Amazon.com essential video

John Waters's goofy, 1990 comedy about a Baltimore girl (Amy Locane) who can't decide if she should remain "good" in her 1954 world or hang out with the motorcycle boys is funny in a scene-by-scene way, but doesn't quite gel into the grand piece the director was hoping for. The cast is exceptionally likable, however, including Johnny Depp as an Elvis type and Iggy Pop as a chattering loony. The best material is set in a fringe world of bikers and losers on the outskirts of town, and Waters writes some hilarious sardonic dialogue for the characters. Cry-Baby is the last of Waters's more undisciplined features; he followed it with the glossier but no less perverse Serial Mom. --Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (107)

Extremely silly, stupid and bad. It's great!
This movie is so bad it hurts. It's incredibly campy and silly, a wonderful parody. I'd say a definate must for Johnny Depp fans (and I can't say I'm one of them) and for anyone who enjoys a good laugh at stupidly silly films. No smart comedy hear, no deep message or meaning, just a hilarious spoof filled with catchy songs and dance moves. A good rainy day film, or for cheering you up, though I think if you were really in a bad mood this movie would just seem stupid and make you want to scream. Still, not bad when you want a laugh. I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone looking for witty comedy or a serious or engaging film, just someone ready for a silly and over-the-top movie filled with song and dance and tons of unbelievabley stereotyped fun characters.

4-stars for a quirky and silly movie. Nothing extrodinary, but still fun!

Cry-Baby Walker Rules
I had seen this movie in the movie theatre as a teenager and it Rocked!! That started my enjoyment of Johnny Depp films. I never watched 21 Jump Street until this movie. The cast is so funny. The TV version I seen added parts that I had not seen in the theatre but cut out parts that were extremely funny. Now I have a copy of the TV version plus the video version which was what I seen in at the movies. It would be really great to get on DVD with both versions together (played together or both on one disc). To this day I can sing every song (I had the soundtrack before the videos) and say most of the words with everyone. It is a funny movie that just won't get old watching over and over!! In fact I watched it today. I just can't say enough about how hilarious this movie. It is the "bad boy" falling in love with the "good girl" just like "Grease" and other great movies like that. I think they did a great job at making it look like the 50s in the movie. It has been my favorite movie since I seen it.

Cry Baby........
I wouldn't recommend this film. I think I got bored. It was so long ago, but I believe I was bored.

He's so hott!
I have been watching this movie ever since I was 6, and now I'm 15. It's great and the best part is that Johnny Depp is in it. I think he's incredibly hott no matter what he wears. This movie should definately be on dvd. What I don't get is why does Johnny and (Amy) make out in the movie when she is still dating the other guy, lol. But, it's a very cute movie. I think everybody who hasn't seen it yet, should!

why on EARTH is this not on dvd?!?!
I thought that this film was great and fantastic for cheering you up. The songs were really catchy and cheesy (in a good way) and Johnny Depp looked incredible. A must for ALL fans. It just makes me wonder what is going through the directors head by not putting this on dvd, it is mazing. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

They don't make 'em like this anymore. Well, John Waters might, if he ever had a big enough budget. A steamy "inside look" at the alternately sleazy and glamorous world of catfighting, backbiting show-biz starlets, this Hollywood hit from the bestselling novel by Jacqueline Susann is a high-gloss camp artifact--a time capsule (or some kind of capsule, anyway)--from the screwy '60s, when a broad was a broad, a bitch was a bitch (whether "her" name was Neely O'Hara or Ted Casablanca), and a "doll" was a prescription drug. These dames of whine and poses obsessed over their bust lines, booze, and barbiturates. The once-shocking and scandalous language and behavior of these Broadway babes has been eclipsed by Dallas, Dynasty, and Melrose Place, but time has only enhanced the stature of Valley of the Dolls as a classic--and it still puts Showgirls to shame. With Patty Duke, Susan Hayward, Sharon Tate, Lee Grant, Barbara Parkins, and Martin Milner (and juicy, scene-chewing dialogue such as the infamous: "They drummed you out of Hollywood, so you come crawling back to Broadway. But Broadway doesn't go for booze and dope--now get out of my way, I've got a man waiting for me!"), Valley of the Dolls is the Mount Rushmore of backstage movie melodramas. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (106)

Patty Dukes it out in Dolls
This is truly the ultimate Camp Classic film of all time. Patty Duke gives a mezmerizing performance as Singer Neely O'Hara and creates an unforgetable character in the process. It is HER film all the way, although Susan Hayward does an excellent job in a supportive Role. And, as Neely O'Hara Patty gets the opportunity to perform such songs as "It's Impossible", "Give a Little More" and of course the memorable "Come Live With Me". Just for these moments alone, the film is worth viewing. It will be interesting to see if the DVD will contain some out-take footage for the film's many many fans to see. Judy Garland, who originally was slated to portray Helen Lawson, was too ill at the time of filming to complete her scenes. Thus, Susan Hayward was called in to replace her and does a good job with the tough-as-nails Helen Lawson character. If you want to be totally entertained and mezmerized, buy or rent this video. And remember, you're not nutty, you're just hooked on Dolls.

RELIVE THE MOVIE IN YOUR CAR OR W/ YOUR WALKMAN!
I would most definitely recommend this soundtrack for anyone is who is a big fan of the movie! The music is perfectly matched to each scene and when you listen to the soundtrack you can, as one of the previous reviewers said, picture each scene in your mind. I get a good chuckle listening to "Neely's Career Montage" and picturing Patty Duke's "workout" and rise to fame! And when I hear "Jennifer's French Movie", I see the beautiful Sharon Tate tossing around under the covers and speaking French! Barbara Parkins's distinguished and elegant narration make the first track a priceless, campy gem that sets the tone for the festivities. While it is disappointing that the title track ("Theme from 'Valley of the Dolls'" - apparently Dionne Warwick's record label had a dispute with the record label that released this soundtrack) and "I'll Plant My Own Tree" are not the versions heard in the film, they still sound similar enough that they manage to convey the same feelings of nostalgic joy! Interestingly enough, the songs Patty Duke's character sings are not really Patty's voice, but the singer they used was a great match for Patty's persona in the movie and both fabulous songs appear here! What more can I say?! If you aren't a big fan of the movie, then this soundtrack probably won't do a thing for you, but if you LOVE the movie like I do, then I a certain you will LOVE this delightfully cheesy soundtrack!

More Quoteable Quotes
I can't resist....More Quotes:

"Ted Casablanca is NOT a fag. And I'm the dame who can prove it."

"You're not the breadwinnah either."

"Tony! Tony! To-neeeeeeeee!"

"Miriam.....I'm pregnant."

"Sparkle Neely...Sparkle."

"She's the one who wanted the kiddies and the vine covered cottage."

"My beautiful little doll. Just one, and one more."

"We're closing now Miss O'Hara."

"Oh God you've got your costume on for the second act!"

"Lyon? He's in the shower. I'll have him call you back."

"I've done pills, booze and a funny farm. I don't need anybody or anything!"

"The song goes, and the kid with it"

"I know all about run-of-the-play contracts."

"Neely, just a few short years ago you were an unknown little girl singing for her supper. Now because of the lush, warm notes that have emerged from your throat, you have become the idol of record buyers and movie goers all over America."

I need more than 5 stars
Heck - the quotes alone will cover a page. See if you can add to this list:

"I wanted a marriage like mom and dad's, but not yet. First I want new experiences, new faces, new surroundings. Lawrenceville will be there foreveah."

"I remember the night I told them I was going to New York. They said it was a dreadful place for a vacation. I announced I was going to work there."

"George Washington didn't sleep there but he did dip a bucket of water from our well."

"I can still see them standing there waving. Aunt Amy, Mama and Willie. Poor Willie, he didn't know I was leaving his life forevah."

"Queenie's pregnant again. My Siamese. Drat! I hope its not that beat up black Tom."

"Black Siamese should be very pretty. I'm Anne Wells."

"Oh yes, the agency phoned about you. A BA in Radcliffe. Mr. Bellamy will like that. He will thin it will gives the office tone."

"Don't give her that I loved you when I was a little girl routine or she'll stab you in the back."

"Neely never had that hard core like me. She never learned to roll with the punches."

"Find yourself a wife. Have kids. Or one day you'll wind up alone like me. I wonder what the hell happened?"

"They drummed you right out of Hollywood.....
...so you come crawling back to Broadway"....

Just one of a myriad of oh-so-quotable lines from the classic VALLEY OF THE DOLLS, based on Jacqueline Susann's steamy pulp-fiction bestseller of 1966. The acting is pure cheese, the script is a paler, watered-down imitation of Susann's text and the songs are God-awful. But there is something about this little gem that draws me in time after time. I could easily watch it once or twice a day and never get bored with it.

The story recounts three girls in New York: Anne Welles (Barbara Parkins - BEAR ISLAND), Neely O'Hara (Patty Duke - THE MIRACLE WORKER) and Jennifer North (Sharon Tate).

Anne has just arrived from small-town Lawrenceville, and landed a job as secretary in an entertainment law-firm. This leads Anne to the acquaintance of Neely, a young up-and-coming Broadway singer who's just been dumped from the new musical starring Helen Lawson (Susan Hayward - I WANT TO LIVE). The reason?...Neely would easily steal the show, and the only star of a Helen Lawson show is Helen Lawson...!

Anne also meets Jennifer, a sweet but by her own admission, talentless showgirl/model. Anne's boss Lyon Burke (Paul Burke) arranges for Neely to sing on a charity telethon, and she quickly lands her own revue at a prominent nightclub. Jennifer marries handsome crooner Tony Polar (Tony Scotti) against the wishes of his sister/manager Miriam (Lee Grant - VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED). Anne then gets discovered by a cosmetics firm and becomes the glamorous 'Gillian Girl'.

The story moves to Hollywood where both Neely and Tony are turned into movie stars. Success comes too fast and easily for Neely who disappears into a heady world of dolls and alcohol. Tony is tragically struck down with a mysterious disease which leaves him paralysed in a sanitarium. To make ends meet, Jennifer becomes an adult-film star.

After going through two failed marriages, Neely hits bottom and is admitted into a rehab center, at Lyon and Anne's behest. With the offer of a new Broadway musical, Neely emerges and quickly finds her feet again, only to break Anne's heart when she claims Lyon for herself. Jennifer quits the porn business and discovers she has breast cancer.

At a party for Helen Lawson's new musical, which bombed out-of-town, Neely and Helen duke it out in the ladies' room, resulting in the famous wig-ripping scene, which is probably the greatest piece in the whole film.

Another great moment is Susan Hayward singing "I'll Plant My Own Tree" standing in the middle of a huge mobile, constructed of broken traffic-lights! Margaret Whiting provided Hayward's singing, though the role of Helen Lawson was originally earmarked for Judy Garland (and the song reeks of Garland influence).

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS is a campy little gem, one that has a HUUUGE and dedicated following. Patty Duke has never eaten so much scenery in any of her subsequent films, Sharon Tate is luminous and Barbara Parkins (aka the Living Mannequin) is just what is called for the role of Anne.

VALLEY OF THE DOLLS. A true classic. Accept no substitutes. ... Read more

Reviews (59)

New Outlook on an Old Movie
I was 12 years old when this "made for television" movie first aired.The only part of the movie I actually had any recollection of was, of course, the little Zuni devil doll running across the floor. That was enough for it to remain in my memory as being a very scary movie. When I saw that it was available on DVD, I bought it, hoping to bring back some old childhood memories. What a difference 27 years make.
As the title implies, the film is composed of three short (unrelated) stories, although only the last one can really lay claim to having any sort of terror in it. Karen Black stars in all three stories, in addition to playing a dual role in the second tale. The first story, "Julie", casts Black as a dowdy, repressed college professor who is being blackmailed by one of her students. In the second story, "Millicent and Terese", Black plays both of the title roles, two sisters at opposite ends of the personality spectrum. Millicent is a prudish spinster who despises her loose and immoral sister Terese. Believing there is no hope for Terese's salvation, Millicent attempts to rescue Terese's current flame from the road to damnation. The third and most famous of the three tales is "Amelia" in which Black plays a woman terrorized by a Zuni devil doll which is brought to life after the chain around it's neck accidentally falls off.
The first story works well enough for what it is. Although not terribly original (but then again, maybe in 1975 it was.) it holds the viewers interest, even if it isn't an "edge of your seat" thriller. The two leads provide some solid acting. Most viewers, however, will most likely figure out the ending long before it plays out.
The second story is the weakest of the three. Its primary purpose seems to be soley to give Black two different roles to play. This one also contains Black's weakest performance(s). With absolutely no subtlety whatsoever, Black plays each character's cliched personality to the hilt, slamming the viewer over the head with the utter piousness of Millicent and the total taudriness of Terese. This story's conclusion is more obvious to the audience than the first one.
It is the last story that makes this DVD worth buying, but for a totally different reason than what I had origionally thought. The 12 year old in me remembers this story as being very scary. Horrifying even. Watching it now, I howl with laughter. This is such a great campy story. Watching that doll running around the apartment, grunting, and chomping on any body part he can get a hold of is a hoot. Black even does the obligatory "trip and fall" (THREE TIMES no less). Watching the little bugger saw his way out of a suitcase is classic. You almost root for the little guy. The story's conclusion is done rather well though, and does still provide a little bit of a chill as well.
The visuals of the DVD are very good as is the sound. There is even a printed interview with Ms. Black (done in "98") about the movie. I suspect this DVD's appeal primarily lies with those of us who remember seeing it when it origionally aired on television, but for those of you who love camp, get the DVD and check out what's behind curtain number three.

Classic 1970's Television Movie Featuring A Horror Icon
If the memory of "Trilogy of Terror" was based on the strength of the first and second stories,( titled "Julie", and "Millicent and Therese"), this horror trilogy starring Karen Black would be largely forgotten today with horror fans and would have been long relegated to the depths of the TV movie vaults. It is however solely because of the unforgettable third story titled "Amelia", that this film continues to enjoy fame and notoriety. This story spawned one of the great horror icons of modern times in the vicious and frightening Zuni Fetish Doll which in this third story comes to life and attacks Karen Black in a startlingly gripping tale of the supernatural. This story more than makes up for the weaknesses of the first two segments which are well acted but not particulary riverting horror tales. I find the "Amelia", story is just as unrelentingly frightening and nightmare inducing with each successive viewing and the killer Zuni Fetish Doll is one character that can't help but stay in your mind long after viewing "Trilogy of Terror".

Story number one "Julie", is a fairly straightforward tale of school teacher Julie Eldridge (Karen Black), who teaches English at an American high school. She is mousey, studious and never goes out on dates. She "attracts" the attention of one of her students who takes her on a date, drugs her and begins to blackmail her into further meetings. At first the victim of the piece Julie ends up turning the tables on the young man and in the final twist it is revealed to his great personal cost that it is Julie who is the one in control and who has used him as she has numerous other young men for her own ends.

