Reviews (5)

Well done! An interesting adaptation of an excellent book
Although some major items were changed in the script from the book, my fourth graders loved seeing this movie as a culminating activity. Makes for a great comparison from book to movie. A tear jerker as well.

Different from the book, but a very good movie!
My students watched this movie recently, after having read the book as a class assignment. In many ways, the movie brought the story to life. You should be made aware of the fact that there are many storyline differences between the text and video. In the book, for example, little Willy lives on a potato farm and is trying to win the National Dogsled Race to pay the government for back taxes that are due on Grandfather's property. In the movie, he lives on a large farm and grows wheat crops. He is trying to win the race so that he and Grandfather have the money to get by during Grandfather's illness. In the book, Grandfather is described by Doc Smith as being "As healthy as an Ox." In the movie, he is bedridden because he suffered a stroke! There are also many other new character and plot differences to the story that don't fit in with author John Reynold Gardiner's original script. We watched the movie as a lesson on how movies often differ from the novel. One of my students found 85 changes (some very subtle) between the book and the movie. Still, it was fun to watch, and I believe the children got a lot out of watching the movie! I would recommend the film, but be prepared to have a discussion on the differences that can occur when a novel is made into a movie.

The Best Book This Year
Stone Fox is a woderful book, with lots of interesting parts. Little Willy and his Grandfather are in a slight problem, because Grandfather forgot to pay his taxes. "Oh..Oh." Little Willy decides he has to do something to earn fivehundred dollars, to pay the taxes. I recomend this book to any one whole likes action, and suspence. So read this book and find out what happens next.

Stone Fox is pretty good!
Stone Fox is a great book written by John Reynolds Gardiner. This book is about a boy named Little Willy. His grandfather becomes sick because he can't pay back his taxes. Little Willy tries very hard to keep the potato farm running. Then he and his dog Searchlight enter a dogsled race. Can Willy and Searchlight save the farm and win the race before it's too late?

an inspiring family movie showing courage and love
Stone Fox is a classic tale of the love between a boy and his dog, and more inspiring, the love of a boy for his grandfather. When his grandfather falls ill, Willie becomes responsible for saving the family's farm. His greatest ally becomes his dog, Morgan. With Morgan's help Willie challenges the Indian dog sled champion, Stone Fox, in his attempt to save his home. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Passion in Paradise-At First Glance is it What it Seems ?
I enjoyed the movie from begining to end.It made 100 minutes fly by without the thought of leaving my chair ever entering my head.Filled with intrigue and romance, not to mention a murder your constantly speculating on, your attention is entirely consumed by the plot and energy of the story and it's cast. Alfred,a ruggedly good looking guy, with the undertone of electricity and animal magnetism no woman could resist, was done dynamically by Assante.This movie starts off by showing you a taste of paradise, with all it's beautiful weather,unending supply of perfection and tons of money. The perfect life....or is it? Father's trying to force daughters to marry who they choose for them, not who they love. Daughters rebelling against parents. Then a new guy that doesn't quite fit in with the rest. Throw in a dash of organized crime,a turn against ones own country, and of course a murder and it's hard to see paradise anymore. I would strongly encourage you to watch this movie if your up for some rivetting entertainment. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

blood sport
very nicely done mystery, with action, good characters, abit of humor.

Not really Francis but still enjoyable.
I bought the boxset thinking I would be watching stories by Dick Francis... well, beside some superficial similarities there is not much DF here.

Still, these are relatively enjoyable episodes, made for TV mysteries. If you have your heart set on capturing the spirit of the novels you will be disappointed. However, if you just want some nice TV mysteries to watch you will enjoy these very much.

Nice set of rainy day movies!!
These were show on PBS in US, are Canada-Ireland joint effort and are filmed in both countries. My sister thinks McShane is the cat's meow...just does not give the same thrill for this long legged New Orleans lad!! Still the mysteries are nifty, well acted and lots of lovely ladies for the males! McShane is his usual strong self!

