the sheer grueling brutality of DELIVERANCE. Brilliantly adapted by James Dickey from his best-selling book and superbly directed by John Boorman (POINT BLANK, HOPE AND GLORY), this is a tremendous endeavor. So much so that horror writer Stephen King and Boorman's fellow director Stanley Kubrick both expressed a tremendous admiration of it.

As pretty much everyone knows, DELIVERANCE focuses on four Atlanta businessmen (Burt Reynolds, Jon Voight, Ned Beatty, Ronny Cox) who decide to take a canoe trip down the Cahulawassee River in the Appalachian Mountains of northern Georgia before it is dammed up into a lake. It is apparent, however, that the local folk don't take kindly to these "city boys" messing around in their woods. And when Voight and Beatty are sexually assaulted at gunpoint by a pair of sadistic rednecks (Bill McKinney, Herbert "Cowboy" Coward), in the infamous "SQUEAL!!" segment, what began as a canoe trip explodes into a nightmare.

Much is made, and justifiably so, not only of the "SQUEAL" scene but also of the "Dueling Banjos" part, between Cox and a retarted mountain kid. But DELIVERANCE has much more to offer besides these moments. Like A CLOCKWORK ORANGE and STRAW DOGS, it offers a hard-hitting and unflinching look at Man's penchant for violent and (arguably) abhorrent behavior. The four leads are extremely good in their roles, and McKinney and Coward make for two of the more frightening and vicious villains in screen history. Dickey appears in the film's final reel as a local sheriff who, as he puts it would "kinda like to see this town die peaceful."

Shot totally on location, and featuring ominous cinematography from the legendary Vilmos Zsigmond, DELIVERANCE is a great and frightening piece--arguably a modern gothic horror film, certainly a great action film with an undercurrent as sinister as the Cahulawassee River itself. It is not to be missed,

Terrific, violent and distressing thriller!
In 1972, the English filmmaker John Boorman ("Excalibur", "Hope and Glory") accomplished one of the most contusing and acclaimed dramas of Hollywood history.Based on James Dickey's original best-selling novel, Deliverance is a vigorous picture about the human cruelty directed with mastery by Boorman, who substituted the original profesional chosen to make the film, Sam Peckinpah. Dickey also worked on the movie (and he even has a small part as a sheriff), helping to give the correct contours and maintaining the fidelity to his shocking book: four friends, common and hard-working citizens, decide to spend the weekend challenging the dangerous and fast rapidses of the "last unpolluted river in Georgia".Worst is what waits for them in the margins. Starting from the moment in which they arrive in the mountains, the confusion with the eccentric hillbillies gets announced and explodes later into mutilation, murder and rape. After Voight and Beatty are assaulted by two hillbillies, comes one of the most distressing cinematography's sequences ,Ned Beatty under the power and strength of a sick local's inhabitant .Then, Reynolds kills one of the homosexuals, and the other scapes, this is the point in which Boorman sets inside that hostile and natural enviroment a type of "primitive" tribunal. This is the most frightening moment: what should they do?hide the body, kill the other mountain man who fled, and pretend that nothing happened, deceiving the authorities, or go to the police, admit the crime and take the risk that resides in a possible trial? the dignity and the heart of each character will be tested!Burt Reynolds gives an outstanding performance and, perhaps, the best of his career, as a man obsessed by adventure who will do to everything to survive,but the most astonishing and brave acting belongs to Ned Beatty,terrific as a poor overweight salesman who receives the most impressive punishment by the hillbillies. Agile, violent, and extremely dramatic, this thriller is powerful and courageous.

Thrilling, Exciting and Still Disturbing...
DELIVERANCE (1972) was adapted from the great and controversial best-selling novel, written in 1970 by James Dickey. Made by British director John Boorman, who was relatively new to Hollywood at the time, this film was a faithful adaptation of the book, with the exception of some humor being interlaced into some of the earlier scenes. In some ways, it is even more disturbing; by juxtaposing some light comedy in the first half, Boorman makes what happens in the second half that much more nightmarish by comparison. And it is a nightmare...happening in the middle of the woods on a sunny day in the deep South.

The book told the story of four middle-aged surburbanites---Ed Gentry, Lewis Medlock (guess he did have a last name, after all), Drew Ballinger and Bobby Trippe---encouraged by nature-loving, alpha-male Lewis to brave the rapids of a river before it gets dammed for good. Told in first-person by Ed, who harbors latent homosexual desires for Lewis (though never acts upon them), the men paddle downstream in two canoes---Lewis & Drew in one, Ed & Bobby in the other---when they are separated at a river fork. As Ed & Bobby manage to get their boat ashore, and try to figure out a way to rejoin their friends, they are confronted by two mountain men with shotguns. Both are ugly. One of them is toothless. The non-toothless one forces the chubby, soft-bodied Bobby to strip half-naked and then rapes him at gunpoint, as Ed is restrained by being chained to a tree. When he has finished with Bobby, the toothless man prepares to force Ed to go down on him when Lewis finally catches up with his lost friends and shoots the first attacker with his bow & arrow, killing him almost instantly. As the toothless man runs off, Lewis attempts to lead his friends to safety down the river. However, banjo-playing Drew is shot to death by an unseen sniper (presumably the Toothless Man) and Lewis is incapacitated in an accident soon after. It is up to citified friends Ed and the now-broken-spirited Bobby to somehow gather their muster, and for Ed to learn to use his long-buried primordial instincts to help them get out of this horrible situation *and* to not arouse suspicion by the law.