Story two "Millicent and Therese", is probably the weakest of the three stories and has Karen Black playing two roles as "identical" sisters Millicent and Therese. The similarity between the women ends with their looks as Millicent is prim and proper and very introverted in her ways while Therese is outlandish in her dress and not shy about her relations with numerous men. A real hatred exists between the two sisters and Millicent succeeds in driving off one of Therese's boyfriends by telling him of her sordid past. As the tension in the house rises Millicent starts to fear for her personal safety and dabbles in witchcraft to remove the menance of Therese's presence. The family doctor long aware of the real truth of the "two sisters", arrives too late however to save the situation from a tragic outcome.

"Amelia", is of course the classic story and has everything that the first two stories lack in sheer terror and exhausting nail biting suspense from the opening scene. Here Karen Black plays downtrodden young woman Amelia who to get away from a domineering mother has taken a sublease on an upstairs apartment for 6 months. She has managed to find herself a boyfriend and as a birthday gift she has purchased as a result of his love of african arts a genuine Zuni Fetish Doll from an antique shop.It comes with a scroll saying that if the little metal chain around its waist is broken a spirit will be released that is "he who kills". By accident the chain breaks off and thus begins a nightmarish tale where this killer doll comes alive and goes on a murderous rampage attempting to kill Amelia in her apartment. After trying to drown it and trap it in a suitcase and enduring numerous stabs from the doll which is armed with a butchers knife Amelia manages to burn up the doll in the oven. However a decidely horrific outcome develops where she "inherits", the spirit of the Zuni doll and starts to take on its traits in a horrific last scene.

Many people have commented on the fact that this TV movie and in particular the "Amelia", story terrified them growing up but was almost comical when viewed as an adult. I still think the third story packs a real punch in the horror department and the sight of this murderous doll making horrific growling noises and stabbing Karen Black as she attempts to escape is a horror image just as terrifying as anything I've seen recently in the horror field. All the segments are well acted by Karen Black who is a fine actress however the brilliance of the Zuni Doll seemingly chasing her around a small apartment is the real element of genius in this movie and is superb in a pre special effects era of movie making. Turn down the lights and watch "Trilogy of Terror", sometime to see one of the best "horror figures" of the 1970's come to life.

Great acting.
I truly believe Karen Black is an exceptional Actress This movie truly shows it. One review says this movie was boring i respect his opinion but you truly need to appreciate the Artistic quality of Karen Blacks acting ablties and a movie that does not need gore to be good. Sometimes horror movies are more Frightning When there is no gore. Anyhow I truly love this movie and I am upset that is out of print. I think it is a bit overpriced. I don't really know why this movie when out of print but I hope that anchorbay releases a Two dvd edition with both the first and second movie because the second one is great as well.Anyway if you have this dvd keep it because it is extremly Rare.

To Zuni Fetish Doll Haters, Wherever You May Be...
I saw this movie (like MANY other reviewers) at an impressionable age (probably around 8 or 9 years old) on TV.

Of course, the TV version was tamed down a bit due to nudity in the first story between the high school ... boy, Chad, who finds Karen Black's MUCHO OLDER teacher character sexy in that sort of "motherly/librarian" way. He drugs her, blackmails her with seedy pictures and thus the one sided affair ensues. As if you can really tame down the GREAT and MAGNIFICENT Karen Black. (See her in her Oscar nominated role in "Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?)

The second installment in the trilogy is about a good sister bad sister relationship. The weakest of the three but still HIGHLY enjoyable.

The FINAL story is the one that STILL leaves me with nightmares. That little ZUNI ... doll coming to life, those sharp, pointy little teeth, his sharp little weapon, making that Nyaaaah, Nyaaah, Nyaaaaaaaah yell and then the end where Karen herself, turns into a Zuni Fetish doll lookalike with POINTY TEETH AND ALL! GRUESOME, GRUESOME, GRUESOME!!!

Still makes me pee pee in my big girl [underwear]! LOL!

HELLA SCARY!!!!
Wow, I had no idea so many other people were traumitized by this film when they were kids! I don't feel so alone now. My sister and I saw this film back in the early 80s and it scared the living crap out of me. I couldn't sleep for maybe 2 weeks straight after watching it. I kept thinking that damn doll was underneath my bed or opening my door. Every little noise that I heard in my room I thought was that bastard walking around my bed. UGH I never wanna go through that again! I used to hate taking baths cause of that scene where she tries to drown it in the tub and it pops it's ugly head out of the water. To this very day, I see a green old suitcase and I think of her trying to capture it in there. What I don't get is WHY on earth would she even buy such a hideous looking thing in the first place! I'd never bring such an evil looking thing like that into my living room and I would have tossed it outside the window the second I got my hands on it. The damn doll is scary enough just looking at it, when you add him running around like a maniac with that knife and making that horrible screaming sound well it's just a zillion times worse. I am 27 years old now and I have seen this movie since I was a child and I STILL find it very frightening. I try to laugh at how ridiculous the whole thing is but I can't get over my fear of it. To this day I won't watch it, I saw it on DVD the other day in a store and I nearly freaked just seeing the cover. I hope the people that made this movie know how many children and adults it has terrified over the years. Karen Black is once scary chick! She will always remind me of that movie and therefore I can never watch one of her movies again lol. We should start a Trilogy of Terror therapy group!! lol ... Read more

Reviews (103)

But you are, Blanche. You ARE in that chair!
This is one great movie! "What Ever Happened to BabyJane?" is, as stated in Amazon's description, the story of twoaging sisters, each in her own way connected with show business.

Now the good stuff. The sisters are played by Bette Davis and Joan Crawford (the only time the two ever acted together) to absolute perfection. Crawford is wonderful in the role of crippled sister Blanche, but Miss Davis absolutely walks away with the show as the former "Baby" Jane Hudson. The role is meatly and she revels in it! It is obvious that Miss Davis held the philosophy that, if you are going to go over-the-top, don't apologize. And she doesn't. She goes WAY over-the-top with a gleeful abandon that is infectious.

The way she taunts her wheelchair-bound sister (the title quotes one of Jane's best lines), serves her meals of dead rodents and ex-pets, kicks her in the gut, mocks her ever-so-proper speech, etc. It's all so delicious. And check out the ballet that she does to one of the songs from her childhood vaudeville act. Bette Davis was obviously having the time of her life, and so do the viewers of this classic.

For the DVD edition, there are disappointingly few extras, but Davis is credited with developing the absolutely hideous hair and makeup combinations she sports while slouching about the house in her scuffs and house coat (Director Robert Aldrich said that, while he loved the look, he never would have had the nerve to suggest such a thing to Bette Davis).

Joan Crawford was in fine form, as well. But for Jane to be able to be credible doing the things she did, Blanche had to be the "straight man". Crawford or Aldrich knew this and Blanche behaves accordingly. Consequently, it is Bette Davis' Jane who has the best lines and the showier part in general.

If you have never seen this movie, get it. If you have, go back and visit the Hudson sisters again. Then you might want to write a letter to YOUR daddy.

A Classic Psychological Thriller - Truly Sick!
This is the ultimate is psychological thrillers starring two of the greatest "top-billed turned has-been" movie actresses in history.

Betty Davis as Jane Hudson and real life nemesis Joan Crawford as sister Blanche Hudson make for comic and scary thrills. Quick retread: Jane was "Baby Jane Hudson", a child star who lost her popularity after puberty. Blanche Hudson was jealous as a child but becomes a top rated adult movie actress. Jane, of course, becomes an increasingly insane alcoholic. Trouble ensues when Blanche is mysteriously crippled in a car wreck forcing 'whack-job' case sister Jane to care for her. The plot thickens as quickly as Jane loses her mind. It's hilarious. But the sadistic scenes Jane carries out on Blanche are both scary and hilarious, making this film a true cult classic. The ending is a masterpiece of plot twists!

I can't get into more details other than to tell you that every time I've shown someone this movie, they goes nuts over it! It's frightening and comedic simultaneously. It's no wonder these two characters have been Halloween favorites for years!

Quality of 'black & white' is okay and sound is what you would expect from an early 60's nightmare, but it's worth it. Before you pick up your main course covered dinner plate, remember what Jane said to Blanche - "By the way Blanche, did you know we have rats in the cellar?!"

WHO the Hell is Norman?
Check out the editorial review "Sadistic Jane and their servant Norman????" The only servant, err, make that housekeeper in this saga is ELVIRA [No, NOT THAT one!] who meets ..... [Clunk!~ Thud!]

WELL, this utterly dark little Gem of Joy still pack many a wallop!

No quite dated, but such an acidic picture of Tinseltown - as a matter of fact you can still see these old [er] Dolls and Guys on Hollywood Boulevard - or Rodeo Drive [botox-powered] for that matter.

IT hasn't really aged that badly - Crawford is superb as the wheelchair bound glam queen Blance ~ utterly dependent on her increasingly insane sister Jane ~ Davis probably on a par with her turn in THE STAR. Davis sacrifices all for this role, including figure and looks, shuffling around the house in flip-flops, dragging on a cigarette and swigging booze has NEVER been this fun!

Bring along a creepy VICTOR BUONO [debut role] as a grifter with an accent and his dear old Ma ... nasty little jewels they are - check out the scene with Davis and Buono and the sandwich plate ... then the booze scene later! Priceless [It's almost Norman Desmond and Joe - the later years].

Superior lensing and direction etc. etc. etc.

Davis daughter BD HYMAN plays the teen next door.

Roaring fun for late at night viewing - double billed with Sunset Boulevard.

[Now wasn't there a musical version of this one ....?]

Betty Grable and Ginger Rogers
oh well it could have been betty and ginger
both blonde both musical stars (grable was more popular)

Ohh.. But Cha AAH, Blanche, Ya AAH In That Chair!!!
In "What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?" you really DO find out, indeed!

But what horrors you have to endure to see the truth and consequences! With twists, turns, torture & anti-climactic scenes all played to the hilt by the Miss Hudsons (Bette Davis and Joan Crawford), respectively, you will never be able to look at your pet parakeet the same way again.

Miss Baby Jane Hudson, played with great, grotesque gusto by Davis who was once the belle of the ball. Kind of a Shirley Temple of her era. Baby Jane was daddy's girl and Jane, therefore, has quite an Electra complex that is and has been exhibited her entire life.

Her sister, Miss Blanche Hudson, played "aptly and sapply" by Crawford, has a long and lasting career as an adult movie star but is now wheelchair bound because of a little "accident" betwixt the sisters many years back. Jane is the caretaker of Blanche since the "accident" and they both live off of the residuals of Blanche's long and prosperous film career before she became crippled.

After a local California TV station decides to run summer afternoon, back to back Blanche Hudson films, Baby Jane gets that ol' jealous feeling brewing again and wants desparately to revitalize her childhood career. Baby Jane hires pianist from the classifieds, Mr. Edward Flagg, played in a great understated role by Victor Buono, who has his own Oedipal yearnings and problems. They make a great and perfect pair of drunks and crazies, let me tell ya.

Jane is certainly unstable and is likened to a gin and vodka guzzling 60 year old broad with a six year old spoiled brat mentality. SCARY combo, right there! Let alone Jane's guilt of the "accident", her shameless jealousy, and her expressions of the antithesis of "SISTERLY LOVE".

Filmed in glorious black and white, it lends itself to the dark, somber and horrific things that happen to Blanche vis-a-vis Jane...

"Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" is a cult classic and a true and genuine classic in it's own right.

Happy Watching! ... Read more

Reviews (62)

Great 70's movie
I used to watch Convoy over and over as a kid. It is unfortunate that it is not being produced on DVD or VHS considering how many movies not nearly as entertaining are being marketed. I think if you didn't see it when it first came out you'd find it silly and dated today, but I feel to those of us who saw it initially growing up, it is a classic. Modeled after a catchy country western song by C.W. McCall and with stars such as Kris Kristofferson, Ali McGraw, Burt Young and Ernest Borgnine, I'm surprised it is so obscure. It has some great 70's car/truck chase and crash scenes and a good soundtrack. Hopefully it will come out of moratorium soon and be available.

Breaker-19
CONVOY is the best trucker movie of all time. I've watched this movie 1000's of times when I was a kid and I enjoy it even more now. This movie has action, comedy and romance. Kris Kristofferson was great in this movie, he really brought out the excitement of being a truck driver. As for Ali MacGraw, she was also great and beautiful co-star. The director, Sam Peckinpah did an excellent job capturing the essence of truck driving. After so many years of searching for this movie I finally have a copy of my own thanks to Amazon.com. I'm impatiently waiting for it to come out on DVD(extended verison)....

Convoy
I bought the VHS version of the movie going off the other reviews listed.I received it yesterday and watched it twice.The quality is excellent.No fuzzy picture or sound.If you want a copy of this old classic movie,get one on video.

CONVOY
i havn't played my copy yet. the dvd i got, came from half.com which is a letterbox version, not digitally remastered and released by PACIFIC FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT. i paid less than $5.00 brand new.

The old days
When you seee this movie, you will realinze how life in America was not anoying. ... Read more

Album Description

Canadian DVD release for 1974 spaghetti-western inspired by Sergio Leone who produced, starring Henry Fonda & featuring a soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. Also known as 'Il Mio Nome E Nessuno'. 2000 release. ... Read more

Reviews (59)

Quick Draws......
This review refers to the WHAM! DVD edition of "My Name Is Nobody"......

Who is faster on the draw than the legendary gunslinger Jack Beauregard(Henry Fonda)?.....NOBODY! (Terence Hill). That's Who! This is the most delightful western, that the whole family can enjoy together(there is some mild violence and language).

Jack Beauregard who has made quite a name for himself with a gun, just wants to slip away quietly on a slow boat to Europe. But it's easier said than done. There are others who would rather see him dead and young gunslinger Nobody is hired to do away with Jack. Nobody is so taken with the his idol though, that not only does he want Beauregard to live, but wants his legend to live on in history as well. The pair become the Odd Couple of the 1890's and you'll have a fabulous time watching their antics.

It is filmed in the wonderful "Spagehitte Western" style. Based on an idea by Sergio Leone("Fistful of Dollars" et al), directed by Tonino Valerii, and with a fabulous whimsical score by Ennio Morricone. It has all the great western landscapes, camera work, and some terrific acting.

I was very confused when I was shopping for this DVD. I knew this edition was an import only but I was confused as to how many versions there were.The tech info here says the studio of release is Pid, yet most of the reviews that mentioned the name of the studio refered to it as WHAM. But I really like this film alot, so I went ahead and ordered it. The image of the case here is the same as the one I recieved, but does not say Pid anywhere on it, and is WHAM!. So I just want to clear that up in case anyone else was wondering the same thing. And by the way, it's a decent DVD transfer as well.

The DVD is very good. The sound is excellent. I wasn't sure what to expect as there was no info here or on the box as far as the sound was concerned. My DVD player decoded it at DD2.0, and the music as well as the dialouge was crisp and clear. Every little detail(like Fonda getting a shave) was distinguishable. The picture was clear and good for the most part. There were times when it seemed a little grainey, and also the colors seemed somewhat dated. But the widescreeen (1:85:1) was great and it was a nice view. As far as extras, you won't find too much, but there is some. You can go to "soundtrack" and listen to the music from your favorite scenes. There are also bios on Henry Fonda, Terence Hill and Ennio Morricone (no filmographies though), and there is a theatrical trailer as well.