Nice package of all three David Cleveland films. Dick Francis buffs forget it - just watch for McShane and forget they are based on Francis' character.

very enjoyable
For fans of Dick Francis, ignore his books and just take the videos for what they are. McShane is simply gorgeous, and he does well in this horsie romp and David Cleveland, an investigator/security expert with Patrick McNee as his boss. They are in Canada, and McNee introduces Cleveland to a man and his daughter. He is the owner of a priced racing stud that mysteriously disappeared. No attempt at ransom, the horse never found alive or dead. After an attempt is made on the man's life, Cleveland steps in to track down what happened to the horse. There is the femme fatal, new wife that resented the time and money spent on the horses, a competitor stud that was failing and might possibly benefited in some manner by the horses disappearance.

It is a good mystery, well acted. Film quality suffers since this is a Irish-Canadian made for telly effort, but they are still very enjoyable....and McShane is so easy on the eyes!! A definite for his fans (however you might check out the DVD choice you can get this movie and 2 other David Clevelands in the same package.

Great stories, but sound and color just AWFUL!
Unfortunately, the originals were this bad, I remember their original airings on PBS. I bought this set and then returned them, that's how bad they are. (Also, Ian McShane is just WRONG for a Dick Francis hero, but that's a personal opinion.) ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A must see for prison movie fans
I have only seen this movie once because it is hard to watch, but well worth watching.

Interesting...
Interesting but significantly watered-down version of the claustrophobic, searing stage play concerning the sexual liaisons between young men in a juvenile prison. While the film is essentially explotative in tone, and comes no where near depicting the brutality of the prison system, it raises a number of legitimate issues and questions re homosexuality in prison and sexual role-playing in gay society. No laurels for the script, but the performers are strong and the film itself well-made. Not wildly memorable, but worth a watch.

TRULY PATHETIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This has to be one of the worst movies ever made! Don't be fooled by the summary into thinking that this is a hard core prison drama. The inmates are about as fierce and intimidating as Mickey Mouse. It's long, boring and tedious. If you want a better prison movie try Scared Straight. Stay far the hell away from this one! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Bus Riley's Back in Town was supposed to make a star of intense, handsome young Michael Parks. Adapted by William Inge from his play, the story of a rebel struggling to find respect in his small Midwest town, it echoes with themes of his earlier success Picnic. Parks is less a William Holden drifting through life than a grown-up James Dean come back home. Desperate to earn "respect," Bus turns his back on his blue-collar origins, his "bad boy" reputation, and his now-married high school sweetheart Ann-Margret but winds up little more than a reluctant gigolo, selling vacuum cleaners and affection to lonely housewives by day and serving as stud to snarling sex kitten Ann-Margret by night. Parks delivers an endearingly vulnerable performance, mumbling and fidgeting like James Dean reborn as his dreams flounder, and Janet Margolin is tender and sad as Bus's kindred soul, a grown-up teenager tending her alcoholic mother. Harvey Hart has a good feel for actors and an understanding of family dynamics and small-town politics, but the script feels derivative and flat and the supporting cast never comes to life. Studio tampering prompted Inge to take his name off the screenplay. The film never took off and Parks's career stalled, but in the late 1990s he enjoyed a modest revival in the world of American independent films. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Get On The Bus!
You've got to love a movie whose main character's first name is "Bus" - whether that's his given name or a nickname is never explained. This film should have made Michael Parks a superstar, as he turns in a stellar performance. Bus returns home by bus (what symbolism!) after 3 years in the navy. He literally runs into his former girlfriend, who has married a rich old man in his absence. You know he can't resist her charms for long. Who could resist the gorgeous Ann-Margret at her seductive best? However, by the end of the film he breaks off his affair with her, realizing that their relationship is going nowhere.