The book was a compulsive page-turner and nail biter, and the well-made film is no different in that respect. Deciding to work with a 30-something cast instead of 40-somethings, Boorman cast then-rising-stars Burt Reynolds and Jon Voight as Lewis and Ed, supporting player Ronny Cox (who would achieve stardom over a decade later in BEVERLY HILLS COP, 1984) as Drew, and then-unknown Ned Beatty (in his film debut) as the unfortunate Bobby. It was casting genius. Reynolds fills Lewis Medlock perfectly, with his macho swagger hiding a surprising sensitivity which emerges once he is rendered practically useless. This performance made him a superstar (and should have earned him a Best Supporting Actor nomination), and began a decade of Burt dominating at the box office, though usually in Southern-fried comedies. Voight, who had already been Oscar-nominated as urban cowboy gigolo Joe Buck in MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969), correctly tones down his usual overplaying tendencies to convey Ed Gentry's low-key complacent nature. Ronny Cox brings Drew Ballinger to life, and nearly steals the show with the film's early "Duelling Banjos" scene, and shows a lot of dramatic ability in the film's darker half. But it's Ned Beatty, in his brilliant performance as the at-first clownish and wimpy insurance salesman Bobby Trippe whose horrific trial-by-fire at first breaks him, then rebuilds him into a man who can stand up for himself and prevail, that is the film's emotional centerpiece. He definitely should have earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for this very difficult role. Kudos must also be given to Bill McKinney, as the Mountain Man who rapes him; his portrayal is among the most chilling and creepy in cinematic history.

Speaking of that, this was the very first time male-on-male rape had ever been depicted on the big screen. John Boorman directed this scene with utmost care for his actors, while creating a scene that was in some ways even more horrific than had been described in James Dickey's book (there is no "squeal like a piggy" order given by the Mountain man in the book). According to Burt Reynolds' account in his autobiography, Ned Beatty was only going to do one take of this scene and Bill McKinney took his Method Acting a little too far and actually seemes like he was really going to "bang" Ned Beatty (it is maintained that he even had an erection at the beginning of this scene!); Burt and director Boorman had to intervene at one point! No matter what actually happened, this scene was handled bravely, and considering the fact that it was filmed in 1972, was especialy not easy to do. Lastly, the author himself appears at the end as Sheriff Bullard, and is amazingly well-cast in a subtely threatening (as scary as heck) cameo.

DELIVERANCE is still no less impacting as it was over 30 years ago. It is a must-see for anyone who calls themselves a movie fan.

MOST RECOMMENDED; AGES 15 & UP

Banjo, anyone?
City folk Burt Reynolds (Louis), Jon Voight (Ed), Ronnie Cox (Drew) and Ned Beatty (Bobbie) take a canoe trip down a backwoods Georgia river which will soon be flooded out when a new dam is constructed.

The foursome hire some possibly-inbred hillbillies to drive their cars down to Aintry to be picked up later. Off they go downriver. They encounter small rapids, bugs, and then Ed and Bobby are assaulted by two unpleasant hillbillies. They make Bobbie drop his drawers and squeal like a pig, and tell Ed he has a "real purty mouth". Louis and Drew sneak up on them and kill one of the men as the other runs off.

This leads to a moral dilemma among the four canoers. Do they tell the cops? Do they bury the body and act innocent? They make a decision, and continue downstream. At one point going through some rapids, Drew falls overboard, apparently shot by the second hillbilly, and Louis breaks his leg. Bobby camps out with Louis as Ed climbs up a cliff to reconnoitre and ferret out the second man. Finally, they continue down to Aintry, where they recuperate, and are questioned about their experience.

The screenplay was written by James Dickey based on his book, and he has a small part as the sheriff who wonders what the men had been up to.

Good ensemble acting (probably Burt's best role), beautiful photography and locations, and a great story make this an impressive movie. Oscar nominations for director (John Boorman), picture and editing, and Golden Globe nominations for director, picture, actor (Voight), song ("Dueling Banjos") and screenplay. The reasonably-priced DVD has the R-rated full-screen and wide-screen format movie, a good documentary, English or French language and subtitles, Dolby sound, chapters, cast/crew/production notes, and a trailer.

Duelling banjos and a lot lot more
I have always known the movie 'Deliverance' because of the dueling banjos tune and that is why I finally wanted to see this movie. Turns out that this is one of the best movies I have seen in a long long time.

It is the story of four Atlanta businessmen on a rafting trip. While on the river they encounter some 'crackers'. One of the four gets raped and the other almost before one of the businessmen (someone who does not believe in law) kills the attacker with an arrow. Because the whole valley will be flooded soon they decide to leave the body there and tell no one. The one with a heavy heart falls overboard however.

What is right? What is wrong? are questions asked in this movie and no one is sure. The movie is very disturbing, a strange look into the human mind and human society and also that part of the world where civilization as we know it does not exist.

The duelling banjos are fun, but the movie is really good. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

You feel the Heat
Beyond Rangoon is an excellent movie for understanding the struggle between freedom and oppression.

I happened to be on the Thai border in September of 1988 just prior to the massive movement of people across the border due to the response to Aung San Suu Kyi and her following. I did not know that at the time. All I remember is that on Thai TV a border war seemed to be starting and the road that I was driving on just the week before was being bombed by the Burmese.

