Description

A kung-fu expert battles the Mafia to save his karate studio from mob redevelopment in Watts area of L.A. ... Read more

Reviews (30)

Man, I'm from New Orleans,Don't ... Me!
Let me add me 2 cents. BB Jones was one of the best blaxploitation flicks ever made.Ted Landge "JR" from {That's My Momma}and(Love Boat}has a cameo appearance.Scatman Crothers played his part well & so did Gloria Hendry. Pinky added some comedy to the flick and so did Big Tuna...especialy at the end when Kelly removed the toupe from his head.I saw a couple of bad reveiws here, just keep in mind that this movie was made in the 70's.All this technical stuff of today's films has a lot of people spoiled. take a look back when times were better and easier. I highly recommend.Also,Check out "Black Samurai" & "Tattoo Connection"...Both by Jim Kelly.

Jim Kelly Sets the Stage for His Masterpiece "Hot Potato"
If you don't believe that Jim Kelly is a master actor, you will after seeing "Black Belt Jones". He manages to pull off the cheesiest movie ever made in two different genres: kung-fu and blaxploitation. This film is truly an artifact of the '70s (check out that theme music!) and is much more deserving of being revived in the '90s than disco. A real gem--where else can you see a respected government agent who is also a master of karate fight drug dealers and the Mafia--wearing a leisure suit? My favourite part was when the evil gang leader and drug dealer (aren't all villians in early-'70s action movies evil drug lords or gang leaders?) is crushed in a garbage compressor--but still manages to scream his defiance AFTER the fact. A masterpiece.

Supreme!!!
Hands down, the greatest American martial arts film of all-time. It is a film that has fun with itself. It's not serious at all. I loved this flick growing up and I still love it today. I can't wait for this one to find it's way onto DVD. And when it does, 'I'm goin' to McDonald's to celebrate'.

Wesley! I'm gonna smack the black off you!
BBJ is the best. Hands down. You can not be a martial arts fan and not LOVE this movie. Not only does it have Mr. Jim Kelly doing his work "every three seconds," but he's gonna "kick" some "g@#d@#n a$$" Poppa Byrd is "just lonely," because "what hoes you see me chasin, woman?" Just make sure you don't ask Sydney to clean any dishes because, "They're done." Charlene and Mary make phenomenal performances, only to be overshadowed by Pickles. I just wish I could "conclude a business meetin'" like Poppa Byrd does. When you watch this movie, make sure you're eatin your Granny Goose Potato Chips. When Toppy lets "the dogs loose," you'd better stand back... "Choose money or my honey?" Enough Said. Buy this movie. NOW. You need it. Jim Kelly for life!

Where is the DVD?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?
This is an outrage that the superb blacksploitation classic is not out on DVD yet. This movie is amazing. Highly recommend. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

For A Few Dollars More - An outstanding sequel!
For A Few Dollars More is, in my opinion, by far the best of the "Man With No Name" trilogy! In "A Fistful of Dollars," director Sergio Leone bowled the viewers over with Clint Eastwood's character being a gruff gunslinger of few words and lots of action. In this sequel Eastwood's character has a lot more depth and even a little bit of humor. I am highly impressed with the script and acting in this particular film, especially in comparison with its predecessor. One can even consider it funny but useful that a few of the villains from the first film that were quite dead at the end of that one, are back now with new names! Magnificent performances by both Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef serve to enhance this movie's style.

The premise:

This movie has a wonderful beginning as we are introduced to Lee Van Cleef's character while he's in the performance of his role of a bounty killer. We are then treated to the reintroduction of Clint Eastwood's character, which actually does have the name of Monco, while he is taking care of his business as a bounty killer as well. Once the director has shown these two acts, he deftly shows how they end up on the same path as they both find out that they can score it big by killing Gian Maria Volonte's character, Indio and his gang. From there, we're taken to El Paso where the film's intrigue and suspense kick into high gear as both Eastwood and Van Cleef's characters meet.

If you've never seen this movie or its predecessor, I highly suggest you check these movies out as they're basically the mold for many of the westerns that followed. Prior to this movie and "A Fistful of Dollars," westerns were much tamer, which lends to the popularity of these movies which have a lot more grit and realism to them.

Special Features:

Just like "A Fistful of Dollars" this movie is jam packed with hours and hours of special features, documentaries etc... This DVD is all about what it's supposed to be, the movie! It does include a great theatrical trailer and an exceptional 8 page booklet that gives a lot of great information about the movie and the people involved. {ssintrepid}

A great sequel to A Fistful of Dollars
I liked this movie mainly because of the pairing of Eastwood and Van Cleef. Eastwood reprises his role as the "The Man with No Name" and this time he partners with Colonel Mortimer (Lee Van Cleef), a fellow bounty hunter who has a personal reason for tracking down the notorious bankrobber Indio, who is worth $10,000 dead or alive. It is interesting that many of the actors who played the villains in "A Fistful of Dollars" are seen again here (e.g. Gian Maria Volonte as Indio)and the location seems to be very similar to that of the first movie. I liked the character of Colonel Mortimer because not only is he a great sharpshooter but he displays himself as a man of principle, in contrast to Eastwood's character, who is only in it for the money. Lee Van Cleef steals many of the scenes. In this movie he plays a good character while in the sequel, "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," Van Cleef plays the "Bad" guy. The music by Ennio Morricone is classic. The only drawback in this movie is that much of the gun battles seem cartoonish and many of the people who are shot have no sign of blood to show for their wounds! However, if you are a fan of Eastwood and of Spaghetti Westerns, you'll like this movie a lot.

great story
This time for a few dollars more,the story revolves around a new bounty hunter called angel eyes,CLint returns and is not as comical as he was in the first.I think he's showing us that he has become more of a serious bounty hunter since he got messed up in fistful.LEE van Cleef is on a revenge mission while eastwood is playing angel eyes and the bandits for a few dollars more.It's worth owning,so is the score.thanks

MGM gets a few dollars more from me
Most people reading these reviews already know how great these Eastwood - Leone spaghetti westerns are, so I won't talk about the film itself here. I enjoyed this movie when I first bought it on VHS in 1989 but always hated the brittle, tinny sound, the opening theme music was excrutiating, when we all know that Morricone's soundtracks for these movies was excellent. So here it is in 2004 and I've got the $10 DVD and nothing has improved in the sound. Also the torture scene is missing a few seconds at the end where one of the gang asks Indio: "Why let 'em live?" and he replies: "All in due time". Hmm, let me make a wild guess here: MGM will finally fix this movie the way they should have for the first DVD but it will come out in a "Special Edition" 2-disc set with a bunch of extras for $25 (think The Great Escape here). You know those "Proof of Purchase" UPC's you see on the back of the DVD case? Just once I'd like to see MGM offer a rebate on a new "Special Edition" via a P.O.P. from an earlier DVD version. That's why I'm glad I don't have the first DVD of "The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly" already and that's why I won't yet buy John Wayne's "The Alamo". Unfortunately I already bought MGM's DVD of "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World", another sub-standard MGM DVD release.