In addition to his romantic troubles, Bus searches for a fulfilling career throughout the film, not wanting to go back to his old job as a mechanic. In fact, he bristles at the suggestion to do so by the local bartender, played by the talented Larry Storch. "I'm sorry, Bus. I'll go down to the bank and suggest that they make you president." Bus replies, "Do me a favor...drop dead!" Throughout a series of failed jobs, the local garage owner keeps urging Bus to go back to work for him as a mechanic. You know he can't resist his persuasiveness for long. Who could keep saying no to the great James Doohan? I think the character he plays in this movie formed the basis for his character Scotty on Star Trek. Then again, that may be too much of a stretch!

This is a movie that proves you can go home again. It also begs for a sequel. I'm anxiously awaiting the release of "Bus Riley's Still In Town!"

Save Your Money
As a major Ann-Margret fan always on the lookout for videos of her earlier work, this video was a tremendous disappointment. Her role is small, with perhaps 20 minutes of screen time, and her acting is at its histrionic worst! The story itself is all over the place, with strange incestuous/homosexual overtones that are heavily implied but never explored. The frigid school marm who is afraid of Bus' boxer shorts is the smartest one in town--she left the movie early on! Wish I did!

A total surprise...KIM DARBY and Janet Margolin are GREAT
This movie starts off like a typical 60's teenage comedy, but quickly develops some surprisingly adult themes. Although I bought the movie solely to see some prime Ann-Margret cheesecake, the thing that swept me away were the fresh supporting roles by Kim Darby and Janet Margolin (neither of whom I knew of before this, except to say, "I've seen her before...). Other supporting characters such as Bus Riley's parade of potential employers were so refreshingly weird that you'll not soon forget them.The movie is definitely uneven, but I think that added to the pleasure, because I never knew what to expect next. Very similar to Inge's earlier "Picnic."

james dean wannabe overshadowed by supporting cast
an almost james dean type film but the real scene stealer is janet margolin(david and Lisa). Her character is so real to life that she touches your heart and you mentally urge bus riley to fall in love with her.A much sought after video of fans of fims of real life emotions.

A Holy Grail has finally been released!
Anne Margret in a pool with her clothes on; what more can I say! Like many Anne Margret fans this film has long been a holy grail for me. It revolves around a former Navy man (Parks) who returns to his small town many years after he left. There he meets his former High School flame (Margret) the local sex kitten who in the interim has married the local Millionaire. She works her whiles on him culminating in the afore mentioned fully clothed dip in the pool to seduce him. While not a timeless classic along the lines of say PICNIC, or RAINTREE COUNTY, the film is still mildly entertaining, and has long been high on the wish lists of fans to be released on video. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Classic Space Movie!!
This is a great classic space movie about a mother space alien ship preparing for the invasion of earth.It's a must see flick!! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Interesting sci-fi attempt...
After an Earth-destroying threat endangers the planet, Mankind builds a gigantic Earthship Ark spacecraft to save the best of humanity. Different populations and cultures inhabit individual habitat domes on the Ark (think, "Silent Running"), and when an accident damages the Ark and kills the crew, the domes are sealed off from the rest of the ship. As the centuries pass, each culture evolves in an enclosed society, each a world unto itself that is fifty miles in diameter. One such dome is an Amish-like agrarian society called Cypress Corners.

There are so many good ideas evident in this series, that it really is a shame the execution of the individual episodes is so poor. First off, the names Ellison and Trumbull mean nothing. Both Ellison and Trumbull abandoned the series before it ever aired, as they were both so disappointed with the results. Originally intended to be 24 episodes (if not multiple seasons), the show only lasted a mere 16.

Keir Dullea (in his biggest screen credit since "2001"), is very good as a 19th Century farmer-type, reacting with an apporpriate sense of wonder throughout the first episode, as he leaves the safety of the Cypress Corners habitat and discovers the futuristic systems aboard the Ark. Dullea, Robin Ward, and Gay Rowan as the regular cast each play their parts with such a sense of conviction that they are instantly believable, despite the oversights in writing and production.