The story, although referring to the rebellion and some of those who fled, is more about Archette's character as she struggled to forget the death of her son and husband. As a Doctor, she never took time to get away, and Rangoon seemed a place to be that was exotic.

She takes a walk one very balmy evening only to see Aung San Suu Kyi and her followers walking enmasse on the street. There is later the next day another protest, then things unravel and Archette, Dr. Laura Bowman, is forced to flee.

The flight across the jungle is intense. You actually feel the horror she feels, the close calls, yet, she is helped to flee by virtual strangers with a mutual desire to survive.

This is an excellent movie as an introduction to Myanmar/Burmese history. I have stayed on the border with some of the Karen peoples, whom you will be introduced to at the end of the movie. They are a kind people who also have been effected by the power politics that is Myanmar.

This movie is a keeper and worth watching now and again to remind you that the rest of the world does not rest as easy as we do in the west.

Painful but true
I watched this movie because having just spent 18 months living in Rangoon (Yangon to the Myanmar government at least) I was interested to see how it would be represented in a Hollywood movie. I was impressed by the attention to detail in representing the country, though I doubt very much that it was filmed in Myanmar. The government there doesn't even allow journalists in unless it feels like it, so I think the chances of a film crew being allowed in to make a movie critical of the regime are negligible. That having been said, it was a moving depiction of what did actually happen in 1988 (according to my friends there). Nothing much has changed since then - the government still brooks no criticism of its actions, as its recent treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi demonstrates.
Regarding the plot of the movie, I thought the reason for Patricia Arquette being there was a bit contrived, but apart from that, its excellent production values, solid acting, and convincing script provide a compelling and extremely watchable film.

Sad... But True
An incredible and precise depiction of the post 1988 era in the less known country of Burma.

I was appalled by the ferocity of the military regime and astonished by the courage of one woman, Aung San Su Kyi, a noble peace price laureate (1991), who stood up bravely in front of the pointed rifles for what she believes in. Although the scenes can not cover the entire brutalities, such as using rape as a weapon, carried out by the regime, the film indeed portrays the events with a moving plot; Patricia Arquette, a tourist in Burma, witnesses the inspiration of Burmese students who are willing to sacrifice for freedom.

Turning this VHS into DVD would be helpful in letting the world glimpse at the human rights conditions in Burma. Thank you!

One of my favorites
My parents owned a video store for many years, henceforth I have seen alot of movies in my time on this planet.This is one of my favorites. 'Nuff said

Profound and moving
My absolute favourite movie.
I can't believe it's still not available on DVD ??! :( ... Read more

Description

A beautiful model, Dinah lands an ad campaign for meat. Soon afterward, while shooting a TV commercial, she falls for a studly stunt man - Steve. When they run off together, the advertising executives see the loss as an opportunity. They use the couple's leave as a publicity stunt. ... Read more

Reviews (7)

More Like "Dave Clark 1"
This film, which is a cross between A Hard Days Night and the Marx Brothers, focuses almost completely on Dave Clark as stuntman (and alleged kidnapper) Steve and his relationship with meat poster girl Dinah. The other four members of the band are in the background, partying at their pad, attending a fancy dress ball, and keeping the authorities on a wild goose chase while Steve and Dinah experience one adventure after another on their way to Dinah's dream island. In fact, I don't think Lenny Davidson says one word throughout the picture. On their way they meet a group of half-stoned beatniks, an eccentric older couple, and other interesting folks. The film tries to bring depth to most of the characters, except the Dave Clark 4 who remain rather vacuous fun boys. At the time, the Dave Clark Five were promoted as a cleaner cut, non-smoking, drug-free and athletic alternative to the Beatles (probably only the latter was true, as the band members were former gymnists). Clark's character (strong silent type, serious and rather surly to the point of self righteous) portrays this image quite well. The film highlights two songs off their soundtrack beginning with the original movie title "Catch Us If You Can" and the U.S. title "Having A Wild Weekend". Two other songs are played from their previous album Coast To Coast: "I Can't Stand It," and the quite beautiful "When," which seemed to be the theme song of the film. Curiously, other tracks from the soundtrack that would have been very appropriate for the film ("Don't Be Taken In," in particular) were not used. The music, save for "When", isn't their best material, but it's not bad. The acting is also quite good. British comedy fans will no doubt recognize Clive Swift (Hyacinth's hen-pecked husband Richard in Keeping Up Appearances) as a bumbling detective out to find the "kidnapped" Meat For Go girl.

ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzz!
This is one of the most disappointing 'Rock' films I have ever seen. It should have been named 'Dave Clark And His Egocentric Wild Weekend'. There is WAAAAAAAAAY too much DC and nowhere nearly enough Mike,Lenny,Rick or Denis.

Another annoyance is, I HEAR the DC5's music between the boring incidental music but do not SEE a single DC5 performance!!! In fact they are not even musicians in the flick!!!!!!

COME ON GUYS!!!!!!!!!! STUNT MEN???? Are you for REAL????????????

I thought the Beatles were bad actors but these guys are more frightening! HORRENDOUS!!!!!

The film does have it's moments. The party scene with the 'title' track 'Having A Wild Weekend' blaring is excellent and very 60's. The opening credits with the flick's REAL title track 'Catch Us If You Can' is VERY COOL and VERY 60's as well! The scenes of traveling around England are VERY NICE too.