If you have seen this and know you like it, I would say this DVD is a good buy. If you have'nt seen it but love these kind of spaghetti or comical westerns, you'll love this one! It's a keeper!
Happy Trails...Laurie

Funniest Western Ever
I have seen many comedy westerns including Cat Ballou, Blazing Saddles, and City Slickers. None have made me laugh harder than "My Name is Nobody". Henry Fonda plays a retiring gunfighter, Jack Beauregard, for the law while Terence Hill plays a comedic young gunfighter, Nobody, for good. His methods are quite different and should keep you in stitches more than once. The scenes at the Circus can't be beat. Although he is proficient with a gun, you never see him kill anybody to make his point. Did I mention the musical score by Ennio Morricone is great? As mentioned in a good review, laurie's boomer views, you can play just the soundtrack. I love Morricone's happy go lucky intro song , My Name is Nobody, and all the western themes that dramatize the scenes with Beauregard. I do hope this will be released on DVD in the US and for a lower price. The import quality lacks a little to be desired so I am hoping for a better transfer of the master in the future. The WHAM! version menu is overly red and the Bio has Henry Ford instead of Fonda as the name, but the bio is correct. The DVD is decent quality with a only a few screen glitches and the sound is good. The occasional graininess can't be helped since the original VHS quality was no better and probably the master print wasn't sharp. I don't regret getting the DVD since this is a great movie and my VHS is wearing out.

Nobody beats nobody ...
You will not go wrong with this jewel. Even if you've never seen an Italian western, you will find this one addictive. The only bad thing about this movie is that there is no sequel. This one is the epitome of a spaghetti western. I've enjoyed it time and time again! I 100% agree with all the reviewers remarks on this one.

Incredible Scope
In another review I mentioned this was the funniest Western, but to avoid losing votes on it I had to write another review to mention that the scope is amazing as well. Fans of movies like "How the West Was Won" and "Once Upon a Time in the West" will enjoy it as well. The realism of the movie sets and performances make you believe you are actually seeing this dramatic change in the West from watering hole and cowboys to ranchers and towns. The West is becoming civilized and Henry Fonda as Beauregard is the old ways and Terence Hill as Nobody is the new. I really wish I had pointed that out in my other review. This movie goes well beyond being just a great comedy. It is like he wrapped "The Magnificent Seven" with "Shrek". Sometimes incredibly dramatic, sometimes downright goofy, but always magnificent.

My Name is Nobody - Terence Hill & Henry Fonda
One of my all time favorite comody Westerns! Lots of laughs and funny wit from Terrance Hill and an awesome performance from Henry Fonda. Even my teenage kids love this one!!! ... Read more

Amazon.com

Scientists discover that a pair of giant crabs mutated by atomic tests is responsible for the disappearance of researchers on a remote island. The crabs, which assimilate the voices and intellects of their victims, slowly destroy the island as they thin out the rescue party until a do-or-die plan is hatched. This early effort by Roger Corman has been labeled as schlock due to its pulpy title and atrocious monster effects, but the script by Charles B. Griffith, while stretched thin by the usual low-budget constraints, is more intriguing and gently self-deprecating than a movie about monster crustaceans should be (Griffith also wrote the blackly comic scripts for A Bucket of Blood and Corman's original Little Shop of Horrors). The script's handling of the monsters is especially notable; the crabs' malevolent logic flies in the face of 1950s creature standards, which demanded that monsters be drooling and dumb. And Corman's fast-and-furious direction delivers a surprising number of shocks (most notably, the alarming "bus" when Little Shop alumnus Mel Welles's character meets his fate) as it barrels toward the film's slam-bang conclusion. Sharp-eyed character actor fans will spot among the cast Russell Johnson and Ed Nelson, years before their respective TV fame on Gilligan's Island and Peyton Place; longtime Corman bit player Beach Dickerson and screenwriter Griffith portray sailors. Made for $70,000, the film grossed approximately $1 million, making it Corman's most profitable picture of the period. Crab Monsters played theaters in 1957 on a double bill with Corman's equally satisfying Not of This Earth. --Paul Gaita ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Enjoy it with a bag of popcorn and some juju bees
Remember those hokey old "B" thrillers from the 50's? Remember your youth when it seemed like everyone had seen every 'monster' movie and loved to talk about it?

I remember having a friend over for the evening, watching our old B&W tv, and throwing a blanket over the monitor and ourselves -- we were in a drive-in *grin*. Shows like this were what we watched.

This film is a great 'time trip' back to those early days of monster movies when atom bomb testing (did we really detonate those things above ground?) was the cause for every mutation or monster loosed on humanity. As a young boy, it had scared me -- the voices in the night and an island which kept getting smaller gave me dreams. Of course, today's film crowd would hoot at it. But it's not the cinematography, special effects or even the story that makes this flick one worth adding to your library. It's the wistful return to our youth that gives it charm.

If you were born after 1970, you'll probably not have much in common with this film -- bypass it. However, if you grew up watching 'Chiller Theater' and 'Movie of the Week', this film will transport you back in time to the less complex world of our childhood.

Famous Monsters of Filmland fans will love it
I've wanted to get this movie on video for years, and finally got one thanks to Amazon. A glorious low-budget Roger Corman piece that has some surprisingly clever ideas in its script, and a bit of genuinely creepy atmosphere. Sure, the crab monsters themselves are a bit naff, but that's exaactly what you expect when you watch a movie like this. If you can't appreciate the finer points of a B-movie, you should obviously stay well away. But if you remember watching this one on television when you were a kid, like me, you may find yourself drawn to it the same way I was.

The print used for the video is not very good, unfortunately. Too much contrast, and it looks like it's more than one generation down from the master video copy. It makes it difficult to see what's happening at times. I don't know if other editions have better video quality. Although the edition I have is recorded at SP, it almost looks as if it were dubbed from an EP tape.

But you know what? I'm still happy I have the video. Any Saturday morning I can escape back to my childhood by watching a cheap B&W monster flick is a good one to me, and this is a perfect movie to fit the bill.

Good Monster Movie!
This movie was another Grade B gem from the master of these
types of films Roger Corman.A rescue party is sent to an island
to rescue a group of scientists.The rescue party discovers that earthquakes are decimating the island. They make a scarier discovery in the forms of giant crabs who have undergrown a
tremendous growth cycle because of atomic testing.One by one
these monster crabs kill and eat the members of the rescue team.
It is an all out battle for survival.Who will win? The monster
crabs or the rescue team members.This movie stays exciting until
the ending. This is a unique film that you will enjoy.

Crabs take over the island...
Another Roger Corman classic staring monsters from the deep. This time we have a research team investigating an island for effects of radiation. We all know that radiation in a black and white film creates monsters. This time is no exception.

In typical Corman fashion, the plot is established and the terror begins and at first we only see the handywork of the monsters and not the monsters themselves. As quakes wrack the island, causing large sections to disappear, and scientists disappear, we become aware that there are some nast giant crabs on the island. They have been eating the scientists and causing the island to sink. If that wasn't enough, they have absorbed the knowledge, and voices, of those they have eaten.

The film climaxes with the final battle between the survivors and the crabs on all that remains of the island (about 10 yards across).

This is the type of movie that makes B-movies so much fun. Monsters, suspense, bad effects, melodrama and sinking islands. Great film.

Pay no attention to the wheels and legs under the monsters
If you see only one talking crab monster movie in your life then this 1957 bad B-movie from director Roger Corman is the one to check out. The monsters are stupid looking, the dialog is laughable, but just keep in mind the film's tagline--"From the depths of the sea... a tidal wave of terror!"--and enjoy the film. The idea is that some scientist types are off to a Pacific island to study the effects of atomic radiation (they are bad; worse than you can imagine). What they discover are a pair of giant crabs who (wait until you hear this) ate the previous group of scientists, thereby absorbing their knowledge and allowing them to imitate the voices of their human victims so they can get more people to munch on. Just to make things fair the humans have guns and grenades, but they are trapped on the island when their plane explodes and bad weather stops their radios from working. Oh, and did I mention that the island is slowly sinking into the sea?

Of course the scientists are mostly menu items, which leaves it to our hero, Hank (Russell "The Professor" Johnson), who proudly declares "I'm no scientist, I'm a technician and a handy man." Well, those are the people who made this country and most monster movies great. The human voices from the crabs are rather lame, but the clicking sound they make with their pinchers has its moments. This is a nice example of an early Corman quick and dirty production, the second of nine films the director made that year: "Not of This Earth," "Naked Paradise," "Teenage Doll," "The Saga of the Viking Women and Their Voyage to the Waters of the Great Sea Serpent," "The Undead," "Sorority Girl," "Rock All Night," and "Carnival Rock." But none of those have fake looking talking crabs rolling around on wheels on a sinking island talking with the voices of the human beings they consumed. Look for screenwriter Charles B. Griffith as Tate and keep in mind that actors Beach Dickerson (Ron Fellows) and Ed Nelson (Ensign Quinlan) are doing double-duty as the operators of the crab monsters. "Attack of the Crab Monsters" definitely goes in the so bad it is good category. In fact, this one might become your textbook definition of bad Science Fiction B-Movie. It is a two-star movie but a four-star experience. ... Read more

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If Franz Kafka had been an animator and film director--oh, and a member of Monty Python's Flying Circus--this is the sort of outrageously dystopian satire one could easily imagine him making. However, Brazil was made by Terry Gilliam, who is all of the above except, of course, Franz Kafka. Be that as it may, Gilliam sure captures the paranoid-subversive spirit of Kafka's The Trial (along with his own Python animation) in this bureaucratic nightmare-comedy about a meek governmental clerk named Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) whose life is destroyed by a simple bug. Not a software bug, a real bug (no doubt related to Kafka's famous Metamorphosis insect) that gets smooshed in a printer and causes a typographical error unjustly identifying an innocent citizen, one Mr. Buttle, as suspected terrorist Harry Tuttle (Robert De Niro).When Sam becomes enmeshed in unraveling this bureaucratic glitch, he himself winds up labeled as a miscreant.

The movie presents such an unrelentingly imaginative and savage vision of 20th-century bureaucracy that it almost became a victim of small-minded studio management itself--until Gilliam surreptitiously screened his cut for the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, who named it the best movie of 1985 and virtually embarrassed Universal into releasing it. --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (302)

the definitive look at this masterpiece
Brazil is, arguably, Terry Gilliam's crowning achievement. Originally called 1984 1/2, this film was embroiled in an infamous battle to be distributed. The studio didn't like Gilliam's version and cut together one of their own. Gilliam went to the press and got the L.A. critics behind his movie and finally shamed the studio into releasing his version.

Criterion's 3-DVD set documents the struggle Gilliam went through to get his film shown. Disc One contains his cut of the film with an informative and entertaining commentary by the director. The second DVD contains the bulk of the extra material. Not only is Gilliam's struggle documented but also various aspects of the production are examined -- including the screenplay, costumes, art direction, etc. The final disc contains the studio's ....py cut with a film historian's audio commentary documenting why this version sucks.

Once again, Criterion comes through with an exhaustive look at an important film of modern cinema. Brazil is a brilliant satire of a dystopian society run amok by pointless bureaucracy. Anyone who has worked a souless job in an office will immediately empathise with the protagonist's plight. Like any great work of science fiction, Brazil offers more questions than answers -- not everything is wrapped up neatly, instead the viewer is left questioning certain aspects of our modern society. Great stuff.

Great movie about dreams and hope
Brazil, despite the science fiction, social commentary and surrealism, is at it's core a film about a man who trapped by the mundanity of life, imagines himself in a more fantastic world.

Jonathan Pryce stars as a tiny unimportant member of a vast hyper-capitalistic society. Life is cold and dreary for everyone. All his spare time is spent dreaming of magical romantic worlds and the beautiful woman who lives there. One day, a simple beaucratic mistake causes a monumental disaster. Not that anyone cares... they just don't want to be blamed. Sent to solve the problem, or maybe to be a scapegoat, Pryce accidentally meets the literal woman of his dreams. As he pursues her, he brings suspicion on himself of being a terrorist (the scourge of the government), and his dreams begin to invade his waking thoughts.

A suprising list of talent lend themselves to the film and is written, minus Kafka and Orwell themes, by Monty Python's Terry Gilliam so expect some obvious humor and much biting satire throughout. Depressing and magical without losing it's hope, any person who can identify with the main character should find themselves entranced.

Despite being made in 1985 the special effects prove to be suprisingly effective (although easily noticed). I personally think this movie is the second best Science Fiction film, 2001 being first, and the best 1984 type movie ever made.

Much loved, but I never got it ...
This is a cult classic, but I find it over-rated. It delivers the zaniness, surreality and crazy camera work, but the film has no interest in its characters -- you'll feel nothing for them, and for me that leaves a big hole in the center of the movie.

For a movie with a similar feel but considerably more heart, try Barton Fink instead. Or even Amelie.

Boring
This movie is really disappointing and boring.

a bizzare and frightening film
If you enjoy futuristic Sci-Films then I would heartily reccomend this, as it presents a number of interesting and imaginative concepts.
The setting is the far future.The world is a polluted wasteland. A strange network of wires covers the ceiling of every room.
A corporation-government, Central Services, controls all trade enterprises. Any who indulge in the businesses they control (which are almost everything) without the proper paperwork are labeled terrorists. So, unfortunately, are those who criticize Central Services' inane policies.
Their Cops, clad in spacesuits that look like they came straight out of David Lynch's adapatation of "DUNE", frequently capture these "terrorists" to be interrogated, tortured, and/or executed with bizarre devices.
The "food" eaten by the characters in this film is premasticated garbage, into which are stuck pictures of what the characters believe they are eating.
The rich and powerful under Central Services rule get daily facelifts and parties,
and they strike the viewer as stupid and frightening.
The plot of the film concerns a daydreaming young paper-pusher (Jonathan Pryce) for Central Services' Ministry of Information who discovers a glitch in some paperwork that led to the wrongful arrest and unfortunate execution of Archibald Tuttle, who was mistaken for Archibald "Harry" Tuttle (Robert DeNiro), who has fallen out with the law because of his entrepeneurial fix-it man services.
Soon, a truck-drivin' gal(Kim Greist) who witnessed Archibald Buttle's wrongful arrest pleads for his release to the Ministry of Information, who label her a terrorist.
Later, The young MOI employee notices her picture in the lobby of his workplace, and decides to pursue her. He saves her from being arrested, and, in doing so, is labeled an enemy of society, which eventually leads to his tragic end at the hands of his friends(Ian Holm and John Palin).
This frightening look at the evils of technology, corporations,wrongful arrests, and totalitarian governments is not to be missed by any except the very young(if it gave ME nightmares, imagine the effect it would have on a seven-year old boy!) . ... Read more

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Next to The Wild Bunch, this may be director Sam Peckinpah's best movie--all the more extraordinary because it was shot almost a decade before his big breakthrough. Peckinpah cannily cast two aging stars of cowboy films--Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott--in their only film together, playing a pair of over-the-hill cowboys who take a job guarding a gold shipment on its journey down from a mining camp. A reflective tale about two men past their prime, looking back on the paths their lives have taken and the choices they've made, it features a stirring finale and terrific performances by McCrea and Scott. It also features, in her first movie role, a very young Mariette Hartley. Look quickly and you'll see Warren Oates, James Drury, and L.Q. Jones. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (12)

Spectacular Western
Joel McCrae stars as Steve Judd, an ageing lawman reduced to taking odd jobs in the rapidly civilizing west of the late 1890s. Taking a job transporting gold from a violent mining camp in the High Sierras, Judd hires two men to help in the job, one a friend(Randolph Scott) from law days gone by. The two assistants plot to steal the gold as soon as they are hired and the action gets thick from there. Vital to this movie is the display of Judd's moral code. Judd may be a man just barely hanging on, a supurfluous man in the New West, but he's kept his manly virtues- his strength of character, his wisdom, his courage, and his dignity. However humbled by his circumstances, Judd is a man worthy of emulation. He is a true hero. END

One of the very best...of all time
When this film came out in 1962 I went with my Dad to see it at the movie theater. Its images, its words, its story have remained with me ever since....