One Of the Three Best Westerns Ever
Along with The Good The Bad and The Ugly, and Once Upon A Time In The West, this is a western masterpiece and one of the best ever made. While not as polished as the above mentioned, For A Few Dollars More contains some of the best scenes in the history of westerns. Col. Mortimer gunning down Guy Callaway, Clint riding in to Aqua Caliente alone, and my favorite, Mortimer lighting a match on Wild's suspenders. Like GBU, I have seen this movie at least a hundred times, and have enjoyed it since I was a 7th grader. A classic western in the Italian style, boasts a superb soundtrack to boot. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

...Did you ever see a dream walking?
"Together again!" blurted the ads for this William Castle thriller. The ads meant, of course,former husband and wife Robert Taylor and Barbara Stanwyck, who had a rather acrimonious divorce in the early 1950s. "Everyone probably thought we were going to beat each other up", said "Missy" Stanwyck, when asked about how their screen reunion went. Well, they didn't beat each other up, but gave good performances in this Robert "Psycho" Bloch-scripted film, one of William Castle's best. "The Night Walker" is the tale of attractive Irene Trent (Stanwyck), who is married to blind, jealous and abusive scientist Howard Trent, played by Hayden Rourke (He was "Captain Bellows" on TV's "I Dream of Jeannie"!). Marriage to Howard, in Irene's words, "Is like a nightmare!" In her frustration, she dreams of a young, handsome and attentive lover, and talks in her sleep. Howard accuses her of having an affair with their attorney, Barry Morland (Taylor). They quarrel,(Stanwyck's tirade is a masterpiece of vitriol!), she runs out of their gloomy old mansion, and Howard is incinerated in a mysterious explosion in his laboratory. Irene, feeling uncomfortable living in the house, moves into the small apartment behind the beauty parlor she owns. Her dreams of a dream lover continue, (Are they dreams? Are they real?) and then they become terrifying nightmares. She sees Howard, his face hideously burned, and her "dream lover" (Lloyd Bochner) marries her in a positively frightening ceremony in an abandoned chapel. Irene begins to doubt her own sanity...Surprisingly, "The Night Walker" was a box-office dud. It is a very entertaining film, with a great cast, which includes familiar old faces such as Rochelle Hudson, Marjorie Bennett, Jess Barker, and Tetsu Komai (he was one of the manimals in "Island of Lost Souls"). "Missy" Stanwyck looks great, though she possessed one of the most unmelodious screams ever heard on screen (it sounds like a foghorn!), but she gives, as always, a believable performance. She was great. Robert Taylor is good, though he was never one of my favorites, and his once-handsome face had not aged well, and his bad facelift did not help matters. The musical score is rather noteworthy. It was composed by Vic Mizzy, who has, to his credit, "The Addams Family", "Green Acres", "The Pruitts of Southhampton", and a quartet of Don Knotts comedies, including "The Ghost and Mr. Chicken". It is a very entertaining, catchy score, praised by Bernard Herrmann! The picture quality on this tape is excellent, and the original teaser trailer is loads of fun ("Do you dream of SEX?") So, for an enjoyable 85 minutes, curl up with a bowl of popcorn and "The Night Walker"! Pleasant dreams....

Yes, even Robert Bloch can write a bad movie script
The best part of "The Night Walker" is the opening sequence, which consists of an expressionistic montage all about dreams and nightmares. The story offers Barbara Stanwyck in her last theatrical role as Irene Trent, who blind husband (Hayden Roarke) is killed in an explosion. Irene starts to have lots and lots of nightmares haunted by both a mysterious handsome guy (Lloyd Bochner) and her husband, who appears to be alive. Of course, as the nightmares progress it becomes more difficult to tell the difference between the dreams and the real world (YOU THINK?). Next thing we know, Irene is screaming "I CAN'T WAKE UP! I CAN'T WAKE UP!"

Now, a movie starring Barbara Stanwyck and written by Robert Bloch ("Psycho") certainly seems promising enough, but then "The Night Walker" was directed by William Castle. As you can tell from the "revised" title of the film, when William Castle does a film there is nobody bigger involved in the production than William Castle. After all, this is the guy who brought us "The Tingler" and a host of other campy horror films. Every once in a while as director Castle tries some "arty" stuff involving angles as such, most of which do not work. The production values are pretty good for a Castle film, but that works against what is essentially his usual brand of camp. The dream sequences are the best part of the film, but Bloch's simply (and surprisingly) script falls apart at the end. Stanwyck's performance is okay, but in this film she utters some of the worst screams in movie history. Paul Frees is the distinctive voice providing the narration and the music by Vic Mizzy is above average. "The Night Walker" is going to lose most viewers before it gets to the end, which I do not think works, but it has some pretentions at evincing ambition which warrants a look.

The one and only William Castle
I absolutely love William Castle. The man was an original and made the most fun and unique films. So what if they weren't considered classics, they were the perfect late-night-slumber party movies: lots of cheap thrills, but nothing to damage your psyche. I just hope this gem, along with other great Castle films, like "Macabre" and Let's Kill Uncle," make it to DVD soon!!!

Howard, is that you?
I saw this movie when I was a kid and it scared the s*** out of me! This is a great horror classic. It's a shame it's not on DVD in widescreen format. The first ten minutes or so are a bit hokey but once the story kicks in the suspense builds. It's in black and white but it is great cause they utilize shadows and fog to create suspense; and the music totally fits the genre. I can hear the music in my head as I write this; da da da da dum. My nephew once bragged how he could watch any horror movie. I put Night Walker in for him to watch. By the end of the movie he was watching it with his baseball hat tilted over his head and his hands over his face. He couldnt sleep that night, he was so scared. We wound up spending the night playing Nitendo. Yeah, it's definitely a B-movie but one of the greatest B-movies I've ever seen. It's a tradition in our home to watch it at least once a year. I've seen the other Castle films but to me this one is the true classic.

Barbara Stanwyck's last theatrical release
"The Night Walker", following on the heels of her 1964 collaboration with Elvis Presley in "Roustabout" marked rather sadly the last cinema release in Barbara Stanwyck's long and very acclaimed film career. After this film she moved full time into television and scored herself a triumph (and an Emmy Award into the bargain),as the firm but fair lead in the classic western series "The Big Valley". It was a shame she didn't continue in leading film roles because here Barbara has never been better in her later years than as the widow tortured by recurring dreams so alarmingly vivid that that seem frighteningly real.

Produced by the infamous William Castle who's speciality was having skeletons fly across cinemas on wires during performances, it would seem at first glance that the material here which has a slightly incredible premise was not very promising. But in reality it is actually one of the better of the "shock cinema" offerings of the 1960's which found veteran actresses of the 1930's and 40's appearing as deranged or menaced mature women in low budget offerings that still drew audiences on their weight of their names. "The Night Walker", has an involved plot that finds Barbara Stanwyck playing Irene Trent who finds herself a widow after her insanely jealous husband (Hayden Rorke in a very non traditional role)is killed in an explosion in his lab. She finds herself tormented by frightening dreams where her husband is actually still alive and where she is also pursued by a mysterious handsome stranger who in a bizzare wedding ceremony in a mysterious chapel marries her and then disappears. Is Irene only dreaming or is she being driven out of her mind? These are the big questions left unanswered until the thrilling conclusion of this film which I wont reveal for the benefit of those who haven't seen this film yet. For once William Castle has an intelligent screenplay by the talented Robert Bloch to utilise and he is greatly aided through the convoluted story and the very surprising twist at the end by the seasoned performing of former husband and wife team Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor. Much was made of their reteaming in this film at the time of the release of this film. They had worked together on two films in the 1930's "This Is My Affair", and "His Brother's Wife" and both bring their years of experience to their parts and make a fascinating pair on screen aside from the poignantcy of seeing them together again after all these years. While Robert Taylor's appearance in the film is a surprise (he was already suffering from the cancer that eventually killed him in 1969), he is wonderful playing Barry Moreland, Irene's husband's financial advisor who supposedly is helping Irene understand just who is tormenting her before revealing a nasty side to his character. Hayden Rorke still best remembered for his work in the hit series "I Dream of Jeannie", has the small but memorable role of Howard Trent the dead husband of Irene, or is he really dead? His insanely jealous character is certainly a dramatic departure for him and his scenes early in the film with Barbara Stanwyck really lay the ground for the tension created later in the story.