I prefer to LISTEN to the music of the Dave Clark Five and later on,Dave Clark And Friends. The latter recorded an incredible version of Neil Young's 'Southern Man' in 1971. Both the DC5 and DC & Friends have some great music. Seek out the German CD's. They are well worth it.

As for this disaster,buy the video,play it once,pack it away and remember just how much better the Beatles films are.

No British Invasion video collection is complete without it but be prepared to snooze off half way through this bomb.

The Dave Clark Five Do Their Own Thing
I was simply shocked at how good "Having A Wild Weekend" was after seeing it for the first time recently. The DC5's film borrows the fast pace, ingenious cuts, sense of sprightly enthusiasm and b&w artiness of "A Hard Day's Night", but matches it with a unique plot of its own. Rather than playing themselves, the group here are stuntmen, and the story revolves around one of them (Steve, played by the self-described saturnine Dave Clark) taking a model out for a "wild weekend". The press, egged on by her boss, turn it into a kidnapping story, and the rest of the film follows their attempt to recapture her before she gets to the island she's planning to buy. A suitably thin plot is thickened by scenes which are slightly ahead of their time in dramatic and cultural

content--Steve and his girl encounter a group of long-haired ex-beatniks who ask for grass and heroin, and quote Zen koans-- and all of this in 1965! A comically bickering couple who eventually takes them in also provides for a marvellous costume party sequence in which director John Boorman, in his first film, shines. The climax, in which the journey is compared to the final result, makes for an interesting discussion; the film's themes of youth vs. elders, people vs. the press/society and the resulting question of whether it was "worth it" or not would become the riding question of the 60s. It's almost like an "Easy Rider" before its time-- the big question then becomes why the DC5 faded soon after this film's release, not being known as counterculture heavies in the least...

Put your brain on "autopilot" and enjoy!
Yes, it's an obvious rip off of "A Hard Day's Night", but so was EVERY 60's rock group film released on the heels of that ground-breaking classic. "Having A Wild Weekend" benefits from having a "name" director at the helm-John Boorman... The DC 5 unfortunately lacked the screen charisma that served the Fabs so well, but the movie is quite entertaining as a "Swinging '60's" time capsule, and the band's jangly, sunny-side-up songs will have you dancing in your media room. (Many power-pop bands to this day cite the DC 5 as an influence.)Totally gear!

Great Movie
I love classic movies like this one and A Hard Day's Night. It was simply a fun movie. One of my favorites. ... Read more

Reviews (22)

This is my favorite movie of all time
The beauty and power of the rainforest juxtaposed to the beauty and power of "civilization," on of my favorite themes. Who is the true savage? Powers Boothe plays a construction engineer building a dam in the rainforest that is increasingly changing the structure of the most valuable real estate on earth. Not only is it effecting the plants and animals, creating desert where there was once rich vegetation, but it is affecting the indigenous tribes in horrendous ways. Charley Boorman plays the beautiful young son who is kidnapped by the leader of the "Invisible People." His father and mother (played by the beautiful Meg Foster) spent the next ten years searching for the boy as he is being raised in tribal customs.

Meanwhile, as the living space for the tribes grows increasingly smaller, the "Invisible People," who are basically good hearted, land loving indigenous people who keep to themselves and only want to survive, are increasingly threatened by the "Fierce People," a carnivorous, cannibalistic tribe who are desperately seeking space for themselves.

We watch Tomme grow up, learn from his new "father" who loves him dearly and was perhaps initially attracted to the tyke's golden blond hair and his own need for a son. We watch Tomme go through a ritual rite of passage that sends him on a dangerous quest for the special green rock that allows what are now his people to become "Invisible." It is in this quest that Tomme and his father cross paths again, and a lesson is learned about the cost of the damage civilization has brought to what is truly a beautiful and rich country better off left alone.

For a long time I couldn't find this movie anywhere. Not even at amazon.com. I cherish the copy I did finally find. I am thrilled to see that it is now available on DVD, but would like to see a DVD created with educational "special features" about the rain forest and the fight to preserve it. That's really what this movie is all about. See it now, before it gets away again.

ENTERTAINMENT'S EMERALD
A dam-builder is in the rain forest one day with his family, showing off his stuff. Suddenly his young son takes off to the woods and is never seen again. For the next few years the father leads a double life. Half the time he's building this dam, while the other half he's picking up his machine gun and running into the jungle to find his son. Pretty interesting life and a pretty interesting idea. And it's based on a true story. Some of the natives are truly weird, trying to put elongated bones into a machine gun that they find. There's a neat scene where they learn about either barbed wire or electricity. Another part I liked was where the native scales a small multi-story building with nothing but his bare hands and feet. The climax is really ironic. Very rarely do I see a movie where I watch it once and immediately want to see it again. This is one of those movies. I haven't seen it in a while, but my mind wanders back to it quite a lot. Definitely worth buying.

"Do you know my people?"
John Boorman's "The Emerald Forest" marks the director's return to nature a decade after "Deliverance" (1972). Once again, Boorman so ably captures the essence of the outdoors that it almost becomes a tangible supporting character. Nature in the cinematic world of Boorman is an entity to be revered and feared if you know what is good for you.