Sam Peckinpah's RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY is one of the finest western adventures in cinematic history. Everything---the superb acting from old time veterans Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea, the crisp and pointed dialogue, the camera work (and film editing), and the never-overdone elegiac underlay of farewell and warning, not just about the "old west" of the motion pictures (of the 1930-1960 period), but about the reality of the American frontier and the American spirit--adds up to excellence.

If two actors truly symbolized the Old West of public imagination, certainly those actors were Randy Scott and Joel McCrea. How fitting that RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY should be their "so long, pardner" to the genre! In 1962 the classic Western was dying, the genre changing, just as America was changing. The spirit of American innocence and optimism was subtly being transformed--while we longed for the return of Randy Scott, Gene Autry, Hopalong Cassidy, and moral certainties, Vietnam would soon make us a nation of cynics and skeptics. Thus, RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY is more than just a salute to two great Western actors and their farewell to that enduring American film creation the classic Western; RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY tells us, through two of the most admired cowboy actors of all time, about ouselves, about changing American society, and presents us with a classic morality tale. Steve (McCrea)Judd's remarkable words to Gil (Scott) Westrum, when Westrum gently suggests they might skip out with the gold they are charged with transporting, says it all: "All I want to do is enter my house justifed." It was the classic, optimistic American dream that motivated the pioneers of the old West just as it did the pioneers of Virginia or Massachusetts, the foundation of our society "to enter our house justified," to make a just and fair life for ourselves in a new land. RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY reminds us, this one last time, of our original national purpose, and shows us the pitfalls along the way--not just temptation but the "times" that threaten us.

In the end Westrum (Scott) returns (repents of his deviation from the moral course) to Judd's rescue...and Judd's response is: "I knew you would [return] all the time." Perhaps it is indeed too late, for Judd dies, alone, in one of the most amazing scenes in all cinema. Does his fervent dream of a "house justified" die with him? Does the older America of undbounded optimism and a moral code disappear with his departure and the end of the western frontier---and the end of "old time" Westerns? Peckinpah does not answer, and we are left to ponder. But one thing IS certain...we are never the same after watcbing this marvelous film.

Peckinpah's Masterpiece
After a lengthy apprenticeship in the theater and TV, this was Sam Peckinpah's second feature, and the only one that completely fulfilled his talents as a director. Joel McRea and Randolph Scott (finishing their sterling careers in a blaze of glory here) joust over right and wrong, money and honor in a parable about two men bringing a gold shipment from the mines to a bank. Ironically, they are brought to the brink of destruction not by greed but by the torments of young love, something of which they only have dim memories. Peckinpah, who was an accomplished TV scriptwriter, reportedly augmented N.B. Stone's original story with his own touches. The pacing and changes of mood, the action scenes, the great dialogue are all masterfully handled and speak of a very talented artist still more interested in his material than in himself. Sadly, this didn't last; Peckinpah's next feature, "Major Dundee", was a fiasco, and although he created many great moments in a dozen more films over the next 20 years, he never again pulled it all together over the course of an entire project. By the by, "Ride the High Country" is certainly worthy of DVD treatment.

Great in all respects.
The opening scene of this movie fooled me. I thought the movie was going to be a Western comedy set in the city. I was wrong. The character interaction, dialog, and scenery are first rate. Even the soundtrack is stirring to the point that it moves your soul. The conversations between Joel McCrea and Randolph Scott reminded me of my own personal life. The ending is stirring. One of my favorite Westerns of all time.

Peckinpah directs McRae and Scott in this classic western
MGM thought they were producing just another B-Wesern when director Sam Peckinpah made this 1962 movie, but "Ride in the High Country" turns out to be a classic of the genre. Aging ex-Marshall Steve Judd (Joel McRae) is hired to transport a load of gold from a mining camp to town. He hires his old friend, Gil Westrum (Randolph Scott) and a younger one, Heck Longtree (Ron Starr) to help him guard the gold. Westrum tries to convince Judd to steal the gold, but Judd refuses. They attend the wild wedding of Elsa (Mariette Hartley), who ends up running away with them, having fallen for young Heck. While the groom's family comes after Elsa, Westrum and Longtree try to steal the gold. Judd stops them and vows to bring them in for trial. But when the in-laws catch up with Judd, Westrum returns to help out his old friend in one last gun battle.

"Ride the High Country" is about the death of the Old West. This film was supposed to be the last film for both Scott and McRae, although McRae changed his mind afterwards. Peckinpah presents a natural Western, in settings far removed from the Monument Valley splendor we associate with John Ford. Both the dialogue and the performances represent that realism as well. The final scene between Scott and McRae is as touching as any this side of "Shane." Of course, Peckinpah goes on to deal with the end of the Old West in a more different fashion in his classic "The Wild Bunch." But I really think this is the better Western once you get past all the bloody violence of the other one. ... Read more

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Arguably the greatest black comedy ever made, Stanley Kubrick's cold war classic is the ultimate satire of the nuclear age. Dr. Strangelove is a perfect spoof of political and military insanity, beginning when General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), a maniacal warrior obsessed with "the purity of precious bodily fluids," mounts his singular campaign against Communism by ordering a squadron of B-52 bombers to attack the Soviet Union. The Soviets counter the threat with a so-called "Doomsday Device," and the world hangs in the balance while the U.S. president (Peter Sellers) engages in hilarious hot-line negotiations with his Soviet counterpart. Sellers also plays a British military attaché and the mad bomb-maker Dr. Strangelove; George C. Scott is outrageously frantic as General Buck Turgidson, whose presidential advice consists mainly of panic and statistics about "acceptable losses." With dialogue ("You can't fight here! This is the war room!") and images (Slim Pickens's character riding the bomb to oblivion) that have become a part of our cultural vocabulary, Kubrick's film regularly appears on critics' lists of the all-time best. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (264)

Absolutely Brilliant, Yet Creepy Satire
Splendidly acted and brilliantly directed, Dr. Strangelove is Kubrick's satiric masterpiece about the insanity of the Cold War Era and the silliness of the infamous military-industrial complex--i.e., militaristic war machine-- that seems hell-bent on destroying the world with its overblown paranoia and jingoism. After rumors of a supposed Doomsday Machine that the "Commie Rats" are developing, a general, Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Hayden), tricks 34 U.S. Air Force bombers into nuking the U.S.S.R. without asking the President's permission (played by Peter Sellers in one of three roles). Not surprisingly, he's a little touched in the head, as he decides to bomb Russia not only because of this device, but because he's obsessed with the idea of preserving America's "precious bodily fluids." (It's a long story, folks.) Adding to the mess is Joint Chief of Staff, Turgidson (George C.Scott, in a brilliant performance), who's as paranoid as they come and wouldn't mind helping Ripper take out half of civilization to save America from the evil Russians. (One hilarious scene has Turgidson confronted with the possiblity of killing millions of people because of Ripper's stunt. "So what if we get our hair a little mussed?" he says.) Also mired in the madness is another military man, the veddy British Mandrake (Sellers) who works under Ripper and tries desperately to get the insane man to give him the code needed to turn the planes back, but alas to no avail. The star of the movie, however, is the weapons scientist, Dr. Strangelove (Sellers again), a very bizarre wheelchair-bound ex-Nazi with a "trick arm" that can't stop doing the Seig Heil salute. (For trivia buffs out there, this character may have been an allusion to the very real Wernher von Braun, the rocket scientist for Nazi Germany who was recruited by the U.S. after the war.) Also doing a wonderful turn is Slim Pickens, the tough-talking cowboy and man in charge of the only bomber that fails to get the recall from Washington; the scene in which he rides a falling nuke to its destination is a cinematic classic.

What makes Dr. Strangelove so brilliant is that is able to straddle that line between reality and absurdity without having each side cancel the other out. On one hand, the performances are so over the top that you not only laugh, you sigh with the relief that this is, after all, *just* a movie. (A weird cat like Dr. Strangelove could never exist in real life.) On the other hand, there's something about the way the film is directed where there's an eery and creepy feeling that something like this *could* happen-- not with these zany characters, of course, but with saner people in similar circumstances. In the end, no matter how crazy people like Turgidson and Ripper may act, the bottom line is that their underlying beliefs are shockingly similar to what a lot of U.S. military personnel in a position of power to push the button feel like. But then again, that was the point of the film-- on one hand to make people laugh, but on the other hand, to wake them up to the dangers of the Cold War and an entity like the military-industrial complex, that-- if not kept in check-- could one day feel itself powerful enough to perform certain reckless acts without consulting Congress or even the President himself. All in all, a terrific film, and a complete thumbs up from me.

A Kubrick Classic.
U.S. Air Force General Jack D. Ripper (Sterling Heyden) goes entire and Utterly Crazy and Sends his Bomber Wing to Destory the U.S.S.R. He distrust that the Communists are Noted to Contaminate the Expensive Carnal Liquids of the American People. The U.S. President (Peter Sellers) meets with his Advisors, where the Soviet Ambassador tells him if the U.S.S.R. is hit by Nuclear Weapons, it will trigger a Doomsday Decive. Which will Annihilate all Plant and Animal Life on Earth. British Captain Lionel Mandrake (Also Sellers), the only person with access to the Demented General Ripper. U.S. President Merkin Muffley, whose Best Effort to Avert Disaster depend on Placating a High Soviet Permier and the former Nazi genious Dr. Strangelove (Also Sellers), who concludes that such a decive would not be a Cognizant Deterrent for Reasons which at this moment must be all too obvious. Will the Bombers be Stopped in Time or will General Jack D. Ripper succeed in destroying the world?

Directed by Stanley Kubrick (Lolita, 2001:A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange) filmed a well made Black Comedy, feature an Impressive Cast including-George C. Scott, Slim Pickens and James Earl Jones. This film is Unique and It's gets better, every year. Oscar Nominated for Best Actor:Peter Sellers, Best Picture and Best Director:Stanley Kubrick and Best Adapted Screenplay by Peter George, Stanley Kubrick and Terry Southern. DVD has an clear Pan & Scan format and an Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Sound. A well made that become a Classic. The Newest Edition from Columbia Home Video DVD has Many Extras. Grade:B+.

Oh for the days of the Cold War!
Every ideology that seems terribly important to one generation usually ends up seeming idiotic and even disturbingly naive to the following generation.

Think about it. The ideologies of the 18th century - dying for one's prince, duke or loot - seemed insane during the Napoleonic Wars, when nationalism became THE primary motivating factor.

"Pure" nationalism - like the extreme gung-ho attitudes at the beginning of World War I - seemed rather distasteful to the Allied forces in World War II, who fought to liberate peoples from Fascism.

The idea that Fascism would always endure, and was seriously in danger of taking over the world, seemed laughable during the Cold War.

How does the Cold War look to us today? The McCarthy era; Americans truly believing the USSR and the Communists were veritable Antichrists; truly believing that DESTROYING ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET was a feasible prediction about life in the near future; that the world was, always had been, and always would be, characterised by a fight between Communists and Capitalists.

*Sigh*

Dr Strangelove (or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb) is actually MORE funny - and disturbing - in some ways now than it was before. Admittedly I can sort of understand the immense impact of this film - could ANY politial satire have been more timely - but the fact that the "better red than dead" ideology nowadays seems as ridiculous as fighting for your Duke, means that this film can be seen in a new light.

People actually believed that is was better to be dead than Red? (Yes they did). People actually believed fluoridation of water was a communist conspiracy??? (Yes, they did). The Russians actually contemplated building a Doomsday device? (Yes they did!!! Josef Stalin actually started research on such a device, which would have EXTERMINATED ALL LIFE ON THE PLANET for the sake of a politial dispute between Communist and capitalist that today seems absolutely laughable!)

The passing of the Cold War era means that this movie is seriously disturbing. To a new generation, the all-annihilating power of the superpowers of the 1960s appears to have been based on disputes that appear petty in the extreme. Truly this movie makes us wonder what future generations will think of our fixation on modern ideologies; in an era that began three years ago with the late unpleasantness - and which is already making Francis Fukuyama's ideas, from the happy days of the 1990s, seem obsolete. He claimed that history was over; that free market ideology was the ULTIMATE ideology that would finally bring about an end to all future historical events by making us all live in peace.
That is SO 1995...

History is not over. Each generation seriously believes its own era is the ultimate era - that their own era is THE era whose disputes TRULY matter.

Well, history changes, as Strangelove shows us. I seriously hope that this movie makes us moderns think a little further before considering annihilating the world again! At least over something like fluoridation of water...

Satire at its best!
There are excellent reviews here about this movie, most of them rate it highly, and rightly so. It is no accident that this DVD is on average (at the time of writing) around 4.5 stars.
I must confess I did not know about Peter Sellers before watching this movie. I was recommended the movie by an 'artsy' friend - you know, the type of guy that thinks Citizen Kane is the greatest movie ever made - so I wasn't expecting too much, knowing how these types prefer style over substance.

I was pleasantly surprised. This is the type of film anybody can enjoy, it's seriously funny. It will probably have more meaning if you are familiar with the Cold War and the arms race, but if you don't know too much about that, the extras are a great help. There is one extra that deals with the making of the film, and how at the time of its production there was some subtle opposition to its release. Subtle in that the Air force was unwilling to lend it's expertise in the design of the B-52 bomber used in the film, and there was fear that its release at the time of J.F.K's death might have been seen as unpatriotic.

Well that's all behind us now, and we don't have to worry about the bomb so we can enjoy it more as a comedy than as a political message presented as satire. I must say that Peter Sellers is a genius; I couldn't tell when I first watched it that he was playing three roles! There are so many funny parts in the film and I don't want to spoil it for you by mentioning any. George C. Scott is also excellent and has some very memorable lines.

A bonus for me was that there was a language soundtrack in five languages; German, Italian, French, Spanish and English (off course) plus there were subtitles in more languages which is great for anyone trying to learn a new language.

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who loves satire and who appreciates jokes that aren't always below the belt.