William Castle really plays up the visual images here and this is what gives "The Night Walker", it's eerie dramatic power. In Irene's dreams we see Howard supposedly rising from the dead with his face all burnt from the explosion we are led to "believe" that he survived. In another instance we witness the totally macabre wedding ceremony populated by frighteningly distorted dummy figures that seem to glare right through you and take on a life of their own. It's these scenes that make us share this slightly off centre panic that Barbara Stanwyck's character experiences . The gloomy mansion, the clocks all going off at once on the grand staircase and the play of shadows in the apartment at the boutique where Irene has retreated to supposedly find some peace also encourage that feeling of there being no rest from this unknown presence haunting Irene.

"The Night Walker", is a very engrossing pyschological thriller. Barbara Stanwyck insisted at the time of the picture's release that "The Night Walker" was not a horror movie in the Baby Jane model and while there are some familiar elements it is a story which stands on its own merits. It certainly is very watchable and indeed keeps you guessing right up to the surprise ending which willl really leave you gasping. Being a huge Barbara Stanwyck fan I was prepared to enjoy this film anyway but it displays a mature Stanwyck in full throttle delivering a grand performance as she did throughout her career. Her chemistry with Robert Taylor is great and both give this thought provoking story their all. If you like mystery thrillers with plenty of red herrings thrown in along the way to supposedly "put you off the scent" then you are guaranteed to enjoy William Castle's "The Night Walker" starring former husband and wife team Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Taylor. ... Read more

Reviews (25)

Pompous, fitfully interesting vamp psychodrama
One of Abel Ferrara's interesting failures -- a philosophical art-house vampire movie, shot in stark b&w, with Lili Taylor as a philosophy student who gets bitten by Annabella Sciorra and tailspins into the madness of hunger. How could it miss? Well, there's a reason that "Bad Lieutenant" is Ferrara's best film: It wasn't written by Nicholas St. John, whose scripts for Ferrara have been pretentious at best, ham-handed at worst. This one is both. When we're not watching the humorless Taylor shooting up blood or blathering about deep stuff, we're wincing at death-camp footage. One can almost justify the images of real-life atrocity as Ferrara's usual outrageousness, but after a while the gallery of Holocaust horror just seems like a cheap, unearned way for St. John to beef up his themes of collective guilt and evil in modern society. Taylor is compelling, Ken Kelsch's photography is riveting, and Christopher Walken is amusing in a small role as some sort of vicious vamp guru.

You'll watch it more than once
The Addiction is an artsy vampire movie that strays from what most movie goers see in vampire films. It is shot entirely in black and white-which adds to the dark setting. Vampirism is portrayed in much the same way as drug addiction here.

Lili Taylor turns in an excellent performance as Kathleen, a philosophy student who is plunged into the dark world of the vampire. As she is transformed gradually in the movie the fact that she is a philosophy student plays a large role. She is forced to reconcile her new life with the existentialism that is the focus of her studies. As she becomes more sure of herself in her new life, an elder vampire Peina (played by the creepy Christopher Walken) throws a wrench in the works. Lili Taylor's voice is marvelous in the dark settings where her character contemplates her new existence with philosophy. Where will her journey into darkness take her...?

This movie is well written, visually appealing, and the main charcters are deep. You will want to watch it more than once to be sure.

Interesting, But Not Too Addictive
Abel Ferrara gave a shot at the vampire genre and the result is "The Addiction", an interesting but flawed movie that fails to convice. Lili Taylor plays a NY philosophy student who gets bitten by a vampire woman. That experience will change her life and the way she views the world, offering new perspectives and goals. While this is a somewhat promising idea, the plot never sems to surprise all that much, so it gets a point where it keeps repeating and moving nowhere new.
The movie touches a few points like existencialism, fate, guilt, sin, faith, nihlism and of course addiction, but the development could be better and it ends up seeming like unfullfilled potential. Still there are some intriguing elements, like the black and white cinematography, the moody atmosphere and some compelling, well written dialogue. But even considering these good ingredients, the movie doesn`t step above average material. "The Addiction" just lacks bite.

Sorry but doesn't miss something somewhere ?!!!!
I will not say that Abel Ferrara is not creative in his own way to make movies. This work proves that there is someone behind the camera full of ideas and a great thinker, No doubt about it. The problem is just the story.It could have been a great one but dunno what happened. It becomes easily boring and it's a pity. Acting is okay. Walken's got a little role in it, 10 minutes maximum.If you are curious about Abel Ferrara, well It's still worth few bux.

Movie About Sin Nature
I really enjoyed this movie. It's set in a very intellectual environment, with a dark side. When the main character becomes bitten by a vampire she gets pulled into the life of a vampire, a very addicted one. She's addicted to the life-style of a vampire but hates it. The movie is about her struggle with her sinfull life-style.
It's not a movie comparing vampirism to aids and drugs so much, but rather to human sin nature. Sin nature as presented in the movie though, is as addictive as drugs and contagious and incurable as aids. The movie did an excellent job of displaying the nature of sin to the audience. Notice first that the sin had to be chosen, victims were never forced. After they chose sin, they became addicted and couldn't, by their own means, be released from their addicted lifestyle. In this movie, it's not until you are saved can you finally find release from sin. Her nature had to be changed, not her environment, not her psyche. I think the theme of the movie is embodied in the quote from R.C. Sproul(A famous calvinist minister and speaker) at the end of the film, "We are not sinners because we sin, we sin because we are sinners." It was a movie about human nature, and the anatomy of sin the Biblical idea of sin (intended or not). Vampire stories in general are a study of sin. Concider their hate for all things Christian, the love of death and destruction, their opposite lifestyle(sleeping upside down, night dwellers ect) So I found this movie a great one to add to the list of vampire movies that I love!
I highly recomend this movie. You'll have a lot of fun examining it and picking out the details that hold the secrets to the overall meaning of the film. Very philosophical! ... Read more

Reviews (13)

good direction, solid scares, horrible acting
This was the only movie directed by Dario Argento that my local Blockbuster carried, and even though it was in a censored R-rated cut, I must say I liked it. At its best, "Trauma" invoked late-70's/early-80's John Carpenter, and was easily one of the scarier films I'd seen in a while. However, the acting (by a predominately American cast including Frederic Forrest, Piper Laurie, and Brad Dourif) was mostly over-the-top and horrible. And now, after seeing such Argento masterpieces as "Deep Red," "Suspiria," and "Tenebrae," "Trauma" really pales in comparison but is still good. It might be more easily accessible to someone who hasn't been exposed to Argento before, but for hardcore fans it's only a lukewarm offering.

All the ingredients of an Argento film BUT...
Argento seems to be able to make GREAT horror as POOR ones. With a plot he already used a couple of times and filmed like he did also a couple of times, Dario Argento offers his daughter, not a bad actress at all, in one of his average work. It's no his worst movie but it's not fantastic either. The Hitchcock theme sounds sometimes like a very low budget music score, a pity! For me, not the revelation of Dario Argento's Art...This film could have been released decades ago, it's more like he didn't evolve at all and he simply makes the same recipe again and again. For ARGENTO fans only : You will find the mark of the master in this.

Fascinating Guilty Pleasure
Well, this is THE movie that trapped me into Dario Argento's horror world in no time-- the first one of his I've ever seen (not counting Demons which wasn't directed by the master himself.) Filled with bloody violence, sickly twisted family liaison, and absolutely over-the-top campy fun. A masterpiece? Depends what your definition is. I think it's one of it's own kind. Asia was adorable (and still is.) Above all, I love Piper Laurie in this movie, period. Can't wait for the DVD to come out.