Bill Markham (Powers Boothe) is an American engineer who is in Brazil to help oversee the construction of a dam. While inspecting the construction site, tragedy strikes when his young son, Tommy (William Rodriguez) disappears. Haunted by his loss, Markham returns to the rainforest every year for ten years in search of his lost son. He eventually finds the adult Tommy (Charley Boorman) - now know as Tomme - living with the native "Invisible People." As Markham tries to re-establish his relationship with his son, he slowly learns of the devastating ecological and cultural consequences his industrial world has had upon the area.

"The Emerald Forest" sometimes comes across as too heavy-handed in its critique of modern society's threat towards the natural world. Yet, despite its labored message, the film's central story of Markham's searching for his son is involving on an emotional and dramatic level. Furthermore, the scenes with the natives are an insightful venture into an unfamiliar way of life that is as compelling as it is informative. Chalk up "The Emerald Forest" as another little nugget from the Eighties.

So . . . what did he say?
I have to give this film five stars for all the reasons that the other fans of this movie discuss. This commentary is on an unusual glitch that I discovered with the DVD. I'm referring to the MGM "Contemporary Classics" edition (in case there's another version out there).

I was surprised to discover that, when the native people were speaking, some of the subtitling was left off. Moments of indigenous dialogue were left un-subtitled in the VHS version (moments when a character appeared to be saying something like "Move" or "Hey, look."). However, with the DVD, there was one scene where a bit of dialogue that was significant to the development of the plot went unsubtited, and we were all left in the dark. It happened in only one significant scene, that I noticed, and eventually it was apparent what the character had said, but it was still frustrating and strange.

However, I still recommend that you get the DVD. When comparing scenes between the DVD and my old VHS copy (in order to see what had been said during the previously mentioned scene), I discovered that the old pan and scan version occasionally cut out almost 50% of the screen! With a film this beautiful, this is intolerable!

If you have this on VHS and are considering upgrading to DVD, I recommend that you do so - the visual pay-off is great! But keep your hands on the old VHS copy, unless you know the dialogue from memory.

Western ideaolgy versus indiginous values
I loved this movie in the theatre, bought the vhs in pan and scan and then the dvd in wide screen. I also have the sound track. This movie represents the values of western culture versus the indiginous culture. I have been to Las Amazonas 5 times and have seen what is happening. This movie compares the two cultures. This movie has a message about what indiginous people have and are happy with versus the destruction and modernazation of the western culture. Please, see the video and understand that western culture has something to offer but is not necessarily the panacea for the indiginous. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

This winning 1987 epic written and directed by John Boorman (Deliverance, The General) serves as a picaresque and semi-autobiographical remembrance of a boy's coming of age during the Second World War. Exhibiting a defiant and humorous take on life during the London blitz, the family of the young boy at the center of the story (Sebastian Rice-Edwards) is a close-knit and resilient bunch, undeterred in the face of the war and reveling in each other even as they hide from the incessant bombing. To be sure, there are some poignant moments in this childhood reminiscence, such as when the boy's older sister (Sammi Davis) falls in love with a Canadian, becomes pregnant, and marries him, only to see him taken away by the military police. And the boy's mother (Sarah Miles) serves as a strong influence in the boy's life as she leads her family through this tumultuous time. The majestic sweep of the film is contrasted with so many comic moments as the people in town go about the mundane details of their daily lives yet also engage in the most absurd rituals in dealing with the onslaught of German artillery, from taking the air raids for granted to wearing gas masks at school. Boorman doesn't dwell on the horrors of war; instead he celebrates the richness and resilience of the people he remembers so fondly. An adventurous and nostalgic slice of life, Hope and Glory is a superb and memorable film. --Robert Lane ... Read more

Reviews (28)

Life During War!
John Boorman's "Hope and Glory" is a nostalgic look at a family's trials and tribulations of living through the London blitz during World Warr II. The film told from the perspective of a young boy shows us both smiles and tears as we see people fall in love, go off to war, lose all their possessions and even those they love.It shows that even though war can cause kaos and the world around us seems to be falling apart, life goes on.People still mow there lawns, go on day trips, attend school and escape daily life at the local cinema.The film does have its serious moments, yet there is a comic undertone that runs through this episodic story.My favorite comic moment is when the father tries to convince his family that the German jam he has brought home from the front isn't poisoned.They all look at him like he's crazy and about to keel over.Truely hilarious!Sabastion Rice-Edwards is excellent as young Billy, who is afraid he's going to miss the war. Sara Miles is great as she plays the emotional role of a mother who is trying to keep her family together during both the good and bad times.This movie really takes you to the British homefront!

Great Film For Practically Anybody
This is one of my top 20 all time favorite movies. If you can imagine all the trials and tribulations, joys and sorrows and aches and pains of childhood and then imagine going through WWII at the same time you have some idea of what this movie is about. Told primarily through the eyes of a young boy, this movie shows a very personal experience of what the Home Front was like for London civilians. Neighbors get bombed out, shrapnel lies in the streets, friends die, and life somehow still goes on. The movie does a really good job of showing how the war could be a source of wonder to a child living through it and a cathartic experience for the adults. At the same time it can be incredibly funny and this is really why the film is so good. Probably my favorite scene is when the grandfather sends the young boy fishing with orders not to come back until he has caught some fish. A close second is the german jam scene. If you like period films, you'll love this. If you just like good movies, not too serious or too silly or too sad, give this one a viewing. Also, the punting instructions given in the movie actually work. Soon after watching this film, I ended up in Oxford, England and was able to teach myself to punt in less than an hour just from remembering this movie, so it's also educational!