"I think you're some kind of deviated pre-vert."
Some films have a timeless quality intrinsically inherent with the story, allowing for them to maintain a certain amount of relevance, despite the subject matter, or when they were made. This aspect holds true for many of Stanley Kubrick's films, in my opinion, and is true with this film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.

Directed by Kubrick, written by Kubrick and Terry Southern (Easy Rider), based on the serious novel Red Alert aka Two Hours to Doom by Peter George, and starring Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, and Sterling Hayden, Dr. Strangelove deals in a highly farcical and satirical manner the subject of nuclear proliferation, and proposed responses devised by men of power to perceived threats, whether they be based on reality, or founded from paranoia.

The film starts off with Brigadier General Jack D. Ripper (Hayden), commander of Burpelson Air Force Base, initiating Attack Plan R to his group, a plan created to allow someone other than the president to launch a nuclear counterattack in the event the enemy has managed to disrupt the normal chain of command, thereby preserving our response abilities despite significant loss of leadership. Only problem is, there has been no offensive put forth by enemies of America, and it turns out this issuance was completely unprovoked and the result of one who has basically lost his mind. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake (Seller, in one of three roles), a British officer participating in a officer exchange program, and, subsequently Rippers 2nd in command, realizes this, and must act before the B-52 bombers reach their destinations within the Soviet Union and deliver their atomic payloads, in turn setting off a new doomsday device conceived by the Soviets due to the fact that they were unable to keep up the United States in terms of arms proliferation, which, if activated, would cover the planet in a radioactive cloud for 100 years, destroying all life on Earth. Pretty heavy stuff, huh? One wouldn't think there'd be much humor to be found in a situation like this, but then one would be wrong...

The humor comes in the form of the absolute ludicrosity (it's not a word, as I just made it up) of the situation grown from the intense level of paranoia developed between democratic and communist powers after WWII and how, once things are set into motion, how safeguards meant to protect us basically work against that goal. It's really pretty funny to see what a mutated beast has been born of these fears, both perceived and real. Hayden Sterling is wonderful as the psychotic general with visions of communists infiltrating the very core of our democratic being, with his thoughts on 'precious bodily fluids', and conspiracies by the red menace to undermine and sap our strength. Peter Sellers is perhaps the standout in the film, playing three separate parts with such ability that I often unable to distinguish the actor from the characters within the film, seeing not an actor playing three separate parts, but only seeing three distinct characters in the British officer Mandrake, President Merkin Muffley "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room", and finally ex-German scientist Dr. Strangelove "Of course, the whole point of a Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret! Why didn't you tell the world?", advisor to the President. One thing each of the characters does have in common is the Seller's comedic genius. His most memorable roles were those involving the bumbling Inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther movies, but his skills shine through in his portrayal of three completely separate personalities, one straight-laced (Mandrake), another sort of bewildered but trying to maintain a sense of control (President Muffley), and a third hilariously over the top (Dr. Strangelove). Finally, there's George C. Scott's performance as the scheming, opportunistic, plotting and conniving, but all in the name of patriotism, General 'Buck' Turdigson "Mr. President, I'm not saying we wouldn't get our hair mussed. But I do say no more than ten to twenty million killed, tops. Uh, depending on the breaks". He completely reminds me of his lead role from the film Patton (1970), but in a very perverted, devolved manner. Great support roles include Slim Pickens Major T.J. 'King' Kong as the pilot of one of the B-52's, James Earl Jones as one of his crewmembers, and Colonel 'Bat' Guano as the leader of the force assigned to take control of Burpelson Air Force Base, and recover the recall codes from base commander General Ripper.

All in all, Kubrick has just an amazing style for relating a story to the audience. From his use of different formats of film to evoke a particular mood or convey a sense of feeling, i.e. the documentary style use for the actual fighting footage at the air force base, to the choice of music to enhance the tone set in the various scenes. It all works perfectly to create mock realism in spite of the comedic nature, presenting the essence of a black comedy.

The picture looks wonderful in this full screen format, and you will see that change from time to time as Kubrick used various aspect ratios in the film. As far as special features, there are quite a few of them, including a theatrical trailer, a featurette titled 'The Art of Stanley Kubrick: From Short Films to Strangelove', a documentary titled 'The Making of Dr. Strangelove', original split screen interviews with actors Scott and Sellers (this was done by having the actors answer pre-determined questions, and then local interviewers could be added in later asking said questions, making it look like they were interviewing the actors), promotional advertising gallery, and talent files. Some have called this 'The Greatest Black Comedy of All Time', and I would have little difficulty in arguing that...

(...) ... Read more

Reviews (74)

Not ROCKY HORROR - but still up there
Are you a Jessica Harper fan?Do you like the work of Richard O'Brien?If you answered yes for those questions, you should continue to read this review.If not, try a different movie.SHOCK TREATMENT is definitely the most weird, bizarre, unique, complicated film ever made and is to watched seriously.Make sure you watch it at least three times before forming a critically opinion of what you think.After the first viewing you are thinking "it's crap" and "I don't understand".By the second it is growing on you.But by the third, you are begging for more and want to keep the video forever.The higlight of this film is Jessica Harper's performance as Janet Majors.She is the only character that keeps the show together.If you didn't like Susan Sarandon in ROCKY HORROR, you'll most likely love Harper instead.Her sexy looks and voice make you want to listen to her sing over and over again.The problem wiht SHOCK TREATMENT is that too many people compare it to ROCKY HORROR.But maybe that's a good thing!On its own, the movie sucks!But if you take into consideration the kind of humour that Richard O'Brien puts into his work and the sort of songs he writes, you can understand the uniqueness of ST.Songs would be the only good thing about this film as there is too much dialogue and plot compilcation that first viewers get lost and promise never to watch it ever again.Because of this, not many people see it more times to make it slowly grow on you.Trust me, this film is only for ROCKY HORROR lovers who want to see more of O'Brien's work and for those who have often wondered what other actors would suit in the parts of Brad and Janet.Not to be missed or not to be seen!It's your decision.

Get Commited!
If you are a fan of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, or any cult movie, for that matter, this movie's worth a look. Cliff DeYoung and Jessica Harper star as Brad and Janet Majors (the hapless couple from RHPS), now unhappily married. They are contestants on the game show Marriage Maze, a sort of Newlyweds Game for people on the verge of divorce, hosted by Bert Schnick, a blind, abrasive German (Barry Humphries, in a hilarious pre-Dame Edna role). Brad ends up on Dentonvale, a reality TV show run by Doctors Cosmo and Nation McKinly (RHPS veterans Richard O'Brien and Patricia Quinn). As Brad is drugged and dragged off into the care of Nurse Ansalong (RHPS veteran Nell Campbell), Janet finds herself flung headfirst into the heart of the local TV studio,quickly becoming a local celebrity. And past that, you'll have to see the movie to find out what happens.

overlooked underrated masterpiece? yes!
Six years after "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" Richar O'Brian provides a sequal (yes, I said SEQUAL for all those Rocky fanatics who insist this "isn't a sequal" --that's like saying the number 3 doesn't follow the number 2 simply because you find the number 3 inferior to 2 for personal reasons, but now I sound like I'm slamming Rocky fanatics which I don't mean to because I do feel a certain kinship there) in his (O'Brian's) as yet unfinished trilogy (which puts one in mind of Dario Argento's unfinished "Mater" trilogy, the first film of which, coincidentally, featured Jessica Harper ["Suspiria"]).
This musical/rock opera was made in 1981, and 23 years later it is perhaps more relevent now than it was at it's creation. Crass talk shows where mentally, financially, and intellectually challenged people parade their problems for the world to see (sometimes scripted, sometimes all too real) as well as "sell your privacy and soul for 15 minutes of fame" reality tv shows continue to pop up every season despite having far outlived their initial coolness. But at the heart of it all is the fact that these reality tv shows, and daytime talk shows, are both "real" and "un-real" at the same time; sometimes scripted, sometimes acted, sometimes overplayed or exaggerated all for the benefit of the camera, we've gotten to a place in history where we no longer know what the truth is based on sight and sound. In the past, we had the firm unfaltering belief, true or false, that what you saw and heard could not be denied. But now, with digital manipulation of images good enough to fool experts, and motivation so subverted by the desire for fame, all our old beliefs have gone out the window.
And this, if you're still with me, is the heart and soul of SHOCK TREATMENT.
I can say O'brien was/is brilliant without hesitation. His ability to observe and record the slow percolation and inevitable rise of the "evil" subversion of reality television is Nostradamous-like.
ALL THIS AND CATCHY SONGS TOO!
We find our "heros" of "Rocky Horror," Brad and Janet Majors, now un-happily married, back in Dentonville on DTV (Dentonville Television) searching for a way to fix their troubled marriage. Brad is an ineffectual, over-emotional, weak husband while Janet is a strong, intellegent woman whose only real weakness is that she still desires to be loved by someone equal to herself, yet refuses to give up on the hoplessly inferior Brad based on loyalty and the belife that television will solve all her problems.
Her internal fantasy seems to be projected into reality within O'brien's deceptively complex plot (I mean deceptive in that critics seem to overlook his amazingly complex structure, espescially when comparing this film to the more commercially/cult successful "Rocky"). . .her fantasy is projected in the form of a more competent, in touch, cool, collected, effective, masculine version of Brad in the form of media mogul Farley Flavors.
Unfortunately, her ideal turns out to be just as flawed as her real Brad, only in a psychotic, stalker, serial killer kind of way.
O'brien, ever artistically and philosophically obsessed with sex vs. gender, sees Brad as split into two versions of himself, the inefective, weak "female" and the cold, brutal "male." Not that O'brien appears to percieve females, real females, as weak, on the contrary, Janet is perhaps the strongest most fully realised character/person in the film. I think it's more that O'brien is playing on the male/female "gender" roles society imposes than the real life "sex" of the individual.
I could go into detailed description of the rest of the plot and story, I could discuss each song, critique this film line by line and have a book of a Doctoral thesis on this film and it's current relativity. But I won't, hehe, perhaps more for the simple fact I don't have the time than that I fear I may bore (and this really isn't the place). Suffice it to say, this film is really amazing.
The MUSIC and LYRICS are not only catchy, but timeless and unique. The cinematography, with its cut between grainy television on television and normal cinemas tyle is cooler than cool. The acting is dead on deadpan happy smiles hiding deep internal torture on a level seldome achieved.
Jessica Harper (who was also amazing in another rock opera, Brian DePalma's "The Phantom Of The Paradise" which wasn't as famous as "Rocky," but is just as amazing) is amazingly gorgeous in all her elvin, big eyed, impossibly cute glory. Her strong deep velvety voice puts Karen Carpenter to shame!
Rent this movie, buy this movie, buy it new if you can find it, buy it used if you can't. Demand it be put out on (widescreen!) dvd! See it, live it, love it. "Rocky Horror" be damned this is a brilliant film (and I loved "Rocky!") and deserves the attention "part one" got!

Be Prepared...
...for one of the most confusing movies you will ever see. I personally got a little bit of detail out of this movie, but the rest of it was random singing and dancing. The funniest thing about this picture is in Richard O'Briens storytelling of live as a tv show. Many people whine and moan that it's nothing like the rocky horror picture show, let alone not a sequel, well guess what....THERE'S NOT GONNA BE A SEQUEL, FRANKS DEAD, OK!? (sobs...) Anyway, for those of you who want to hear of the movie in itself, Denton (Brad and Janet's hometown) is now a big tv studio. Each morning, studio audience members arise from their chairs to view the newest game shows. Brad and Janet (again, nothing like their other characters) are having problems. Seems brads an emotional reck, and after going on a new game show hosted by crazy blind man bert schnidt, Brad is soon committed to a tv show/psychiatric ward called Dentonvale. Richard O'Brien and Patricia quinn once again give stunning performances, this time as Cosmo and Nation McKinley (again into the idea of incest). Little Nell is in the movie as Nurse Ansalong, not too big of a role actually, just eye candy. Charles Gray however has a much more active role than in the R.H.P.S, and he sings too! I suppose the main plot is centered around Janet becoming famous to help brad, then forgetting about him completely and becoming too thrilled with being famous. I highly recommend this, not as being compared to the R.H.P.S (nothing compares with that) but rather as an open minded person who loves looking at weird stuff.

Shock Treatment
Well, after the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I didn't think a movie could be much worse. At least you could accompany some other films with Mystery Science Theatre 3000, and for those of you who don't know what that is, you must check it out, it's number five on my all time favorite shows list. This isn't a sequal to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, as there is no resemblance to both titles in any way.

So I suppose I was breathtaken by the cruel and unusual punishment of badness we are given on this tape,(and not like bad to the bone.)This is literaly a Shock Treatment that won't go away. Please save yourself and avoid this at all costs. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Edward D. Wood Jr. was an actor writer-director-producer, occasionally in drag, who combined meager bursts of talent with an undying optimism to create some of the most bizarrely memorable "B" movies to ever come out of Tinseltown. Though Wood died in obscurity as an alcoholic in 1978, his films have been considered cult classics for years. He is consistently voted the worst director who ever lived. You would think this an odd subject, but director Tim Burton harnesses the undying hopefulness that made Wood such a character. Shot in black and white, just like Wood's creations, this stylized, witty production captures the poetic absurdity of Wood's films and his unconventional life. Burton's recreation of Wood's wonderfully awful Plan 9 from Outer Space looks much better than the original low-budget quickie. Burton tackled an extremely strange subject matter for a biopic, but Wood is presented as naive almost to the point of delusion, so the story works. The pace sags in the middle, as the weirdness starts to wear thin, but Depp proves himself an adroit actor, even while wearing angora and a blonde wig. Wood's unconventional repertoire company is faithfully reproduced, including an Academy Award-winning Martin Landau as Bela Lugosi. Landau is pathetic, droll, and charismatic as the elderly junkie who made his last screen appearances in Wood's films. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (150)