Not one of Argento's masterpieces
I was lucky enough to find a tape of the uncut edition of TRAUMA. Yet again the story features a serial killer, this one named the Head Hunter because his prefered method of killing is decapitating his victims with a bandsaw. After a teenage girl, Aura (Asia Argento, the director's daughter) witnesses the deaths of her parents at the hands of the Head Hunter the trauma lands her in a mental hospital... but still the killer comes after her, determined to finish what he started. The psycho also has a strange M.O: he only kills when it's raining.
TRAUMA is generally pretty tedious, with little evidence of the director's trademark stylistic flourishes. Rather disappointing, though Asia Argento gives a good performance; and there are a couple of memorable bits: the sequence where a woman's decapitated head speaks; and Brad Dourif's death scene. Piper Laurie co-stars, but you're better off watching PHENOMENA (aka CREEPERS) or SUSPIRIA. And what's with the reggae music at the end?

Weird yet compelling little horror movie.
Weird yet compelling little horror movie brought by Dario Argento, Trauma was his first production done in America.The story is,in most of its part,typical of 80's slasher pictures, but the idea of a "Head Hunter" killing people around is somewhat original and also responsible for some of the most grotesque scenes I've seen in a horror movie(like the scene of a decapitated woman whose head keeps talking for a while).The usual Argento stuff is all over Trauma: the different and frantic camera movements, the violence and the strange characters.For those who like Euroshock films, Trauma is a good buy from Amazon[.com]. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Restored edition, fantastic!!!!!!
The movie Reefer Madness seen by itself is really nothing to brag about, but this special addition for this best-selling cult classic is fantastic. It's a must buy, because for how cheap it is, you really get your money's worth. For the first time ever, I can say that the colorized version (complete with multicolor smoke and over saturated psychedelic color schemes) is better and looks better than the original black and white, and both versions are available to watch which is considerate of the DVD producers to give us both, and it looks as good as we can ever expect. Extra features are fantastic highlighted by a hysterical commentary by Mike Nelson, formerly of Mystery Science Theater 3000, which is the sole reason why I bought this edition. The commentary by the people who colorized the film is also worth a look. I highly recommend this new edition.

Reefer Madness IN COLOR for the First Time - Fire UP!
Reefer Madness is the quintessential cult classic. Originally made as a 1930's propaganda film, it was meant to scare America's youth away from drugs, showing them that one puff of the "demon weed" turns teens into raving reefer addicts. Now, years later, this ham-fisted effort to warn you off weed has become the height of camp entertainment. A 'must watch' film among students, Reefer Madness continues to entertain today's youth with the edgy exploits of their high school predecessors. This movie is so beautifully bad, it's great!

Finally someone has released Reefer Madness the way it should be: Beautifully restored, in color for the first time, and in 5.1 surround sound. Both the color and black-and-white versions are on the disk. Plus this DVD has loads of fantastic bonus material. Mike Nelson of Mystery Science Theater 3000 does a hilarious commentary track, cracking wise from start to finish. Grandpa's Marijuana Handbook, A short film by Grandpa Ganja himself, graces this edition and tells us everything we need to know about dope.

No question this is the "FEEL GOOD" DVD of the year!

TELL YOUR CHILDREN!!!
After hearing about this movie for years I finally picked it up, and its better than I ever expected. This one dude smokes a reefer and appears to drive around the block 2 times then hits this old man and then he drives away. oh, yeah, this other guy named Ralph really loves his reefers, he smokes a few hits, then laughs, then he falls in love with Mary, he tries to win her heart by ripping her clothes off and groping her. It doesnt really work out for Ralph, because his fanciful advances cause Mary to get capped, and then Jimmy gets blammed for it because he's a total dork. In the end everything works out, because this stupid girl spills the beans to judge turtlehead, and Jimmy gets aquitted then the stupid girl jumps out of the window. all in all I loved this movie, it really opened my eyes to the evils of the demon weed. thanks for saving me from a life of crime and dispair Reefer Madness!

Re Urban Legend
To address xerxes59's question about the urban legend:

I never heard any evidence about Dupont funding Reefer Madness, but they would have a motive.

Dupont was facing enormous loses because their inventions rayon and nylon could not compete with natural hemp (in quality, cost effectiveness, not to mention environmental friendliness). Andrew Mellon, US Treasury Secretary and chairman of Mellon Bank, one of the major financers of Dupont, did appoint Harry Angslinger (who was also married to his niece) as Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics. As seen in Ron Mann's documentary "Grass", Angslinger was an extremist zealot who managed to criminalize marijuana and create ridiculous sentences for smoking pot. One of Angslinger's methods was to demonize pot with completely false evidence throughout the various media (newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, whose financial interests in paper mills was also being hurt by hemp, was a great ally). Of course this is a tenuous connection between Dupont and Reefer Madness, but Dupont clearly had a direct financial interest in demonizing reefer, just like the movie attempts to do.

Pointless
You mean they used to think pot was bad!!! Wow! Actually I saw this film and it was boring. It wasn't suprising, it had no point. It probably wasnt even that great back in '38. This movie is for children who just learned how to roll one and now they want to be cool. This movie SUCKS!!! ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Dissipation in extremis
While the sprinkling of poor performances and more than a little stereotyping of Mexico's peasantry prevent me from giving it a full five stars, UNDER THE VOLCANO deserves more than a mediocre three. Albert Finney, of course, cannot carry the movie, but that doesn't make his work any less a wonder. Huston's direction, I'm in the minority but I don't care, is a tour de force. Years and years after seeing this movie, so many scenes are etched in my memory, from the floating toy skulls in the film's opening credit, to the final crushing moments. This is not an easy movie to take--watching somebody willfully self-destruct is painful. There's a good deal of humor in between the alcoholic forays, and they ease the burden. I recommend that UNDER THE VOLCANO be given a chance, just one viewing, and then decide for yourself.

oh we try so hard
there is nothing in the world that can compare to the depth and complexity of the book. The movie tries hard, with all the histrionics and well meaning ambition that Huston can muster. Albert Finney as the consel is a well meaning if dated choice. The speculation as to his actual sobriety during filming is a nice ancedote, but offers little insight into the day in the life of Firmin. J. Bissette is a poor choice as Yvonne, as she has all the acting ability of a brick, and cannot even pretend to the specifics of the role. Poor at best.

"Some things you can't apologize for."
In John Huston's film "Under the Volcano," Albert Finney delivers a masterful performance as Geoffrey Firman, an alcoholic ex-British consul in Mexico. Firman lingers in Mexico long after resigning his position with the embassy and indulges in drunken binges bewailing the departure of his long-suffering wife, Yvonne (Jacqueline Bisset). Yvonne, it seems, suffered long enough and returned to America for a divorce. Geoffrey may be continually drunk, but he manages to still be remarkably perceptive about the political situation looming in Mexico, and the alcohol just works as a disinhibitor. Geoffrey--in other words--is a bit of a loose cannon.

The year is 1938, and the film begins on the Day of the Dead. Firman, on yet another bender, prays for the return of his wife, and amazingly, the next day, she returns--ready to give married bliss 'another chance.' She returns to the family home and expects to pick up life just as she left it.

Geoffrey Firman remains drunk for the entire film, and Albert Finney's performance is marvellous. Finney, however, could not carry the film alone, and the other two main characters--Hugh and Yvonne were not strong enough to rouse any great interest from me. Anthony Andrews is Hugh--Geoffrey's younger brother, and in many ways, Hugh is just a younger version of Geoffrey. Hugh, recently returned from the Spanish Civil War, is an idealist too, but he is not yet as disillusioned as Geoffrey. To me, the film remained rather dated and predictable. The return of Yvonne was inadequately explained by the plot or the character, and Hugh's character was too mediocre to explain all the passion that supposedly bubbled beneath the surface. I did enjoy the scenes with the dwarf, though, and the beauty of Mexico was spectacular--displacedhuman.