Can't go wrong
This movie is great. I am 25 and I love it and I loved it when I was 8 and it came out... looking at WWII through the eyes of a child is exciting in a way. Its one of those rare war movies that doesn't center around soldiers but a normal family instead.

Fabulous Film!
This is a film that sticks in your head. Years after I'd seen it, I searched until I could find out what it was again just so I could see it again. Not only is it beautiful, but funny and wonderful. I highly recommend this!

hope and glory
I like so many avivid lovers of this movie fell in love with it the first time i saw it on showtime back in the eighties when i was just twelve.i never knew the name until i a discussion of movies with some close friends lead me to it. now that i know off i rush to buy this wonderful movie. You know with movie that have so much blood and gore it nice to sit down and watch this movie it take me back to my parents house intently watching this wonderful movie ... Read more

Amazon.com

Walker (Lee Marvin) strides through Los Angeles with the steel-eyed stare of a stone-cold killer, or perhaps a ghost. Betrayed by his wife and best friend, who gun him down point-blank and leave him for dead after a successful heist, Walker blasts his way up the criminal food chain in a quest for revenge. Did he survive the shooting or return from the grave, or is it all a dying dream? The question is left in the air in John Boorman's modern film noir, a brutal revenge thriller based on Richard Stark's novel The Hunter (remade by Brian Helgeland as Payback), set in the impersonal concrete and steel canyons of Los Angeles and eerily empty cells of Alcatraz. Walker kills without remorse, guided by shadowy "informant" Keenan Wynn, whose own agenda is carefully concealed, and assisted by Angie Dickinson, as he desperately searches for someone, anyone, who can just give him his money. But if Walker is an extreme incarnation of the revenge-driven noir antihero, the modern syndicate has been transformed into a world of paper jungles and corporate businessmen, an alienating concept to the two-fisted, gun-wielding gangster. Boorman creates a hard, austere look for the film and fragments the story with flashes of painful memory, grafting the New Wave onto old genres with confidence and style. Haunting and brutal, Point Blank remains one of the most distinctive crime thrillers ever made. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (21)

The acting is the key here, not the plot.
Lee Marvin is at his minimalist best in this film. Boorman obviously had a great deal of respect for Lee Marvin's inate talent. This is one of the few films that seems to be a real collaboration between director and actor.

In some of the scenes such as when Walker (character name) confronts his wife after she betrays him, Marvin never speaks. He doesn't need dialog to portray his emotional state. The violence is realistic. When Walker fires his .357 magnum, the recoil from this powerful weapon looks authentic. The fight scenes aren't clean and crisp. They are brief, messy and basic.

The pitch here is subtle and played under the top instead of over. Mel Gibson has done a remake of this movie called "Payback." The story line is easier to follow than "Pointblank" but you will see a huge contrast in acting styles. I like the original.

An undeniable CLASSIC
John Boorman's first "American" film, Point Blank still influences filmmakers, such as Martin Scorsese, to this day. Lee Marvin, in one of his best performances, stars as Walker, a man who seemingly comes back from the dead to seek revenge on the friend who betrayed him and recover the 93 grand that he was cheated out of. Walker is pure momentum, a relentless driving force that is virtually unstoppable. He acts almost like anti-matter, his mere presence on the scene causes the world around him, and the people in it, to fall apart. John Boorman based his concept of the character on Lee Marvin's screen persona and certain aspects of his real personality. Angie Dickinson is transcendentally HOT, John Vernon makes his screen debut, Keenan Wynn and Carol O'Connor do great work. Point Blank has a unique, modernistic style all its own - part Antonioni, part Kiss of Death, part science fiction ghost story. Current action films pale in comparrison. Stay away from the crappy remake starring Melvin Gibson and watch POINTY BLANK instead. "You're a very bad man, Walker!"

Payback time

Director: John Boorman
Format: Color
Studio: Warner Studios
Video Release Date: June 22, 1994

Cast:

Lee Marvin ... Walker
Angie Dickinson ... Chris
Keenan Wynn ... Yost
Carroll O'Connor ... Brewster
Lloyd Bochner ... Frederick Carter
Michael Strong ... Big John Stegman
John Vernon ... Mal Reese
Sharon Acker ... Lynne
James Sikking ... Hired Gun
Sandra Warner ... Waitress
Roberta Haynes ... Mrs. Carter
Kathleen Freeman ... First Citizen
Victor Creatore ... Carter's Man
Lawrence Hauben ... Car Salesman
Susan Holloway ... Girl Customer
Sid Haig ... 1st Penthouse Lobby Guard
Michael Bell ... 2nd Penthouse Lobby Guard
Priscilla Boyd ... Receptionist
John McMurtry ... Messenger
Ron Walters ... Young Man in Apartment
George Strattan ... Young Man in Apartment
Nicole Rogell ... Carter's Secretary
Rico Cattani ... Reese's Guard
Roland La Starza ... Reese's Guard
Bill Hickman ... Guard
Chuck Hicks ... Guard
John Kerr ... Stevie, Actor in televised movie
Joseph Mell ... Man
Andrew Orapeza ... Desk Clerk
Felix Silla ... Bellhop
Ted White ... Football Player
Louis Whitehill ... Policeman
Casey Brandon ... Dancer
Jerry Catron ... Man
Lauren Bacall ... Actress in televised movie
Karen Lee ... Waitress
Roseann Williams ... Dancer
Bonnie Dewberry ... Dancer
Carey Foster ... Dancer

Walker (Lee Marvin) took part in a heist which went sour. Double-crossed and shot by his partner Mal Reese (John Vernon), who also takes up with his wife, who thinks he is dead; Walker, however, survives and comes back for his ninety-three thousand dollar share, and vengeance. This film is reminiscent of the movie, "Payback," with Mel Gibson, which has a very similar plot. It, however, came later.