Good Movie about a horrible film-maker
Ed Wood, Jr. is more beloved than reviled as the "creative mind" behind such grade-z movies as "Plan 9 From Outer Space", "Glen or Glenda". Though it's generally accepted that Wood wasn't playing it straight with his horrible scripts ("he's been killed, murdered....and somebody's responsible!"; "Future events like these will affect you in the future!"), unbelievable special effects and nonesensical plots, this film slightly suggests that Wood actually bought into his own nonsense. Here, Johnny Depp (is there anything he can't do?) plays the beloved but infamous Ed, a WWII vet, failed movie maker and transvestite. Playing Ed as if doing an extended Jon Lovitz impression (his lines delivered all high-pitched and non-stop), Depp's Ed is mostly innocuous and guiless (his genuine belief in the implausible predictions of self-proclaimed seer, Criswell, are a hoot) and incapable of seeing his own sheer lunacy. The script uses "Glen" and "Plan 9" as bookends on Ed's checkered career - with the first film marking his collaboration with the then well-faded horror star, Bela Lugosi (Martin Landau), and the second marking a sort of tribute to the star who died before its completion. Director Tim Burton stocks the film with a well-rounded cast - Bill Murray as transvestite "Bunny" Breckenridge, Jeff Jones as Criswell, Sarah Jessica Parker as Ed's long suffering girl friend, Dolores, Lisa Marie as "Vampira" and George Steele as Tor Johnson - that's a lot of fun, but doesn't do much with them. Bill Murray seems at times the saddest transvestite in history, mulling his paltry earnings from Ed's flicks to pay for his "procedure" while Jones' Criswell puts a damper on things when he makes all too clear how he invents his predictions. Instead, Burton's attentions are reserved for Ed and Bela, with Landau turning in a performance that's in turns hysterical (when revealing his hatred for arch-rival Boris Karloff), heartbreaking and terrifying (the forgotten star dies trying to kick a heavy heroin habit). Even so, the script doesn't stay consistent, with the emotional and humours highs isolated in their own scenes. The script reaches a depth of sorrow and horror when revealing Lugosi's profound suffering in de-tox, yet only briefly. (The script dangles the question of how well the dying star recognized the inanity of Woods' work). In other moments, the film hints at other real-life horrors like Ed's war experiences, but much of the film is actually shy of risk. Much of the conflict is between Ed and his backers - mostly evangelicals conned into thinking they were financing a religious picture and slowly realize Ed's true caliber as a film maker. Ed fights back to preserve his artistic vision without having to prove what his vision is or whether he even has one. His flagging self-confidence is restored by a chance encounter with Orson Welles (Vincent DoNofrio, also an underappreciated Hollywood fixture, his lines dubbed by the same guy who voices "Brain" on "Pinky and the Brain"). The more famed director is about to start work on a troubled epic of his own which, though never named, will be instantly recognizable to film students as "A Touch of Evil" ("Can you imagine Charlton Heston as a Mexican Cop?", Welles laments). Plunging ahead, the film works to the climax of Ed's career- the infamous "Plan 9 from Outer Space"! With Ed's trademark horrible special effects, unintelligible plot and insultingly poor script, "Plan" is almost guaranteed cult-status. Burton only recreates some of the scenes, so the last few minutes of the film plays like a montage of SNL skits, with Ed almost crying as he savors each frame. Leaving Ed before the credits roll on his "masterpiece", we never see Ed's lowly ends, his own substance abuse problems or the more clearly horrible films that marked his latter years. Burton never confronts this and misses an ironic motherlode - whether the ridiculous fantasy of Ed's pictures were supposed to be scary, or whether in seeming scary but so ineptly so, they were actually meant to symbolize a safer world than the one he experienced for real.

Plan 10 From INNER Space -- a true American classic!!!!
Yes, Eddie!
Not only Burton's best yet, but one of the finest
American films from the 90's -- or of any decade for that matter.
Cleverly written, lovingly directed, stylishly shot, acted
with empathy, scored and designed with tasteful camp, ED WOOD
is a virtual paen to Hollywoodism (whatever the hell THAT is!).

Just Czapsky's cinematography or Shore's soundtrack alone are
worthy of immense praise. And Tim Burton hits all the right notes flawlessly (for a change). Definitely his Citizen Kane.
Can't praise Depp and Lugosi enough, nor the editing, or....oh, hell! If you have any affection for the 50s, or B-Movies, or Bela Lugosi (God rest his soul), or Maila Nurmi (yum-yum), or angora, or pulp American cinema - meaning REAL American movies - then you should be a fan of this movie, regardless of what you think of Ed Wood's stuff.

Last point.
This movie is overdue for a worthy DVD treatment: docus, bios,
making-of-background -- the whole bit.
Was good enough for an Oscar for Landau, so why are we still waiting?
Yes indeed, pull that (angora) string!

No really this is good, honest
Watching Ed Wood movies and watching Ed Wood there is an alarming thing - Ed Wood's life was better suited to a movie than he was as a director! And as he tried woefully to express this side of his personality to the public with the woeful Glen or Glenda ( " Did you see the movie? Uh huh. Worst movie you saw in your life? OK but how about.....hello hello! )

Johnny Depp is hilarious as Ed and really plays the part extraordinarily well. You almost feel sorry for him as he gets rejected from everyone because he seems to have his intentions right no matter how skewed they end up being.

Of course Ed has a fetish for women's clothing which would make itself known in the film Glen or Glenda but Dolores wouldn't know about this until she read the script. Let's just say she doesn't take to it as well as Ed's rather naive script would like her to be! Although I have to admit that Sarah Jessica Parker is not exactly that easy to like in the movie

Martin Landau is the one who I think plays Bela Lugosi and I have to say that the resemblance is uncanny that you almost feel like singing the line from the Bauhaus song Bela Lugosi's Dead -" Oh Bela, Bela's not dead " indeed!

Bill Murray is fantastic in his role. As ever, he has the best lines in this movie. One of the best roles I've seen him in

I've seen this film - it must be about nearly 7 or 8 times and it's so funny that some of the lines in it are implanted in my head. One that has to be watched for those interested in seeing something a little unusual

My Favorite Movie of All Time
I have watched this movie probably 100 times and can never get enough. I cannot believe it hasn't been released on DVD yet.

The portrayal of Ed Wood is of a guy that never gives up even though he is terrible. Ever the optimist and the king of spin. He gives his pre-released version of 'Glen or Glenda' to a producer. When ED is told it's the worst movie the producer has ever seen---Ed's answer, "My next one will be better!"

When Ed is told that Bela will be kicked out of re-hab due to lack of insurance---Ed goes to Bela and tells him, "The tests all came back great---you can go home now."

Ed is a testament that it is more important to be positive and tenacious----rather than good.

Martin Landau REALLY deserved this Oscar. Like another reviewer said, he becomes Lugosi. I really feel Martin's portrayal of Bela more than I have ever felt any on-screen performance---ever. He brings me to tears almost every time. It's heartbreaking, funny and perfect in every single way.

From getting the whole crew baptized to finance a movie----to parading around the set in a wig and a dress. It's a great movie.

Enjoy!

Release it on DVD already!!
I'd heard good things about Ed Wood from critics, and decided to rent it to see for myself. After all, most of the movies I enjoy the most are movies that are panned viciously by said critics. Guess what? for once, I agreed with the "screen snobs" and enjoyed this movie just as much as the ones normally dismissed by the critics.

Johnny Depp is brilliant as the ever optimistic, supremely untalented Ed Wood. It is strange to contemplate the irony that it took such a top notch director, cast and writer to honor someone like Ed.

Speaking of brilliant, don't miss Martin Landau's Oscar winning turn as Bela Lugosi. By turns hilariously profane and poignantly troubled, Landau earned his Oscar for this part.

I just wish the powers that be at the studios would hurry up and put this gem on DVD so that we can all enjoy it! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Billy the Kid is reimagined by director Sam Peckinpah as a kind of Old West rock star, a young man who wants to do his own thing but constantly runs up against the objections of the establishment--in this case, the cattle barons who run this part of the country. Peckinpah indulged in some quirky casting, including Bob Dylan as an outlaw named Alias and most of Kristofferson's band as Billy's gang. He also draws exceptional performances out of a cast of old veterans, including James Coburn as the reluctant Pat Garrett, R.G. Armstrong, Katy Jurado, and Slim Pickens, who has a terrific death scene to Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Look for this longer version (122 minutes); the shorter version is the one that MGM recut against Peckinpah's wishes, removing all the character development and Peckinpah's elegiac sense of the Old West in favor of action and violence. --Marshall Fine ... Read more

Reviews (42)

Outstanding Western
This is a stunning Western by any count, whether its the exhausted 70's patina (strangely similar to Easy Rider), Coburn's whiskey-soaked degenerate ambiance, or Peckinpah's inspired and artful trademark mayhem (yes, it even has children playing on a hangman's noose). Forget about Dylan's "Peas ... corn .. carrots" scene, which is completely idiotic and funny only in a 1973 "I'm stoned on brownies and watching Dylan read vegetable cans, wow man" sort of way. Dylan could actually have provided his soundtrack and been done with it. Because that soundtrack is crucial to the lasting and laconic mood of the film. The image of a wounded Chill Wills going to his knees for death while Heaven's Door plays in the background is far too poetic for words. That scene will stay with you for a very long time. As Billy, Kristoffersen has somehow mutated into a baby-faced Jim Morrison lookalike. Coburn is a grizzled and cynical character, hard nosed and out for himself. "I aim to be rich, old, and happy, in that order." The mood throughout the film is fated, inevitable, manifest destiny, "just doing my job." Billy/Kristoffersen is the single character who fights the inevitable: "Times might change, not me." Dozens of great lines in this film. A unique ambiance. Interesting twists and characters. Definitely a keeper.

Did I rent the wrong version?
While recently reading Howard Sounes' "Down the Highway - The Life of Bob Dylan," I rented this movie at my local video place. The "baby-faced" Kris Kristofferson is well worth the price of rental. Dylan's performance is one long wry wink at the Western genre. I watched the movie three times and still never heard Bob *SING* "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." Sure, there's a haunting instrumental version accompanying Chill Will's death walk to the creek bed, but I thought I remembered Bob singing it in the theatrically released version?

this needs to be on DVD!
This is a wonderful Western. Extremely stylish. Both Colburn and Kristofferson are cooler than cool. You might also want to check out the Last Days of Frank and Jesse James. It lacks Peckinpah's style and is a tv movie, but it's on DVD and Kristofferson is great as Jesse James.

Jack Elam at his best
The portrayal of Alamoosa Bill by Jack Elam is a classic. It's a shame The Kid has to shoot him, but it's the exclamation point of Elam's skill as an actor. The soundtrack is superb. Rita Coolige is in her prime. See it!

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid
One of the best Westerns out there! I just love Rita Coolidge. I've got this movie on Letter Box Laser Disk, but I just can't wait till the DVD arrives! How much longer must we wait?? ... Read more

Description

Sam Peckinpah's light-hearted, rambunctious ode to the dying Wild West, with Jason Robards as a rascally prospector who transforms a desert water-hole into big business. Year: 1970 Director: Sam Peckinpah Starring:Jason Robards, Stella Stevens, David Warner ... Read more

Reviews (5)

Break the News...Cable Hogue is coming to town..
I really enjoyed this unusual offering from Sam Peckinpah. It is offbeat in several respects, but most notably in that it lacks the violence and bleakness of his prior film(s), The Wild Bunch. Peckinpah takes a risk here as well though, exploring a genre, the western semi-comedy, that fails more often than it succeeds. For every Blazing Saddles, there's a Cat Ballou and a Paint Your Wagon. Interestingly enough, the humor here is not incredibly sharp or witty as a rule. Some techniques, like the sped up film and winking currency seem pretty silly today. The movie is endearing nonetheless because we sense the Director's sincerity and good intentions. Scenes like the singing of Butterfly Mornings could easily have fallen flat (particularly given that neither the tune nor the voices were exceptional), but I found them charming, since I felt the director and singers were totally behind them and went with the emotions. But sincerity and good intentions are of course by no means enough; other pluses here are the complex themes (the trappings of technology, man as an individual vs. social being, morality, role of serendipity in life), strong acting, and interesting characters.

The setting, in one of the last western outposts of the 21st century, really brings out the inexorability of technology's advance. Hogue is ultimately a tragic figure who fails to adjust to technology and city living, and literally suffers for it in the end of the movie. However, we are left with the suspicion that he was the happier for never having given into city ways, and for having remained an individual. Being on his own certainly helped him, as eulogized, stay a man, both good and bad (nice observation about Cain &Able=Cable, b.t.w.). Robards also plays the character right; neither too tough nor too weak, too good or too bad-just a man true to himself.
We also have an interesting assortment of side characters and misfits (which seems to have influenced several Eastwood films including The Outlaw Josie Wales, the two Orangutan films, and Bronco Billy) who while caricatures to some extent, are also interesting characters. There's the philandering preacher, and the hooker with a heart (not to mention a body!) of gold.

I can't give this film five stars, since it's a bit long and some parts feel kind of clunky and dated today. But it gets four stars without any reservation, thanks to the offbeat feel, warm tone, and several charming performances and scenes.

If you enjoyed this film, you might check out Junior Bonner, Little Big Man, Bronco Billy, and the Outlaw Josey Wales.

Tomorrow is the song I sing....
When I was younger, Sam Peckinpah's more violent films were my favorites, now, as I approach the age of the title character, this film is far and away my favorite. Peckinpah came up with a philosophical, almost biblically themed picture here- yet it is also filled with the most laugh-out-loud humor of any of his films. It had to be an accident, it just works too perfectly to have been done on purpose....

This is the story of Cable Hogue, a prospector in the Arizona territory of 1908. He is left to die without water by his two partners. Not only is he left to die- he is laughed at because of his "yellowness" at not doing the same to them when given a chance. So Cable tries to walk out of the desert knowing that he has no chance. He talks (he never prays) to the God that he has never had much use for. As a result, he finds water; water where it never was and could never possibly be.

This is the start of Cable's desert kingdom. He builds it out of nothing and out of bluff. He builds it with his own hands, out of what the desert provides. When necessary, he defends it with deadly force. Yet Cable gains respect and friends along the way. Sure, he can be mean and ruthless when he has to be, but to those who prove worthy, he can be a generous and loyal friend. He even wins the love of the most beautiful woman in a land where women are scarce (Stella Stevens- she never looked better than she did in this film.)

Then, at the height of his success, the two former partners that left him to die are delivered into his hands....

I used to wonder at the name "Cable", since I had never heard it before. Then I got it, Cable is a combination of Cain and Abel. This is because Cable is a combination of good and bad. On the one hand he is capable of hardness, even to the point of taking a life, but on the other hand he can show justice and mercy in sparing a life. To paraphrase the phoney preacher at the end of the film, Cable wasn't strictly a good man, and he wasn't strictly a bad man, but Lord- he was a MAN!

A brilliant little gem of a movie.
Starring Jason Robards & Stella Stevens and Directed by Sam Peckinpah, The Ballad of Cable Hogue is a brilliant little gem of a movie that somehow never made it onto the national radar screen when it was released. A major departure for Peckinpah, whose forte back then was the ultra violent epic-movies like The Wild Bunch and the highly acclaimed Straw Dogs-The Ballad of Cable Hoague tells the tail of a fellow abandoned for dead out in the western desert who is lucky enough to find the equivalent of an oasis and converts the spot into a way station for the pony express and the stage coach runs of the time. Wonderfully acted by Robards as Hoague and Stella Stevens as the nearby town's "working girl" as his romantic interest, the story is in essence a depiction of western life and the characters of the time.

This was a wonderful vehicle for may well know western character actors of the day: It's full of those sort of actor you recognize in an instant and have no idea what their name is. The story is sweet and engaging and the movie is totally devoid of the violence and gore that Peckinpah was famous for at the time.