An Unspeakable Waste of Talent
I simply don't know where to start in pointing out the disastrous flaws in this film-- especially in comparison to the book. There is never even the slightest hint of character development or character arcs, so the actions of the characters simply seem arbitrary and inexplicable. We are never shown anything of Geoffrey Firmin's inner life-- of what drives and has driven him to drink-- so Albert Finney does a lot of silly overacting that would be a lot better suited to very broad comedy. We are never given the slightest reason to believe, from the very first moment Geoffrey and Yvonne meet again, that there's a chance in hell their marriage can work once more, so we then have to suffer through watching them lurch through a lot of nonsensical scenes. And (sorry, the ending is about to be given away...) for some reason, the scriptwriter felt it was necessary to kill off Yvonne and Hugh as well as Geoffrey! EVERYONE in the theater laughed at that scene. It was the only logical reaction, since it was 100% ridiculous and arbitrary!! This may actually be the worst movie ever made by a director with the stature of John Huston.

Literature and cinema
"Under the volcano" a super novel by the English writer Malcolm Lowry, is the source of this movie, filmed in Mexico about the very tormented soul of an alcoholic writer, apparently in love but searching for his own destruction.
The movie is kind of week: some great perfomances, and others frankly bad. The Director, is evident, did his best but the production is not so good; I wonder why.
Anyway, the film is very much "fidele" to the novel, one of the very best I ever read and that I highly reccomend, but beware of deppresions: it is really hard and cruel and crude. Another work of Malcolm Lowry "Dark as the tomb where my friend is lyigin". ... Read more

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Love it or loathe it, David Cronenberg's 1983 horror film Videodrome is a movie to be reckoned with. Inviting extremes of response from disdain (critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the least entertaining films ever made") to academic euphoria, it's the kind of film that is simultaneously sickening and seemingly devoid of humanity, but also blessed with provocative ideas and a compelling subtext of social commentary. Giving yet another powerful and disturbing performance, James Woods stars as the operator of a low-budget cable-TV station who accidentally intercepts a mysterious cable transmission that features the apparent torture and death of women in its programming. He traces the show to its source and discovers a mysterious plot to broadcast a subliminally influential signal into the homes of millions, masterminded by a quasi-religious character named Brian O'Blivion and his overly reverent daughter. Meanwhile Woods is falling under the spell, becoming a victim of video, and losing his grip--both physically and psychologically--on the distinction between reality and television. A potent treatise on the effects of total immersion into our mass-media culture, Videodrome is also (to the delight of Cronenberg's loyal fans) a showcase for obsessions manifested in the tangible world of the flesh. It's a hallucinogenic world in which a television set seems to breath with a life of its own, and where the body itself can become a VCR repository for disturbing imagery. Featuring bizarre makeup effects by Rick Baker and a daring performance by Deborah Harry (of Blondie fame) as Wood's sadomasochistic girlfriend, Videodrome is pure Cronenberg--unsettling, intelligent, and decidedly not for every taste. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (66)

Videodrome - It's Watching you!!!
David Cronenberg is obsessed with technology and body modification - especially how all of this equates to sex and death. How do things CHANGE us? VIDEODROME is probably one of his most blatant statements about television, and the dangers of being more than a voyeur. There is a danger lurking in every scene of this movie, and even the sex scenes take on a disturbing horror vibe. Graphic and disturbing? Yes. But also very thought-provoking, and well-done. The DVD lets you see the movie in its widescreen unedited gory glory. Also included is a very disorienting trailer that was produced on a COMMODORE 64! The performances are outstanding including James Woods at his most likeable, and Debbie Harry as a distant emotionally cold woman who is turned on by the atrocity that is VIDEODROME. The plot centers on Woods as a slimey cable producer looking for hardcore programming to launch his cable channel. He stumbles across a show called VIDEODROME that is pure sex and torture to the point of death. Is it real? Where is it coming from? And why does everyone who watches it become a part of it? EXIStENZ is VIDEODROME's bookend - the gaming side of this theme.

Outstanding Horror
TV will rot your brain, some say- and in the world of Videodrome, that's exactly what happens. A group working with a media philosopher (a nice parody of Marshall McCluhan) has created a signal that can be superimposed on a video program that will, quite literally, mutate the brain. It may be a tumor- or it may be a new organ. It's infected cable TV president Max Venn (James Woods), and is starting to change him and his world in bizarre ways.

Videodrome is a wonderfully original movie that mixes a well crafted script with some novel (for the time) special effects and a marvelous darkly comic sensibility. Puns abound; the president of "Spectacular Optics"- itself a pun- is named Convex. Brian Oblivion (the Marshall McCluhan parody) founded the "Cathode Ray Mission" (as in "cathode ray emission"), where the homeless and destitute are re-integrated into society by providing them with exposure to television.

Underneath this is a dark, sexual theme- Max's attraction to the images of bondage and sadism that are his undoing, and to radio psychologist Nikki (Debbie Harry, in a compelling if inartful performance) who is willing to go a lot farther than is Max in her pursuit of kinky thrills.

Is Max really being physically transformed, or is it all in his head? Is the New Flesh real, or another delusion? All in all, a compelling and original film that will delight any fan of cult films and erotic horror.

David Cronenberg Scores Again With Videodrome!
David Cronenberg is one of the greatest horror film directors to come on the scene. His stylish mix of science fiction and horror gives us surreal films easily compared to directors like David Lynch amoung others. Videodrome is probably my favorite Cronenberg film.

The film is about a television station that specializes in showing softcore pornography and other disturbing types of film. Max Renn, played wonderfully by James Woods, has people go out and find new footage for the network to play. In his search, Renn comes across a video entitled Videodrome, which contains footage of a brutal torture of a few woman. The video becomes an obsession of Renn's and begins to control his life.

An incredible film, with amazing performances from Debrah Harry, singer for the band Blondie, and Woods. The film gives a surreal look at how what we see on television can control our lives. I recommend it to anyone who loves Sci-Fi or horror movies. Definately a classic.

"I want to play something for you."
Max Renn (James Woods) is the CEO of a sleazy little cable channel that is eking out its niche in the market by offering violence and soft-core pornography. Always on the lookout for something tougher, he becomes excited by the pirate broadcasts of a program called Videodrome, 30 minutes of torture with no pretense to any plot. He decides to track down the makers of the show, little realizing that he is already in way over his head...

David Cronenberg is a consistently interesting filmmaker and his major themes are on display here-the question of identity and the ways, both physical and psychological, that man is transformed by his technology. "Videodrome" is prescient in the way it forecasted the ever-increasing levels of depravity and sensation that has become available in the media. The film becomes increasingly surreal and phantasmagoric as the story progresses, but stick with it and think about it afterward. All the pieces fit together.

Thank you Criterion.
This film is finally getting the treatment it deserves, a double-disc Criterion edition. It will be re-discovered and newly discovered by Cronenberg & Criterion fans alike.

The soundtrack and the dialogue were always more disturbing to me than the imagery, which still shocks and creeps under your skin more than any CGI effect ever could. It's the organic nature of Cronenberg's style that sets him apart from everyone, period.

It's also his most prophetic work, a warning for how television can and has warped our sense of reality.