Filmed partly on the old federal prison at Alcatraz (Pelican) Island, in San Francisco Bay, as well as in several other old cell blocks, the set alone is interesting.

Angie Dickinson plays Chris, Walker's sister-in-law. In one scene she administers a physical beating to Lee Marvin that must have required him to wear padded clothing to withstand it, even though he is larger, and, one would expect, much stronger. She really cuts loose and is not pulling her punches, most of which land on his chest.

This is an entertaining film, and results in some very satisfying feelings of vengeance.

Joseph (Joe) Pierre

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

The Best 'Parker' adaptation yet...
This classic crime film from John Boorman needs no more description when it comes to plot, style and quality: what fans of the 'Parker' series of crime novels by Richard Stark (aka Donald E. Westlake, who incidentally screenwrote 'The Grifters') will want to know is whether it matches up to the books.
'Point Blank' is based on 'The Hunter', the first Parker novel, since then retitled as 'Point Blank' in its book incarnation. In the film Parker is called Walker (for no apparent reason) bud it faithfully played by Marvin, who is the best screen Parker so far encountered. Although the script takes considerable liberties with the novel's plot at times, this is the film that gets closest to the cold, methodical genius of the parker we know and love from the novels. Robert Duvall's Parker in 'The Outfit' was hampered with a motivation the literary
Parker would never have needed (vengeance after his brother is killed) while Peter Coyote's Parker in 'Slayground' is hamstrung by a plot that veers millions of miles away from the book, which was utterly absurd as 'Slayground' is one of the most visuallly kinetic novels I've ever read (and I've read a couple of thousand) and still cries out for a faithful film adaptation. Mel Gibson in 'Payback'?...say no more. MG is a buffoon who lacks the gravitas to come anywhere near the effectiveness of one of the minor characters in any Parker novel, let alone the greatest antihero of them all himself. Finally, De Niro comes close to Parker in 'heat' (in which he plays a similar character) but his downfall comes through sentimentality, something the emotionless workmanlike Parker of the novels would never allow to cloud his judgement.
No, if you love the novels, then Lee Marvin is the closest we've had to an authentic depiction of Parker (especially in his physicality) and Boorman has done the best job thus far of bringing Stark's existential vision to the screen.
And if none of this means anything to you - if you like crime cinema and have not seen 'Point Blank', you don't like crime cinema. Now where is the DVD edition ?

Walker Doesn't Kill a Single Person In this Film
After a single viewing of "Point Blank", one might come away with the impression that the central character called Walker is a remorseless killer. The huge, wonderful joke is that in this very violent movie -- very, very violent for its day (1967) -- Walker (Lee Marvin) doesn't kill a single person! He does some serious damage to a couple of people in his quest for revenge, but a careful viewing of the movie reveals that he doesn't even kill his main betrayer, a character named Mal Reese, played by John Vernon. (Reese staggers off a penthouse balcony, so Walker doesn't even get THAT satisfaction.) I invite anyone who is skeptical to watch the film again -- I myself have seen it probably thirty times, or more. (Not very healthy, I know, but its an incredible film.) ... Read more

Reviews (14)

The Best of Enemies
This review refers to the Anchor Bay DVD "Hell in the Pacific"...

You won't find a big ensemble cast in this World War II film from 1968. Only 2 actors tell the story, and they don't even speak the same langauge. But they don't need to, these two actors are Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune. They portray enemies, one American, one Japanese, marooned on an island in the midst of the war. They are so brillant in their portrayals, that actions really do speak louder than words. You won't even miss the fact that there are no subtitles when Mifune is speaking. His every expression, lets us know exactly what he is thinking.
Add to this the artful direction of John Boorman, who brought us such exquiste films as "Excalibur", the wonderful music of Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible), and the expert eye of Cinematographer Conrad Hall(Butch Cassidy, American Beauty) and you're in for a real cinematic treat.

When a disciplined Japanese Naval Officer discovers he is not alone on the small Island in the Pacific, he immediatly goes into high gear to protect and defend his territory. But he has met his match in the very undisciplined American Marine that has been washed ashore. And so it begins...these two do everything they can to capture, torture, and generally make life miserable for each other(and at times is on the comical side). The need for human contact though, becomes apparent and they stop short at killing each other, and actually form an attachment to each other. The ending is a bit of a shocker, but there is also an alternate ending included with this DVD.

Anchor Bay as usual has really made this 35 year old film a pleasure to watch. You have the choice of widescreen(2.35:1) or full format(by the way, my DVD was mismarked as to which side was widescreen, so don't panic if this happens, just flip it over). Excellent picture, vibrant colors and the sound in Dolby Dig Stereo is clear as a bell. And don't forget to check out the alternate ending.