So, if you are the sort of person who wants a movie to actually tell a story, actually present real characters, and warm your heart-this is definitely a choice you should make. You will not be disappointed.

touching, clever and funny
gee what a crappy review by Leonard Maltin. The film is not overlong. And it is a FILM, not a moo-vie, and it deserves to be praised. It is not overlong at all. I guess he's too busy reviewing chop-house wasterns, surely not his favorite genre anyway; he prefers all glitz, big names and no substance. This film is wonderful. All the roles, ALL, are played extremely well, and very believably. It has much to offer.. truly funny moments and situations, a fair amount of suspense and action, and an excellent screenplay. It is more like you are there, watching real people, not Hollywood actors who are thinking about something else when being filmed. The most memorable moments in The Ballad of Cable Hogue are the tender ones between Cable and his ill-found, but adoring younger sweetheart. The music is very special also. I love the song " Butterfly mornings and Wildflower Afternoons " I think it deserves 5 stars.

A story worthy of Shakespeare !
The Ballad of Cable Hogue is one of those films which is a complete story. True to life, tragic, touching, funny and yet at times embarrasing and sentimental, it ends in a melancholic tragedy that leaves the viewer content, but looking ahead toward their own life.

Sam Peckinpah shows his absolute mastery of the directors art in shaping a story into a beautifully shot, superbly acted, charmingly scored but above all sensitively directed cameo of the end of the wild west.

Jason Robards gives an unparalleled performance, a character that is a creation in itself. Stella Stevens, for any and every man who watches this reminds us of the mystery that is a woman.

Robards Cable Hogue is the hard bitten, down at heel rambler who finds his fortune in a near death experience. The delicious Miss Stevens is a saloon gal who is touched by Cable Hogue's simplicity and down to earth appreciation of her. He falls in love with her and the story gets underway.

There are 3 charming and unashamedly sentimental songs arranged by Jerry Goldsmith and performed in a hip country western style by Richard Gillis.

In its own way this film is a small masterpiece, see it and enjoy. ... Read more

Description

Based on the true story that captured the hearts of America, THE STRAIGHT STORY is one of those rare films offering powerful, uplifting entertainment for audiences of all ages. Directed by acclaimed director David Lynch (WILD AT HEART, MULHOLLAND DRIVE), this gentle, inspiring film celebrates the human spirit. Richard Farnsworth (MISERY, THE NATURAL) stars as Alvin Straight -- a no-nonsense man who has never been one to lean on others. Now at an age when his eyesight denies him the ability to drive and walking is accomplished only with the help of two canes, Alvin lives a quiet life with his daughter Rose (Sissy Spacek). But when the call comes that Alvin's estranged brother Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton, THE GREEN MILE) has suffered a debilitating stroke, Alvin embarks on a dangerous and emotional journey to make amends. With little money, but plenty of patience and tenacity, he climbs aboard his 1966 John Deere lawnmower and plots the 260-mile course from his small Iowa town to Lyle's home in Wisconsin. Filmed along the actual route that the real Alvin Straight traveled in 1994, THE STRAIGHT STORY is a heartwarming and poignant drama chronicling Alvin's six-week odyssey and the many lives he touches along the way. ... Read more

Reviews (160)

A straightforward story honestly told.
A wonderful gentle movie that I'm still enjoying after several viewings. Clearly Mr Lynch is not afraid to experiment and deliver something different and this is so unlike his previous output. Judging from some of the reviews this is not a movie for everyone but fortunately the one or two stars are in a minority. Most of the others, like me, appreciated the slow moving (just like five mph Deere mower) unfolding of Alvin's big adventure and the folks he met. Where else other than the Midwest, where honesty comes as standard, could this story take place.

There is so much to enjoy! Angelo Badalamenti creates the perfect bluegrass style theme music, cinematographer Freddie Francis captures the gorgeous colors of the Midwest, the actors and especially Richard Farnsworth sparkle. Great lines, too, Alvin says to a hitchhiker, who has run away from home and shares a meal with him around the campfire, "A warm bed in a house sounds a mite better than eating a hot dog on a stick with an old geezer travelling on a lawn mower".

The 'Straight Story' is a little gem and I bet I'll still be enjoying its warmth and honesty for a long time.

Clearly one of the best acted films of the year
This film is probably one of the warmest and heartbreaking films of the year and it is all because of David Lynch and Richard Farnsworth. Unlike your typical Hollywood movie, David Lynch is able to work in the multitude of charachters in "The Straight Story" in a very natural and unpretentious way. The beauty of the picture is the way in which Alvin Straight (Farnsworth) is able to touch all the people he meets as he travels from Iowa to Wisconsin on his tractor to meet his ailing brother. The ending, which may leave the typical moviegoer scrathching his head and asking "so what happens?", is brilliant in how the expressions on the brothers' faces explain how they feel; and there is no need for a long drawn out speech that screams for the Academy's attention.

This film, in essence is about getting old and how aging has its benefits as well as its tragedies; how anger and resentment of family and friends is really not worth it in the end. Richard Farnsworth does a brilliant job that not many actors could have done. The wisdom he seems to have just by staring at him is astonishing. The second best line in the movie is when a young man asked him, "What is the worst thing about getting old?" and Alvin stares at him and says quietly, "Remembering when you were young." The best line, of course is the last sentence of the movie which makes you feel happy as well as sad inside.

David Lynch did a beautiful job in making the cornfields of the midwest seem amazingly scenic; trust me, I have been through Iowa and it is not as gorgeous as he made it out to be. The soundtrack goes perfect with the movie also. And I did not even mention Sissy Spacek, who plays Alvin's daughter and she does a great job as well as the rest of the cast in playing characters touched by Alvin and his mission.

What makes a movie a classic or a great film is that after you watch it, you sit there and think about it and have discussions with your friends about it. This movie did that to me, and I have been reccommending it to all my friends. But I must warn you, you also have to be in the right mood for it, and it might be best if you either watched it alone or with only a couple of other people. It is a must see for anyone.

a (mostly) orthodox story
wilhelm furtwngler; the conductor of the berlin philharmonic up until 1954, had a very unorthodix beat. indeed, his conducting was in itself unorthodox. he had heard some grumbling amongst the orchestra members that his beat was hard to follow, and that his conducting was too improvisational.
he then appeared before them and said ' so you dont think i can give you an orthodox beat?, okay let's go' and he proceeded for several minutes to do a 'by the book' reading of brahms. he then stopped. ' see i can do it, but it has no life. its not interesting!'.
the same could be said for the films of david lynch and his most ardent critics.
lynch has, all along, been able to tell a story straight, as he did here and elephant man. but even then lynch has to be lynch. he has to filter the story through his own sensabilites and style.
elephant man and straight story both have lynchs style deeply stamped upon them.
elephant man has his visual artistry, straight story his quirkiness.
the beauty of straight story is this is his 'g' rated quirkiness, and that's very appropriate for a man,who despite all of his progressive accomplishments in film, still lives in the suburbs.
with straight story lynch set out to prove that he could indeed tell a story straight and its most certain there was a sly wink in titling this film.
he actually upped the furtwangler philosophy one in that he did an orthodox narrative and STILL made it interesting, but naturally its still lynchian all the way through.
by the way this was farnsworth last film. he was terminally ill and took his own life about a year later.
he was a charactor actor with grace and vulnerability.
he will be missed

Boring... These other reviewers are nuts!
The Straight Story is horribly boring. Nothing of note happens in the entire film. The people that have given this four and five stars must be crazy. You will be very disappointed if you watch this film "The Straight Story". There are some nice views of Iowa in the film, and if that's all you expect you may be satisfied. If you want to see a plot or story line you will be disappointed. All you will to see is character development with nothing ever happening. The retarded daughter(Sissy Spacek) is totally pointless btw. Anyway, don't say I didn't warn you!

What a priviledge
Where do you begin with a film that is as beautiful, poetic, moving, powerful, substantial, grounding, uplifting, and definitively sublime as The Straight Story. From it's emotionally and technically pitch perfect score by Angelo Badalamenti to the brilliant direction of David Lynch, the film takes us on a journey we will never forget.
Despite everything I've offered, the film depends upon one man- Richard Farnsworth. In his last role, his award-winning performance is a master class in listening and being. He IS Alvin Straight instead of acting like Alvin Straight. His beautiful blue eyes are weary with pain and memories. I have never seen the eyes convey so very much. To watch his scene at the bar and not have a resounding physical reaction- well, there may be no help for your soul.

Simply put, allow yourself the priviledge of viewing The Straight Story. ... Read more

Reviews (211)

Masterful restoration of 60's Classic
After reading the New York Times article about the restoration process for Yellow Submarine, I had high hopes for this DVD. I was not disappointed.

The color saturation is sumptuous. There are some imperfections, but on the whole this is a first class restoration. If you want appreciate the restoration, look at the original theatrical trailer or the "making of" documentary extras.

The re-mastered audio brings new complexity and detail to familiar Beatle material (even on my strictly middlebrow home entertainment system). The opening a cappella chorus of "Nowhere Man" sounded like it was recorded yesterday.

For a generation that has not seen this film, Yellow Submarine is a perfect time capsule for 60's psychedelic era. The film begins in under the sea in Pepperland, an idyllic musical community, which is attacked by the music-hating Blue Meanies. "Young Fred" manages to escape the attack in the Yellow Submarine, which takes him to England. He recruits the Beatles to return with him to Pepperland to join the battle between the forces of order (the Blue Meanies) and the forces of creativity and love. The plot is pretty much as hokey as it sounds, but it is merely a vehicle for the music, humor, surrealism, artistic and social sensibilities of the psychedelic 60's. And it is there that the movie emphatically succeeds.

The animation is certainly not as sophisticated as some more modern efforts, but it stands up remarkably well. There was a lot of revolutionary (for the 60's) integration of animation and live action. The colors are gorgeous. Visually, this is still a very entertaining film.

If you don't like the Beatles music, or are bored by animation, stay away. If you are on the fence about getting this DVD, buy it. You won't be disappointed. And if you love the Beatles, this DVD should move to the top of your list.

Fab
More of a series of Beatles videos than a film, this is excellent for what it is, and it has Beatles music in it, so it can't be bad. I'd forgotten how good 'Nowhere Man' was, in particular, until I saw this again on DVD. George Harrison does a really good guitar solo near the beginning of the song, so top marks to George. The other songs are usually described as lightweight throwaways, although I think that's a bit harsh. 'Hey Bulldog' is fun, and although 'Only a Northern Song' and 'It's All Too Much' aren't as good as 'Eleanor Rigby', they fit the images very well. 'All Together Now' is dire, though. The extra DVD bits are nice to have, but not really worth buying the disc for on their own. The 'Making of' documentary is from 1968, doesn't tell you much, and only goes on for 17 minutes. The commentary is a bit dull too, and Heinz Edelmann only appears for five minutes at the end. The 'isolated music score' simply turns off the speaking voices and sound effects - you don't actually get the full soundtrack in order, you get snatches of George Martin's instrumental music and the Beatles' songs. The remastering is a bit iffy in places - there are film scratches and blobs were there shouldn't be any - and although it could be my speakers, the Beatles' dialogue seems to be drowned out by the orchestral score. As for the film, you've probably already seen it. It looks and sounds wonderful, but it has a long, dull bit in the middle; there isn't really much of a plot; and I still can't make out what the Beatles are saying most of the time. But that's just me. The bit at the end, where the Beatles appear, makes me wince, as they seem so self-conscious and embarrassed.

My daughter is 5 and loves it!
I never thought the movie was great until my 5 year old started watching it. I am hooked (or re-hooked on the Beatles). The music and images are far better than anything on TV. Sure, squint your eyes (or ears) real hard and find some type of references to the 60's - but the're not there if you simply enjoy the feast.

My daughter now hums the songs, we have a Beatles poster in her room - - an no more Sponge Bob, Scooby Doo, or those Princesses. YEA!

The music was great but the movie wasn't
I just don't get why people love the movie. Yes, the music in it is exeltnet and it did introduce three new great Beatles songs (All Together Now, Only a Northern Song, and Hey Bulldog) but the music OUTDOES the movie. I don't care what other people say, the animation is bad, and the plot is confusing. The movie is really just an excuse to get the Fab Four back on the big screen. They were barly involved anyway. They added three new songs and didn't even do the voices of their characters. THe movie is decent and is worth watching once. I give it three stars becasue the music is good and I like the message that good will always win over evil and greed (even if it has been proven wrong by big corperations taking over everything and MTV manipulating everyone ages 7 - 17 its nice to think good will win out in the end.) If you want a good Bealtes movie I recamend A Hard Day's Night.

Perfect for those that keep the inner child alive
Turn off your mind
Relax and
Float down stream

¿Do you wanna watch a movie...
with no blood, no bad words, no nudes, no witchery, no romance, and... no Hollywood?

Sounds boring?

Well, my nephews love this movie. Perhaps it's because it's quite the same style as Sesame Street cartoons. I love it, too. But my pop-music-fan brother... He just can't stand it. It's too psychedelic for his simple mind. Some of my friends hate it, too. But strangely, kids love it! Could it be that there is a something about appreciating this kind of things that most adults seem to loose when they grow up?

If you still can appreciate things like you did when you were a child, you'll love this one. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

Black comedies don't come much blacker than this cult favorite from 1972, and they don't come much funnier, either. It seemed that director Hal Ashby was the perfect choice to mine a mother lode of eccentricity from the original script by Colin Higgins, about the unlikely romance between a death-obsessed 19-year-old named Harold (Bud Cort) and a life-loving 79-year-old widow named Maude (Ruth Gordon). They meet at a funeral, and Maude finds something oddly appealing about Harold, urging him to "reach out" and grab life by the lapels as opposed to dwelling morbidly on mortality. Harold grows fond of the old gal--she's a lot more fun than the girls his mother desperately matches him up with--and together they make Harold & Maude one of the sweetest and most unconventional love stories ever made. Much of the earlier humor arises from Harold's outrageous suicide fantasies, played out as a kind of twisted parlor game to mortify his mother, who's grown immune to her strange son's antics. Gradually, however, the film's clever humor shifts to a brighter outlook and finally arrives at a point where Harold is truly happy to be alive. Featuring soundtrack songs by Cat Stevens, this comedy certainly won't appeal to all tastes (it was a box-office flop when first released), but if you're on its quirky wavelength, it might just strike you as one of the funniest movies you've ever seen. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (193)

Takes it's audience too much for granted
I'm puzzled as to why some people have adopted this movie as a life manifesto as it is rather a nasty piece of work. Counter culture perniciousness is never far from the surface and the death stuff is pure 'Addams Family' corn, although undeniably amusing on that level.
Someone here mentioned the curious adoption of an 'Ubermensch' philosophy by Maude reminiscent of her war time captors and I don't know whether or not it was intended ironically. Before the fall she was obviously part of the same bourgeoise. Mind you, Hitler was a bit of a pleb and skint, too. Anyway, does 'aiming above morality' mean lack of responsibility to those closest to you? Despite surely being aware of Harold's emotional vulnerability, Maude does not make her 'saturday' intentions clear to him, other than as a vague reference in passing. The expression on Ruth Gordon's face as an actress while dropping this bombshell to Harold suggests she did not truly believe in this scene or the film as a whole, which uses the smokescreen of eccentricity to excuse Maude's lack of clarity. But since she is clearly articulate on most matters, there is an ambivalence at the heart of this picture. She appears to cruelly lead him on, only to crush him with a bromide. What are we to make of all of this? Even an offbeat film needs to maintain a certain internal logic. Likewise, stealing cars that may have been needed in a life and death emergency leaves a nasty taste. If there is an epiphany here, then I cannot see it.
This lack of internal logic extends to the direction, too. Ashby has great quirky timing but there is also a curious dishonesty at work. On the first date, how could Harold have got out from under those sheets and replaced them with a dummy without the girl in the house noticing? It would have taken exceptional sleight of hand and the director doesn't convince us. Likewise the business with Harold's hand on the second date. He clearly uses his real hands for the mouth freshner but are we then expected to believe he could have somehow slipped a false hand on to his sleave (miraculously lengthened) in front of his guest? This sloppy attitude can be seen in the opening scene. The shot behind Harold's head shows the rope not touching his body. From the other side we clearly see the rope going into his shoulder to support his weight. Also, in a later scene, the motorcycle cop aiming to shoot the fleeing protaganists with a civilian clearly walking into view. Should any of this matter in what is basically a comedy of (bad) manners? I think the film wants it both ways, that is seriousness and silliness, but it doesn't think it has to try too hard. However, if you sacrifice credibility in a style of dead pan realism you will not get away with it. Perhaps someone should have reminded Mr Ashby that comedy is, in fact, a serious business.
The main compensations in 'Harold and Maude' are the little details. The motorcycle cop's trouser problem. The way various vehicles splutter into life and barely get going suggesting the vulnerability of us all in a changing world. Harold's legs in the opening scene and his petulant reaction to furniture obstructing his way. The peculiar pause when Maude asks Harold whether it's wrong to pose nude.
As a whole though, it is distinctly uneven. The 'took my head' scene does not work but the actress scene is absolutely inspired.
This is the archetypal cult movie and beggers the question as to whether films can ever be 'cult' like this again, what with the closure of 'rep' cinemas which traditionally supported these pictures and the ready avaliability of home video. Will the definition of 'cult' simply mean failure at the box office?
The picture quality is reasonable. The chief advantage is the sound which is hugely superior to my video copy.