"The battle for the mind of North America will be fought in the video arena, the Videodrome." ... Read more

Amazon.com

"Do your parents know you're Ramones?" With those withering words, Miss Togar (Mary Woronov), the uptight neofascist principal of Vince Lombardi High School, addresses the four mop-haired, leather-jacketed members of America's first and most famous punk band. And you know it won't be long before the Ramones's jackhammer riffs are blaring through the public address system at maximum volume, the kids are running--not walking--wild in the hallways (without passes!), and Miss Togar's gulag is re-christened "Rock 'n' Roll High School." Then, in keeping with the outrageously nihilistic animus of punk, the high school students and the Ramones just blow the place to smithereens. It's a crowd- pleasing, fantasy-fulfillment climax that combines the apocalyptic finale of Michelangelo Antonioni's Zabriskie Point with the explosive conclusion of Alice Cooper's "School's Out." Rock 'n' Roll High School is a blast, a goofy and liberating salute to the rebel spirit behind the teen rock & roll movies of the 1950s, which always pitted the kids' insatiable appetite for fun against the adults' fear-based authoritarianism. The film is emblematic of the disarmingly silly, tongue-in-cheek humor of the youth-oriented B-pictures cranked out in the '50s and '60s by renowned low-budget exploitation mogul Roger Corman (who gave many a hungry young filmmaker, including the creators of this film, their start in the biz), and of the noisy, anarchic energy of '70s punk rock, as personified by the inimitable Ramones. In the words of the maestros' beach-blanket-buzz-saw title anthem, this movie is "Fun, fun, oh baby, fun, fun..." --Jim Emerson ... Read more

Reviews (54)

The Ramones kick!!
I own Rock and Roll Highschool. This movie is awesome!!! The Ramones totally can't act, and they give all the lines to Joey, but hey, the movie is a classic. Its got some great scenes (i love when they blow up the school) and AWESOME music. I was surprised they put music from Paul McCartney and Wings in their since Paul isn't even close to punk, but thats cool wit me cuz im a big wings fan anywayz. They put great Ramones songs in it too. ( i wish they put beat on the brat in it,i love that song but it has nuttin to do with the movie)

The Kids Are All Hopped Up And Ready To Go
It's hard to admit, but the recent death of Joey Ramone took a lot of the wind out of my sails, bringing with it a feeling of vulnerability, mortality and, yes, approaching middle age. Having said that, it's a treat that this part of his legacy is finally available again for all to treasure. Sort of a twisted mix of low-budget 1950's juvenile delinquent movies and 1960's beach comedies, "Rock 'N' Roll High School" has aged surprising well, thanks in most part I guess to the timeless appeal of the "brothers" Ramone. Highlights, besides the hopped up concert footage (filmed in front of an enthusiastic audience), include the Ramones pulling up to a concert venue in an old Cadillac singing "I Just Want To Have Something To Do," a fantasy sequence in which self-proclaimed #1 Ramones fan Riff Randall (P.J. Soles) imagines the band serenading her in her bedroom, complete with Dee Dee and his bass under a running shower, and the final scene in which The Ramones play the title track while the high school explodes behind them in a piece of perfectly staged incendiary directing by Allan Arkush. Timeless, mindless, exuberantly staged entertainment...

Whose the Ramon-e-s
This is the best movie ever, it's funny, has great music, and has the Ramones in it. ME and my friends watch this movies over and over, and there aren't that many movies that we do that to. So if you love a great laugh and great music then this is the movie for you!!!! Rock on

Cult Classic + Ramones = Fun Fun
This is a masterpiece of low budget cinema. Everything about this movie rocks. The Ramones are undoubtedly one of the best punk rock bands of all time and this film showcases them to great effect. Really fantastic live footage. PJ Soles is mighty sweet and Dey Young is even sweeter. Great stuff from Mary Woronov, Paul Bartel and the mighty Dick Miller as well. Some of the cornball dialogue is unforgettable. And did I mention that Dey Young is sweet? She used to make my heart go pitter patter watching this in high school.

"1,2,3,4!!!"
Hey Ho! Let's Go! Listen up, kids. Rock 'n' Roll High School may have been released way back in 1979 but it still kicks the butt of any of those square MTV movies. Forget about Britney Spears and Mandy Moore's brand of bubblegum pop music -- they don't hold a candle to the unbridled power of those punk rockers from New York City, the Ramones!

The movie does a great job of playfully championing the Ramones as rock gods and yet shows them being accessible to their fans. The band first appears in a car driving down the street on the way to their venue as they play "I Just Wanna Have Something To Do." Once outside the club, they get out of the car and interact with the crowd of ticket buyers. The editing, coupled with the insanely catchy song gives the scene an infectious energy.

From B-movie veterans like Paul (Eating Raoul) Bartel and Mary (Death Race 2000) Woronov to newcomers (at the time), P.J. (Halloween) Soles and Dey (Strange Invaders) Young, the entire cast has a lot of fun spouting the film's wonderfully inspired cornball dialogue ("If you don't like it, you can put it where the monkey puts the nuts."). The Ramones are good sports and mumble their way through the film and truly coming alive during the music sequences. The movie rightfully cements their reputation as legends.

Rock 'n' Roll High School embodies the essence of the punk rock music that made the Ramones famous. The film is bursting with youthful energy, a dose of good ol' fashion anarchy and is loads of fun to watch. These are also the ingredients that made Rock 'n' Roll High School a cult film. It was a commercial and critical failure upon its initial release but repeated midnight screenings, coupled with steady appearances on TV, have helped the film endure over the years.

Producer Michael Finnell, screenwriter Richard Whitley and director Alan Arkush deliver an engaging and rather chatty audio commentary. The three men laugh and joke about working on Rock 'n' Roll High School. They clearly have fond memories of their experiences on the movie.

Also included is a dynamic theatrical trailer that gives away the ending! Definitely watch this last if you haven't seen the movie.

Leonard Maltin interviews Roger Corman about the movie. To his credit, the veteran filmmaker admits that he was wrong about the Disco High idea and was glad that Arkush convinced him to go with Rock 'n' Roll High School.

A real treat for fans of the Ramones are several audio outtakes during the filming of the concert sequence. These are the original audio tracks of the band in action.

While Rock 'n' Roll High School will appeal predominantly to fans of the Ramones (duh!), it is also one of those fun, goofy movies to invite friends over and watch with copious amounts of junk food on hand. Despite a lackluster transfer, the audio commentary and audio outtakes are worth the price of purchase for this fantastic cinematic oddity. ... Read more

Amazon.com

John Heard plays Charles, a sardonic civil servant who can't seem to get over his breakup with Laura (Mary Beth Hurt). While listening to his mother describe how she's thinking of killing herself, Charles begins to reflect on how the relationship started. From there, the movie flashes back and forth between his present obsessiveness and the ups and downs of his two months with Laura. The rambling but entertaining progress of Chilly Scenes of Winter is sprinkled with sharp, satirical portraits of the other people in Charles's life, including his mother (the great B-movie actress, Gloria Grahame), who wallows in her offhand madness, and his roommate, Sam (Peter Riegert), an unemployed womanizer. But the movie's greatest strength is its warts-and-all portrait of Charles himself. He's funny, but his humor often slides into hostility; he's affectionate, but his attentions sometimes turn neurotic and possessive. The movie doesn't condemn him, but it doesn't let him off the hook, either, and Heard's performance manages to be both charming and dismaying. The result is a gentle, sometimes painful, but always honest comedy about the messy details of relationships that has developed a passionate cult following. Chilly Scenes of Winter is based on the novel of the same name by Anne Beattie, who has a cameo as a waitress. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (12)

funny, dead-on performances - almost painfully true-to-life
John Heard and Peter Reigert give such effortless performances - the one-liners are great. It's just a great movie for anyone who's ever "been there". I saw the original (with the different ending), Head Over Heels, about five years ago on television, but cannot track it down anywhere. Anyone have a copy out there?

Hilarious and outrageous
The characters in this movie were so fantastically developed ... John Heard's, Laura's, the mother's, the unemployed jacket saleman, the candy salesman, the boss ... the cat and dog killer ... Mrs Delillo ... LOL this was just a delight.

This movie really nails an obsessive love gone sour. This movie is a must for anyone who ever went head over heels over someone, only to have the realtionship go south.