In this first installment in the five-tape "quintology", we are treated to two early episodes of the series (#1 and #3, respectively). While the regulars are good, the real winner here is the performance turned in by John Colicos (better known as Baltar from "Battlestar Galactica"). His performance completely outshines the rest of the cast (with the possible exception of Barry Morse), and you get a real sense of an actor who doesn't just collect a paycheck and phone in a performance; in other words, a professional. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that his guest turn is one of the few highlights of the series as a whole.

Personally, the shot-on-video look of the series does not bother me. "Doctor Who", "Star Cops", and "Moonbase 3", not to mention "Red Dwarf" were all shot at one time or another on videotape, and although film is always better, it's usually the acting and writing that carries these British shows. "The Starlost" was made in Canada, and I suspect that the production staff simply did not have the experience with video to be found across the pond at the BBC.

Truthfully, the effects are very, very poor. But while the worst of "Doctor Who" puts "The Starlost" to shame in the effects department, I found the sets pretty interesting. Obviously low-budget affairs, the set designs are still better than I think most folks give the show credit for. I hate to think what they could have achieved with just a few more bucks!

I still like the ideas for the show, despite the low budget. I suspect that fans of British sci-fi like me will probably be able to appreciate "The Starlost" more than others.

Perhaps a remake, with a few more dollars behind it, would help expunge the bad reputation of this oft-maligned attempt to create an intellegent science fiction program.

Classic bad Sci-fi
In the year 2790 A.D., a giant Ark, drifts through deep space, out of control, its crew having been killed five-hundred years earlier. When the accident that killed the crew occurred, the airlocks connecting the ship's domes that housed the last survivors of the dead planet, Earth, were sealed. Cut off from the outside world,: many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. They accepted that their world was fifty miles in diameter and the sky was metal. Content with their lot, no one knew that their world was in grave danger. Without a crew at the helm, the Ark was on a collision course with a sun.
Another short-lived SF series that probably looked exceedingly good on paper, but lost something in the translation to video. The only survivors of a ravage Earth roam the galaxy in their spaceship looking for a home. What they find, however, is alien menace and alleged adventure week after week. Harlan Ellison (along with Ben Bova) created the show, then aborted the mission upon seeing its maturation

Beginning

With Barry Morse (Space:1999) and John Colicos (Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica)

A secret passageway in EARTHSHIP ARK leads a group of explorers into an unknown area of the vessel: a world inhabited by ancient warriors from an all-male society--with a passion for female specimens.

(Compiled from Episodes #1 Voyage of Discovery & #3 The Goddess Calabra)

Oddball timepiece from the 70's
This show didn't enjoy a long television run and most people haven't seen it. However, there has been quite a lot written about it because Harlan Ellison has tried to shift the blame for this turkey on everyone involved except himself. He ought to take his lumps like everybody else; in spite of some glimmers of intelligence in the pilot, this series is pretty bad. The premise is lifted directly from the novel "Non-Stop" by Brian Aldiss: a gigantic spacecraft, designed for interstellar travel over a number of generations, goes off course, and its inhabitants can't fix the problem because they are initially unaware they are on a spaceship. The protagonist is Devon, a member of an Amish community preserved in one section of the spaceship. We are to learn there are many different micro-societies hidden throughout the ship. This offers a lot of dramatic possibilities week-to-week, but the show didn't live up to its potential. The only interesting thing about the show was the character of Devon himself. As an Amish man (even a non-conformist one) he is honest, forthright, dependable and -- at some of the most crucial moments -- incredibly trusting and naive. Even the most transparently malevolent character could earn Devon's complete trust by telling him an obviously bogus and self-serving story. "The Starlost" is an oddment from the 70's. You might get a kick out of it -- but why not read "Non-Stop" instead?

Get lost with The Starlost!
This cult classic / rarely seen Caadian television opus is now avaliable on video. This tape contains the two episodes of the series.

First up is "Voyage of Discovery" - by Cordwainer Bird AKA Harlan Ellison. The pilot for this series was written by the popular fantasy author. Not only did he write the show he created the concept. at least until it went from a big budget show filmed in Hollywood to a low budget show videotaped in Canada.