A great buy for fans of war movies, Marvin and Mifune, and anyone who appreciates artful film making.

Enjoy....Laurie

One of the weirder war movies I've seen
It's been a long time since I saw this on the big screen (I was in my teens), but I remember a few vivid images of this intense drama of two men, one American, one Japanese, stranded together on a tiny Pacific island. Although bitter enemies, the y each go through a transformation of character and purpose, forced upon them by their harsh circumstances. In a way, the film is as much a commentary on how mankind can get along, or how we can destroy each other, depending on which way the wind blows (literally, here). Parts of the movie seem to drag on with little development, while others are rich in humor, sadness, violence, and characterization. I didn't like the ending, as it seemed pointless. However, that may well be the message of the entire movie.

Incomplete, murky, May-04 version from MGM
MGM cut the heart out of this excellent intense movie, when it excised the scenes of "training" Lee Marvin by Toshiro Mifune in the art of sword/staff fighting, and the scenes of hand to hand combat in/around the abandoned freighter. Further, the video quality is so dark one can sometimes barely follow the action.

Island life
This is in my top 10 of all time.
I watched this movie - heres what blew me away.
1. minimal use of soundtrack - breathing of the actors is enough to convey thirst, fear, hate - I cant tell you how much I appreciated the nuances - something lost in todays movies - which is why this stands from the pack

2. minimal script - words fail to tell the story

3. cinematography - artistically right on

4. character studies - of characters that are believable and interesting. I did not find find Marvins character to be any less so than Mifunes. Marvin played the stereotype well and so did Mifune. Characteristics are nuanced as well.

5. alternative ending was very satisfying - in reality the alternative ending would have been more likely.

Best WWII film
"War movies" generally exaggerate or trivialize or ignore the facts and rarely bring you into the actual feelings of the participants. This one does the best job of any, and makes Tom Hanks look like a piker. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reviews (8)

where the heart is dvd
Just to let anyone know, this dvd is a widescreen edition. Which (to me) is the most important feature. If you were hoping for any bonus features, there are none (not even the trailer). The movie itself, and the fact that it is in widescreen, should be enough reason to purchase it.

Where the art is
Where the heart is was an unexpected surprise when I saw it back in 1990 and it continues to catch my breath and stir my heart every time I see it. More than a story of poor little rich and spoiled kids or parents that just don't get their kids, this is a visually beautiful and fluid portrait of vastly different people. Some start out as family members and some join the family. The exploration and expressions of love and the true treasures of life are richly set in the artwork that flows across the screen and unites the story. A real treat for both the eye and the mind, it will delight the heart, wherever it is.

the paintings are incredible
and i have worn out a local video rental copy showing them to artist friends. it is a simple romp of a movie that i could easily pass by except for the old house set and the paintings. I keep hoping for my own copy. or maybe a copy of the calendar?

love it
This movie is alot of fun. The trompe l'oeil paintings are just incredible. I hope it becomes available soon. I'm still looking to buy it.

lovely
just caught this movie on hbo, and was hoping to buy it here on Amazon as I thought is was incredibly beautiful. Story maybe not the strongest, but enjoyable. What got me was the unbelievably enchanting "human" paintings. It's nice to see a movie that for once gives space to visual art, and gives the viewer the time to appreciate it. For this alone I would like to own this movie. ... Read more

Reviews (14)

The Best of Enemies
This review refers to the Anchor Bay DVD "Hell in the Pacific"...

You won't find a big ensemble cast in this World War II film from 1968. Only 2 actors tell the story, and they don't even speak the same langauge. But they don't need to, these two actors are Lee Marvin and Toshiro Mifune. They portray enemies, one American, one Japanese, marooned on an island in the midst of the war. They are so brillant in their portrayals, that actions really do speak louder than words. You won't even miss the fact that there are no subtitles when Mifune is speaking. His every expression, lets us know exactly what he is thinking.
Add to this the artful direction of John Boorman, who brought us such exquiste films as "Excalibur", the wonderful music of Lalo Schifrin (Mission Impossible), and the expert eye of Cinematographer Conrad Hall(Butch Cassidy, American Beauty) and you're in for a real cinematic treat.

When a disciplined Japanese Naval Officer discovers he is not alone on the small Island in the Pacific, he immediatly goes into high gear to protect and defend his territory. But he has met his match in the very undisciplined American Marine that has been washed ashore. And so it begins...these two do everything they can to capture, torture, and generally make life miserable for each other(and at times is on the comical side). The need for human contact though, becomes apparent and they stop short at killing each other, and actually form an attachment to each other. The ending is a bit of a shocker, but there is also an alternate ending included with this DVD.

Anchor Bay as usual has really made this 35 year old film a pleasure to watch. You have the choice of widescreen(2.35:1) or full format(by the way, my DVD was mismarked as to which side was widescreen, so don't panic if this happens, just flip it over). Excellent picture, vibrant colors and the sound in Dolby Dig Stereo is clear as a bell. And don't forget to check out the alternate ending.

A great buy for fans of war movies, Marvin and Mifune, and anyone who appreciates artful film making.

Enjoy....Laurie

One of the weirder war movies I've seen
It's been a long time since I saw this on the big screen (I was in my teens), but I remember a few vivid images of this intense drama of two men, one American, one Japanese, stranded together on a tiny Pacific island. Although bitter enemies, t