I saw this movie many years ago as "Head Over Heels" and would love a copy of the original, also.

Anyone out there have a copy?

AN OVERLOOKED CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC
This is one of the best films few people have heard of! I don't know about some people, but I LIKED the new ending of the re-edited version. I mean, happy endings are nice and all that, but sometimes things just don't wrap up neatly and I thought this ending really fit the film as a whole. Although I would be interested in seeing Silver's original cut. You know, MGM could prepare a special DVD containing Ms. Silver's original cut on Side 1 and the re-edit on Side 2. But it will never happen. And it's a shame. It would be the perfect candidate for MGM's "Contemporary Classics" series.

John Heard, where are you? You seemed to disappear from film. Such a good, understated performance deserved Oscar recognition. But of course, unless the pic is a hit, you don't get nominations. How else to account for this year's lackluster selection?

I liked Head Over Heels ending better!
I first saw the original(Head Over Heels) on cable in 1981. I loved the original ending when Charles returns from the park and finds Laura in the kitchen making the famous dessert. He was amazed that she kept the house key. "You kept the key", he repeated while she tried to excuse herself for being there. He wanted so much for her to want him while he nearly went insane waiting for her to come back to him. Yeah, I can sympathize with Charles; been there done that. But the original ending gave us romantics some hope. When my "Laura" closed the door, I never looked back and I never saw her again [that was 19 yrs ago]. When I saw the re-release in 1982 I was a bit disappointed in the ending. If I remembered correctly, the ending in the book was similar to the original cut. Why did they change it? According to a review in the NY Times, Ann Beattie requested the change. Why? Who knows.

I searched the web for the video with the original ending and found a copy that listed listed "Woman in Park" as one of the characters. The scene in the park was cut so I thought I had found it. When I opened the video at home I found it was the re-released version. I continued my quest and emailed MGM/UA and several other places without response. By chance I tried a newsgroup. I got a reply from someone who said the re-released ending is the only version available on video because the original was made before videos were existed. So, unless someone at the studio picked up the 16mm film from the editing room floor we will never see the better ending.

love ain't easy or sensible or lasting but it still is love
this main character has the fairy tale romance all worked out in his mind but somehow reality just won't let it happen so he becomes lovesick to the point of being in a trancelike shock and everything becomes extremely absurd.Even his gut reaction that maybe this wasn't the all important love of his life.But he longs for that,he whimpers and whines in his 9 to 5 cage.And he never gives up because this small sparkle keeps him alive.John Heard reminds me of Dustin Hoffman in the Graduate and Griffin Dunne in After Hours.All three films are about people holding onto individual sanity in an insanely catatonic world. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A gory but good movie.
Miriam (Catherine Deneuve) and John (David Bowie)are 2 bloodthirsty immortals who live a good life in the human city of New York. She keeps her ageing lovers in the attic and John has some how become ill after 3000 years. Miriam now must find a new love who well never age. She finds it in Sarah Roberts(Susan Sarandon), who's geriatrics research may hold the secret to immortality.

Indeed this was a good movie with a MTV look emphasizing style over story and became one of the big cult films of the 80s (there were a lot at the time). The well used story is spun out at a good moving pace complete with tame love scenes between Deneuve and Sarandon, and a little mix of sly humor that does not work well with the film. Any one who is in the mood for something dark and gothic stood get this film. I hope MGM well put it on DVD soon.

1983. 100 MINS. Horror.

Rated R (for Brief Strong Vampire Violence, Language and for some Sexuality/Nudity). ... Read more

Reviews (53)

It's About Time
For extended criticism of the film itself see my review of the VHS below.

The DVD of 'Satyricon' has been available overseas for some time, and I've been waiting impatiently for it to be released here in the US. The producers have done a good job with it. The picture is amazingly clear, and the colors are saturated, so that the sets are even more eerie than before. For a film with such highly designed sets, it's pleasant to be able to stop the film and get a good look at things that appear for only a fraction of a second at normal speed. I watched this on my computer, and I was pausing every few frames to get a good look.

An English soundtrack is provided. The lip-sync there is no worse than the Italian since the film was recorded in several languages. Supposedly the three main characters - Encolpio, Ascylto, and Gitone - were English hippies who Fellini picked up in Trafalgar square, and they spoke the dialogue in English. But I prefer the Italian; it justs sounds better. I wish they had provided Italian subtitles too. There's very little in the way of other extras. I would have liked some commentary, but I can't complain too much about this DVD.

This movie is terrible
This was the first and the last Fellini movie I will ever purchase. The movie is totally incoherant. I do not see what is so compelling about this movie. It was a waste of my time.

You don't get it? You may be the one being taunted,friend.
I firmly believe that if one does not "get" this film, then they are the type of person this film is satirizing. Something tells me that Fellini, with this film, came closer to illustrating the atmosphere of ancient Rome than anybody. It shows the pitfalls of superstition, how drugs and illusion play a role in what people have called "witchcraft","voodoo","macumba" and such. It shows the unmasked view of the delight that some people take in others' misery, in watching them suffer, and in confusing and bewildering them with smoke and mirrors. I enjoyed the scenes that depicted the morally reprehensible theatre of ancient Rome, especially in using period sound effects to illustrate how what we today see and hear in film and theatre is not so far advanced from the illusions that the ancient Romans used to propagandize and marginalize the lives of it's people. The parallel to modern society is so great that those who fit that materialistic mold won't get it, because their minds will protect them from the truth. However, we see over-indulgent despotic emperors using their wealth and power to seduce the minds of the populace. We see the same social elite engaging in disgusting orgies of food and sex. The main character, Encolpius, believing himself to be on a path of discovery is actually being lead through a maze of snares and traps at the delight of his so-called mentor. Soon one might be asking themselves if this man is mentor or tor-mentor to poor Encolpius. This film is a such a startling comparison to modern life that it could stop all temporal arrogance. How dare we think we're so advanced when our society behaves the same as they do, only the names and methods have changed. This is Rome, we live in Rome, it's only been transplanted over here and updated to "modern sensibilities" but Rome is still as decadent and wasteful as ever, as if we think we're rising above nature by destroying it. Well, isn't that how "civilization" works? Destroy one people's way of life and force them to conform to yours. This is Satyricon.

Satire of the Satyr
Some movies you just have to see -- forget about plot synopses or snippets of dialogue, you just have to see it to understand. For these movies, there's no way to answer that most natural and inevitable of questions: What's it about? Satyricon is one of these movies.

I've been a fan of Satyricon for about four years, when I first took it out of the public library. I'd heard it was weird and had also seem some stills in movie books like LIFE Goes to the Movies. Something about freaks, absurdity, ancient Rome, I gathered. Maybe that was actually as much as I needed to know since that's what it all boils down to, at its essence.

I probably would have had more of an idea what to expect that first if I'd simply known about the director, Federico Fellini. At that time, I didn't, and so when I first sat down with Satyricon it struck me not just as an anomaly but as a major shock. Sure, I'd heard of Fellini, but this? This was Fellini? Why hadn't anyone told me? They should have shown this movie to me while I was in the crib, it was so cool.

Later on, through watching another great and bizarre film of his, Roma, I figured out what some of the Fellini motifs were and how strongly his personality and taste come through, but at the time, it was a bit of a mind-blower. This guy had survived making this film? Nobody put him in an insane asylum? He was considered great? Certainly I thought he was great, watching the movie, but I tend not to give fellow humans that much credit.

Knowing a bit more about Fellini at this point, I can say that while Satyricon isn't the anomaly I once thought -- Roma is pretty similar and I've heard other of his films also follow along in a similar style -- it is certainly in a class of its own. What's it about? Again, I can't say really, but pressed to the wall with a gun to my head, I'd squeal and saying it's a crazy experience, a vicarious exploration of insanity, of dreams, of an absurd adventure by a blond-haired poet who just wants to get his boy lover back and be done with it all. That summary doesn't really express any of it, but it's the best I can do and there it is.