In the pilot we are introduced to a society of farmers living off the land in Cypress Corners. Cypress Corners happens to be inside a dome on a giant spaceship, but our main characters do not know that yet. Right away we meet Devon (a bit of a questioning rebel) who is not in favor with the elders of the community. he is deeply in love with Rachel. Unfortunately she is to be married to Garth, a local blacksmith with a promising future. Devon eventualy find out they are living in a sealed off dome, one of many aboard a jiant space ship. Later he and Rachel flee into the fast interior of the spaceship. They are pursued and then joined by Garth. the embark on a quest to save the Earthsip Ark as the bridge crew have been killed in an accident and the Ark is drifting out of control towards a star. Keir Dullea, best known for his role in 2001, was cast in the leading role.

"The Goddess Calabra" by Martin Lager (From a Story by Ursula K. Le Guin) Finds out heroes in a strangely Romanesque society inhabited only by men. Rachel does not fit in all that well but she happens to look just like the image of thier goddess! Great fun and some interesting revelations about the ark and the posibility of our three heroes ever being able to repair it.

This episode features John Colicos the actor who played Baltar on Battelstar Galactica and Bary Morrse the actor who played the scientist in the first season of Space: 1999.

Unlike most movie compilations of recent years the Starlost has not been hacked and slashed together to try to make it look like a movie. So what you get are the two episodes back to back minus the nice credit sequences. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Classic bad Sci-fi
In the year 2790 A.D., a giant Ark, drifts through deep space, out of control, its crew having been killed five-hundred years earlier. When the accident that killed the crew occurred, the airlocks connecting the ship's domes that housed the last survivors of the dead planet, Earth, were sealed. Cut off from the outside world,: many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. They accepted that their world was fifty miles in diameter and the sky was metal. Content with their lot, no one knew that their world was in grave danger. Without a crew at the helm, the Ark was on a collision course with a sun.
Another short-lived SF series that probably looked exceedingly good on paper, but lost something in the translation to video. The only survivors of a ravage Earth roam the galaxy in their spaceship looking for a home. What they find, however, is alien menace and alleged adventure week after week. Harlan Ellison (along with Ben Bova) created the show, then aborted the mission upon seeing its maturation

Invasion

A deranged space commander plots a wicked plan to take control of EARTHSHIP ARK. By using computerized implants, he has shrewdly gained mind control over every scientist on the space ship!

(Compiled from episodes #11 The Astro Medics & #12 The Implant People) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Post-Trek, pre-B5 Walter Koenig on 70s Canadian Sci-Fi TV
This videotape edits together what are arguably the best two episodes from a notoriously bad early-70s Canadian Science Fiction TV series produced by CTV called "The Starlost".

Although the series ran for only one year, its episodes were replayed frequently on Canadian TV for years afterwards as an easy way for stations to help fulfill our government's Canadian content quotas. Thus it was with a kind of twisted nostalgia for the (bad old) early days of Canadian Sci-Fi TV that I purchased this tape.

The series was actually ghostwritten by Sci-Fi great Harlan Ellison, and has become quite the embarrassment for him. It stars Keir Dullea of "2001: A Space Odyssey" fame as Devon, as well as Robin Ward (--who Canadian viewers will recognize as currently working as a weatherman on Canada's "Weather Network"!) as the stoic blacksmith Garth.

The premise of the series is that Devon and Garth, along with female companion Rachel, who have been raised in a conservative agrarian community resembling the Mennonites, one day stumble upon a doorway and discover that their "world" is actually part of an immense spaceship. It turns out that many communities had been loaded onto the ship to evacuate them from some imminent disaster, each in their own "dome" (which bear an uncanny resemblance to the domes in the then-recent film "Silent Running"). But somewhere along the way, an accident had permanently sealed the domes off from each other and had also killed the ship's piloting crew, sending it dangerously off course and heading for a sun. Now untold years after the accident, driven out of their community as blasphemers, Devon, Garth and Rachel travel from dome to dome trying to find someone who can set the ship back on course.