You should be dying to see "Harold and Maude"
I have taken it upon myself to see many of the movies that I enjoyed as a young adult in the 60's and 70's. Some of them I remember as being great, but when I see them again, they're not so great. One of the truly great ones is "Harold and Maude" (1972). The movie has lost nothing for me, and if anything, is actually better now.

It is the story of a young man (Harold - Played by Bud Cort) obsessed with death, and his relationship with an older woman, (Maude- Played by Ruth Gordon)who is a complete free spirit. Maude is fond of funerals, but is more fascinated with the circle of life, not just death. Their relationship takes Harold on a journey to maturity that is full of humor and heartache. I was quite pleasantly surprised recently while I was watching "Something about Mary" that "Harold and Maude" was mentioned a few times as Mary's favorite all time love story.

This film is the ultimate black comedy. The music is one of the highlights of this great work. All of the music is by Cat Stevens. The music of Cat Stevens also plays through a larger portion of this film that most of today's soundtracks which may be made more to sell CDs than to provide mood for the story. Cat Stevens is also an artist that we can forget how much we enjoyed.

I showed this video to my sons (12 and 14), they even appreciated it. If you want to see a video that gives you a glimpse of a how we felt about life and death in the 1970's (and how many of us feel today) see Harold and Maude. You won't be disappointed.

bittersweetness of life
Harold and Maude is an insightful, comedic and touching view of two individuals who are seemingly polar opposites. Ashby, the director, reminds the viewer that in death there is life and in life there is death and having a sense of humor is the best, if not the only antidote to both phenomena.

As many have mentioned, with a few dissenters, this is truly a wonderful film, full of irony and paradoxes. One falls in love with the characters and thus the film. Cat Stephens' haunting music provides a perfect soundscape to a film that will haunt
your memory for all time.

Hialrious!
I watched this movie the first time with a bunch of friends, and the general consensus was that it was the best movie they had ever seen. It's hilarious, sweet, and rather disturbing... but overall an excellent movie, and my current favorite.

Wonderful, wonderful & wonderful!
In an age of cynicism, bitterness, and pointless movies about horny teenagers, this film is a breath of fresh air. Movies like this simply do not get made anymore. People who hate it miss the point, it is about love and life and enjoying who you are. Movine and wonderful, and Ruth Gordon is darling. To those who hated it, please watch it again, and open your mind and your heart. You will be surprised at what you find there. ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Joan Crawford has to hunt down Trog the Missing Link
In what proved to be her last film, Joan Collins plays Dr. Brockton, who is studying a troglodyte she found in a London sewer. The good news is that she gets to proclaim this is the Missing Link; the bad news is that apparently this is also the creature responsible for the death of several students in the area. The good doctor's adversary is not Trog (Joe Cornelius), who is something of the son she never had because she had a daughter instead, but rather Sam Murdock (Michael Gough, now known for playing Alfred in the Batman movies), who is an anti-feminist, anti-evolutionist, clown who does not want a prehistoric man in the neighborhood and takes Brockton to court. Joan even implants an artificial larynx into Trog to help him realize his humanity, but in the end he makes off with a young girl and Joan has to hunt the poor creature down before the police show up. This 1970 film was directed by Freddie Francis, who actually had done "Day of the Triffids" in 1962 and would direct Joan Collins in "Tales of the Crypt" in 1972, with a whole bunch of Hammer horror films in between. I am sure the idea of directing Joan Crawford appealed to him, it is just all the bloody violence with the troglodyte that makes this a true camp classic, but a horrible film. However, I do have to admit that Crawford goes out with a bang.

Joan Crawford's Last Horror Film Effort
"Trog", the last film in the illustrous career of film legend Joan Crawford has gone done into cinematic history as one of the biggest and most embarrassing "monster", movies ever to be conceived. Joan Crawford of course nowadays is sadly fair game for any type of attack and "Trog", is a favourite target by her many detractors. Harsh summaries of it run to the fact that Crawford was supposedly drunk all the way through production, that it had one of the lowest budgets of any horror film made in England and that it made Crawford totally unemployable after its release thus becoming the sad final note in a brilliant career. Certainly no masterpiece, "Trog", despite some laughable moments is far from the worst horror film ever made and for Joan Crawford's as always totally committed performance despite the material she has to work with, alone is worth seeing. It marked the second time in two years that movie offers from producer Herman Cohen had brought Joan Crawford to England for filming, (Berserk! in 1968 being the other), and she fitted in excellently with the often gifted British performers, like Michael Gough, Diana Dors and Robert Hardy who supported her in these productions. Despite comments to the contrary Joan Crawford is well and truly in control of her character in this little horror effort and certainly makes "Trog", far more entertaining viewing than it probably deserves to be considering its budget.

Crawford plays Anthropologist Dr. Brockton who works at a rural research centre in England and is involved in the study of early man's development from the Apes. While hiking in the neighbouring moors some local students discover a fisher has opened up and they climb down to investigate the caverns below. Unfortunately they also disturb a very primitive form of life in the caves who is half man, half prehistoric ape. The creature attacks and kills one of the boys and drives one of the others into hysteria. Recuperating at the clinic after their ordeal the incident arouses the interest of Dr. Brockton who's student Malcolm Travers (David Griffin)was part of the group. Taken on board for the summer by Dr. Brockton as her assistant the two go back to investigate the caves and manage to photograph the creature which she believes could possibly be the missing link. However Dr. Brockton however has a hard time convincing the authorities about the significance of her find with local opinion fuelled by the hostile reaction in particular of local resident Sam Murdock (Michael Gough). He firmly advocates destroying the creature before it causes trouble in the community. Aroused from its liar by a camera crew the troglodite, or cave dweller comes to the surface and Dr. Brockton succeeds in tranquilising the creature long enough to get it safely back to the lab. Once there she begins a program with the assistance of Malcolm and her daughter Anne (Kim Braden), to "civilize" Trog and orient it with the present world. The publicity arouses the further anger of Sam Murdock who after an unsuccessful hearing to try and get the creature destroyed, decides to take matters into his own hands. One evening he breaks into the lab and releases Trog however he pays for the foolish action with his life. Trog then proceeds to go on a rampage in the local town, killing shopkeepers, overturning cars and abducting a small child from a playground and taking the unconsious child back to the caves. Now bent on the creatures destruction the police close in and against their orders Dr. Brockton climbs down into the cavern and manages to get Trog to surrender the child. However Trog's fate is sealed as the police despite Dr. Brockton's pleas for more time to calm him, move in and shoot him upon which Trog falls on a wooden stake and dies.

"B" movie nonsense perhaps but there are far worse stories that have been turned into horror stories. "Trog", despite being such a small production boasts very worthy credits in direction by skilled Hammer horror veteran Freddie Francis and a writing team that includes Peter Bryan and John Gilling who was also a most capable director of horror with the celebrated "Plague of the Zombies", to his credit. "Trog", certainly has a number of laughable moments in particular the doctor's absurb "orientation" program involving Trog playing with wind up dolls and the long flashback sequence where through the wonders of technology Trog can see back to the dinosaur age. No reason is ever given for why these experiements on Trog are such breakthrough measures and especially funny is when all the world wide "experts" gather and marvel about Trog's progress and uttering of one word "blue". That aside the film is an enjoyable horror effort. Actor Joe Cornelius who played Trog had an original and interesting monster garb and Joan Crawford brings a seriousness and determination to her role as the crusading doctor that belies the films "B" story. Certainly it is not "Mildred Pierce", or even "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?", but it is not a total disgrace either. Crawford's last scene in the movie which of course became her last moments on the cinematic screen after a 50 year career sees her walking away sadly from the camera into the distance and I feel that is in some ways a fitting end to a brilliant Hollywood career.

Laughed at by the critics and now a "cult" favourite with those that like camp movies "Trog", is worth a look. No great cinema art it has a basic story that depite some absurd moments is quite interesting and even with it's low budget like alot of "B" efforts still manages to have an outward polish to it that makes it fun to watch. As the last film in Joan Crawford's career it has it's own curiosity value and no collection of her work is complete without this infamous little horror effort. Enjoy!

I hope she had plenty of Pepsi on hand...
Poor Joan! After such a distinguished career, she went out with this dud as her final feature film. Bad everything, even though La Crawford keep a stiff, overdrawn upper lip throughout. It's fun as a comedy lampoon of horror flicks, which it never intended to be.

Weird !
This was a really weird movie and I wasn't sure if I was supposed to laugh or cry... It's a shame that this was Joan Crawford's last movie although she certainly had a successful career! This movie is difficult to find on VHS.I tried ordering it...through Amazon Marketplace...

She was dead
At time this was filmed, Joan was clinically dead. Altho she remained animated and spoke words out of her mouth, it was obvious that she was dead. She played a person who walked around sort of hunched over and had something to do with some sort of ape person whom she had once been married to.

This was her last film and possibly most distinguished role during her dead years which occured shortly after Bette Davis kicked the behoozes out of her in Baby Jane. ... Read more

Reviews (19)

SENSATIONAL--MINUS 20
I've been hearing for years about "Twin Peaks", whether by word of mouth or on the internet. It's popular to mention the numerous pop-culture moments this show created and the fact that so many shows try to imitate, and fail, this landmark show. So after reading recaps of the pilot and first couple episodes, I decided to buy the whole thing.

I took a risk and I'd do it again because this show is one of the greatest achievements of all TV time. The pilot is a perfect intro to the show, establishing the characters and plots, the main one and various subplots, that it's addictive. WHO KILLED LAURA PALMER!? The mix of light and dark, quirky humor, heavy drama, fantastic production values, and so much more! If you haven't seen any of the show, stay clear of the last 15-20 minutes. I heard about the special ending and found out that the original pilot ends at Sarah Palmer's scream after her dream. End it there, watch the rest of the series, then go back and watch the ending.

Other than that, sit back, relax, and ENJOY! And believe me, YOU WILL!

The Best 2 Hours of Film Anywhere!
Twin Peaks is the premier for the greatest TV series ever created. Brought in to investigate the murder of Twin Peaks Homecoming Queen Laura Palmer, Agent Dale Cooper "Kyle MacLachlan" becomes wrapped up in a town full of mystery, murder, damn good coffee and killer cherry pie.

Start here.
This is pretty much what any fan of the show or David Lynch needs to start with. It's the original movie/pilot, and is a great piece of work. The story, the characters, and the whole northwest environment really make for an interesting and sometimes creepy watch. Many cool actors showed up in "Twin Peaks", among them Kyle McLachlan, Lara Flynn-Boyle, Sheryl Lee, Jack Nance, and the sexy Sherilyn Fenn. If you enjoy this, seek out the VHS collectors series, episodes 1-7. Or the DVD first season, which is also episodes 1-7, minus this pilot.

sdrawkcab dneb smra ym
So I'm sitting on this chair, in this house, on mars when this movie comes on. TWIN PEAKS. The first thing I saw was this grotesque factory-mill type place. And then there was this close-up shot of some rusty machine, and it moved...it moved with the music. Sparks were shooting out everywhere, and it was all moving to this other-worldly melody. Then waterfalls, ponds, ducks...in less than one minute, Lynch had sucked me in, shattered me, put me back together (the way he saw fit), and then he dropped me off into TWIN PEAKS.
The whole thing was beatiful. Lynch and Frost had created this soft cloud of a world that was filled shards of glass and rusty nails. It was all like a dream -a dream that you don't want to wake up from. Bobby, Donna, Shelly, Big Ed. I was lost.
"I too have been touched by the devilish one. Ahh, but when I saw the face of God..." This sleek-Norman Rockwell-wrong way on a one way street-imitation silk-nightmare is a mountain top work of art that leads you dead on into the midst of the footstool of the heavens.
-be sure to watch it in the full blossom of the evening, and you just might experience the beatific vision...FIRE WALK WITH ME.

One of TV's best pilots!
If only it were on DVD! This tape contains the classic 2 hour pilot for David Lynch's extraordinary and quirky TV cult favorite, "Twin Peaks". This 2 hour intro is NOT part of the six tape "complete" series collection that has the actual 29 episodes. There is a neat, confusing, untelevised 15 minute ending that was used to "wrap up" the whole murder when this same tape was released in Europe as a made-for-TV movie. Still, it is simply Twin Peaks at its best. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Entertaining But Somewhat Uneven
LASSITER is a movie about a jewel thief in London during the years just before World War II. After an arrest he is pressured by British law enforcement and the FBI into attempting to steal a horde of gems from the German Embassy.

The film is a fairly entertaining romp but there are problems with the script and some of the actors seem to be miscast. The movie does have many excellent sets and Tom Selleck gives a strong performance as Lassiter. The supporting cast includes Jane Seymour, Laura Hutton and Bob Hoskins. Hoskins is particularly good in the role of Inspector John Becker.

Another movie that deserves a DVD release
This little known movie stars Tom Selleck as an American jewel cat thief in pre-World War II London. It's a great movie and has an incredible supporting cast including Bob Hoskins as a police officer doggedly on the title characters trail.
With OTT Nazi's as the villains this movie truly is a great ride and a DVD release is long overdue.

Lassiter
naive and childish but elegant and oh-so pleasing
bob hosckins - excellent scoundril ... Read more