Perhaps giving a little background would help. First of all, Fellini didn't make the story up, although the film is certainly a product of his imagination and he did make up a few scenes. The plot, such as it is, springs from that most bizarre and unprecedented of ancient works, Satyricon by Petronius. Nobody actually knows much about the author and this is his only work, but what can be said is that it's a book very different from what most people would expect of an ancient book. You can actually get a hint of this by its very title, which is a pun on satyr (from the Greek saturos) and satire (from the Latin satira), meaning that it's an attack on human vice or folly and a depiction of some serious depravity. Did I mention that this was written around the time of the reign of Nero?

Again, having read the original book -- had to having seen the movie -- I can say that it's nothing like any ancient work I've ever run into except possibly the poetry of Catullus, which is hysterically coarse at times. It's simply not ponderous. It doesn't dwell on gods or philosophy or sublime human comedy. No, instead, the book just creates its own territories and definitions. People have tried to analyze it -- the fragments that are left, now that several sections have been missing for ages -- and the general conclusion, so I've read, is that the novel, like the movie, is something far afield from the norm, a twisted tale of such originality as to make analysis within normal frames of reference irrelevant.

The question resurfaces: What's it about? A few scenes may help to convey a sense of its atmosphere at least, if not the plot, since the plot is rather secondary. Picture this: Our hero (well, anti-hero really) Encolpio ends up on a mission to collect a hermaphroditic god(ess) from a hidden temple. He and his companions show up in a cave where they find the god(ess) pale and weak, lying in a pool surrounded by worshippers seeking to be healed. They steal the god(ess), throwing the deity into a cart and fleeing across the desert. Unfortunately the god(ess) is weak and needs water. The god(ess) dies and for that, there is a punishment.

Encolpio and friends end up in another town (where he ends up in a battle with a man wearing a bull mask... don't ask) and although Encolpio is basically rewarded by getting to bed an insatiable woman, he is embarrassed before a crowd of hundreds when he can't get it up. He's been made impotent! To make things better, he's sent to a special treatment facility where he's put in a room filled with dozens of extremely exotic prostitutes who proceed to try just about everything to get a rise out of him. They pin him down and flog him. There's something about a giant swinging canopy with bevies of girls on it but even thought I've seen the film a half dozen times, I can't remember the specifics, nor do I remember if the "cure" was successful. It's besides the point.

I do remember more, though. I know an Roman couple lives in home built into the base of a cliff. They end up committing suicide by slitting their wrists. Later Encolpio and friends run around inside their house and find an African slave girl who speaks in clicks and squawks. There's another big section with a huge ship on rough seas; they capture a giant creature that looks like an ancient depiction of a whale. There's a theater of the absurd, a gallery of freaks, a hysterically fake earthquake, a massively disgusting feast, and oh, it's all in dubbed Italian (at the time, the Italians dubbed over everything, even Italian) with the subtitles making some sense but not all that much since really you use your eyes to understand. Ah, why do I bother trying to explain? What does it add up to? What does it mean? What's it about? Go and see it -- that way you'll find out.

One of the Greatest Movies
Occasionally a movie comes along in which a simplistic, mono-dimensional meaning isn't laid out in such a way that even the laziest minds just couldn't miss it. I remember as a teenager seeing this movie for the first time, and being astounded that all that people seemed to see were shocking depictions of Roman decadence. I had sat through the movie amazed at its extraordinary cinematography, and overwhelmed by a moral story of epic proportions. Like most great art, the meaning of Satyricon is multi-layered, and reflects against itself enough to hold a richness of ambiguity that unfolds more for me each time I see it. I was also incredulous to read reviews accusing the movie of being formless. On the contrary, Fellini had created a beautifully structured work out Petronius' rather episodic tales.
Satyricon is a powerful portrayal of a young man's quest to rediscover the potency he has lost in a corrupt world (our world being no less corrupt than that of Fellini's Rome), both sexually and aesthetically. The events and characters in the movie resonate deeply with mythic archetypes, all playing a part in Encolpio's quest.
If you want a key for delving into the structural and metaphysical meaning of this movie, consider the two legacies of Eumolpus: the first he offers to Encolpius as they lie in the fallow fields after being evicted from Trimalchio's Feast, just as the dawning sun begins to lighten the sky. The second he leaves at the end of the movie to those who will consume his body. The first is the wealth of poetry, of the heavens, the earth, the air, of life itself. The second is worldly wealth and its corruptions. How beautiful is the moment when Encolpius joins the ecstatic, dancing, laughing servants of Eumolpus to sail away from the bizarre funeral feast to the true legacy of the great artist. So with us: what are we able to take from the legacy of Satyricon - does Fellini offer us merely a superficial indulgence in the perversity of Roman decadence .... or rather, are we able to comprehend his true gift, a profound vision of the potency of life itself? ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Lacks the mystery and excitement of the original
"The Return of Swamp Thing" isn't anything like the original movie was. Unlike the original, "The Return of Swamp Thing" isn't exciting and it doesn't have the sense of mystery that "Swamp Thing" had. Swamp Thing tries to keep Abby Arcane (Heather Locklear) safe from her father, Dr. Arcane (Louis Jourdan), who has a plan in mind to kill Abby.

Instead of including some action packed and exciting parts in "The Return of Swamp Thing," the movie instead follows two boys who try to be funny, but they're not funny at all.

Overall, I consider "The Return of Swamp Thing" one of the most disappointing sequels ever made. If you want a good Swamp Thing movie, I'd recommend getting "Swamp Thing" and skipping "The Return of Swamp Thing."

It's a great movie. Swamp Thing is the bomb!!
I think Swamp Thing is cool. He is my favorite movie monster, only in the film, he's not evil. I wish there where more movies on him.

Fairly decent.
Dr.Arcane is back,this time his stepdaughter comes to pay him a visit and hes got plans for her.Of course Swamp Things not going to let him harm her.They fall in love,that's about it.

Okay, some people are missing the point (yet again)
I've read alot of negative reviews for this one, and none of the people writing these reviews really seem to grasp the concept of a Jim Wynorski film. Jim Wynorski makes b-movies, ONLY b-movies, and he makes them well. If you're unfamiliar with what a b-movie is, you should'n't be writing a review for this particular film, but I'll give you some background. Remember those old fifties drive-in films, you know, the kind they play on Mystery Science Theater 3000? Stereo-typical characters, guys in rubber suits playing cheesy monsters, and that special 80's touch up, huge breasts every couple of minutes...these are all elements of the b-movie. You're SUPPOSED to make fun of it. You're SUPPOSED to actually enjoy yourself watching a movie for once.
Return of Swamp Thing is an excellent b-movie, and one of Jim Wynorski's best. It's alot different from the original, but alot better, in my opinion. No disrespect to Wes Craven, but Swamp Thing isn't one of his better films. Not as bad as Scream 2, but it's not quite up to par with his usual films.
If you DID enjoy Return of Swamp Thing, I recommend "Not of This Earth" (1986), "Sorority House Massacre II: Nightie Nightmare", and "Hard To Die".

Cult Classic
One of the classiest cult movies you will ever encounter, one of the best comic adaptations ever made, a million times better than the first one proving the Empire Strikes Back theory that it is possible to make a superior follow up. If you are a cult comic/movie fan do yourself a favour and invest the 20 bucks or whatever it is to own this masterpiece. ... Read more

Amazon.com

A dashing scientist's foolhardy experiment with matter transferenceleads his wife to seriously consider investing in No-pest strips in this deservedly c