Thus it is in the course of their travels down the deserted ship's corridors that they meet up with Mr. Walter Koenig as the enigmatic alien Oro. --Is he friend or is he foe? Watch it and find out!

Oro originally showed up in Episode 7, and was later brought back for a sequel episode in Episode 13 of the series. This tape edits both together into one long "movie", and not having the other episodes in between kind of diminishes the original impact that Oro's reappearance for a sequel had.

I was also very disappointed that the makers of this tape have edited out the series' original classic opening narration sequence and theme music, which I dearly loved, and have replaced it with some generic muzak. WHY???

In closing, I would recommend this tape to all fans of cheesy and just plain BAD Sci-Fi. Terrible, plodding pacing, wooden acting, low-tech sets, and best of all Mr. Chekhov! How can you resist?

Classic bad Sci-fi
In the year 2790 A.D., a giant Ark, drifts through deep space, out of control, its crew having been killed five-hundred years earlier. When the accident that killed the crew occurred, the airlocks connecting the ship's domes that housed the last survivors of the dead planet, Earth, were sealed. Cut off from the outside world,: many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. They accepted that their world was fifty miles in diameter and the sky was metal. Content with their lot, no one knew that their world was in grave danger. Without a crew at the helm, the Ark was on a collision course with a sun.
Another short-lived SF series that probably looked exceedingly good on paper, but lost something in the translation to video. The only survivors of a ravage Earth roam the galaxy in their spaceship looking for a home. What they find, however, is alien menace and alleged adventure week after week. Harlan Ellison (along with Ben Bova) created the show, then aborted the mission upon seeing its maturation

Alien Oro

With B5/Star Trek's Walter Koenig

A spaceship collides with EARTHSHIP ARK, resulting in heavy damage to both ships. But it's only the beginning of an alien ruse to sabotage the huge vessel and use it to return home.

(Compiled from episodes #7 The Alien Oro & #13 The Return of Oro) ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Starlost? Say that again please!
I watched the original series on TV and it seemed to interest me enough to follow it to the end. Any review will depend upon the likes and dislikes of the viewer and I was content to sit back with my popcorn and loose myself in the presentation. I myself was interested enough to purchase the five VHS tapes a few years ago,but not through Amazon. The tapes were put out by VCI Home Video. And although I did enjoy viewing the limited series again, I was disappointed with the audio portion of the tapes. For one thing there was too much bass and very little treble. It sounded as though the recordings were copied in someones garage during a yard sale.

I needed to increase the volume to almost 100% in order to hear
it.

Other than that, my rating stands at a four star.

Classic bad Sci-fi
In the year 2790 A.D., a giant Ark, drifts through deep space, out of control, its crew having been killed five-hundred years earlier. When the accident that killed the crew occurred, the airlocks connecting the ship's domes that housed the last survivors of the dead planet, Earth, were sealed. Cut off from the outside world,: many communities simply forgot that they were on a spacecraft. They accepted that their world was fifty miles in diameter and the sky was metal. Content with their lot, no one knew that their world was in grave danger. Without a crew at the helm, the Ark was on a collision course with a sun.

Another short-lived SF series that probably looked exceedingly good on paper, but lost something in the translation to video. The only survivors of a ravage Earth roam the galaxy in their spaceship looking for a home. What they find, however, is alien menace and alleged adventure week after week. Harlan Ellison (along with Ben Bova) created the show, then aborted the mission upon seeing its maturation.

The Return

The crew of EARTHSHIP ARK's tiny exploratory vessel returns after spending 400 years in a time warp. But they're suffering from 'space senility' --a disease that rapidly speeds up aging if they remain on the ark.

(Compiled from episodes #4 The Pisces & #14 Farthing's Comet) ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great Classic Space Movie!!
This is a great classic space movie about a mother space alien ship preparing for the invasion of earth.It's a must see flick!! ... Read more