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 (99)

Great for its time!
If you have ever listened to the original Orson Welles' infamous radio show of the same name, you will have to watch this movie. The story begins as a meteor crashes to the earth and puzzles the residents of a California town.

The incident isn't given much thought, until one night, everything in town turns off. No electricity, no phones, watches stop. Gene Barry, the resident scientist from Pacific Tech, is trying to find out what's going on, as masters' student Ann Robinson tries to help.....predictably, they fall in love while chaos ensues all over the planet.

The aliens are not friendly. Their technology outdoes anything on earth. Not even atomic energy seems to stop them. So, what does? You'll have to watch this and see. The movie is somewhere between a really great B movie and an actual heavy duty motion picture event. The story is entertaining, and the writing is not as corny and stilted as a lot of sci fi movies made in the 50's. And whoa, those special effects! Not bad for an old classic!

Excellent Adaptation of the H.G. Wells Novel
This movie is one of the standard bearers for early science fiction. The film is well-scripted and acted, and the special effects are quite good considering the age of the film.

Gene Barry plays the central character of the movie, Dr. Clayton Forrester, a scientist from Cal Tech. He and two buddies are fishing nearby when the initial Martian invasion ship lands (crashes) nearby. By the way, that must have been a heckuva landing the Martians had to endure when their 'meteors' touched down.

The movie details humanity's efforts to halt the apparently unstoppable murderous Martian invasion force. No pretenses about peaceful coexistence or some sort of misunderstanding here, folks. The Martians want our planet and are willing to kill every man, woman, and child on it to get it. As such, the military is portrayed in a pretty good light in this film (unlike many others). After all, when the alien's first club out of the bag is lethal force, then you pretty much have to go with the flow.

In the end, with atomic weapons having failed to stop the invaders, mankind appears doomed. Saving the day, however, is the most unlikely of allies (and, no, I ain't talking Russia).

Overall, a well-paced sci-fi/thriller with a basic premise that never fails to entertain when it is well done--as it is here.

When worlds collide
I am by no means a fan of science fiction movies but of the few that I do enjoy, "The War of the Worlds" is my favorite sci-fi flick. Devlin Emmerich's 'Independence Day" has nothing on this film despite having the state of the art special effects. "The War of the Worlds" was based on a radio program that legendary actor Orson Welles read one Halloween night and caused a lot of people to freak out because they thought what they were hearing were true. Dr. Clayton Forrester played by the handsome Gene Barry comes across a small town in California. He was called by the townsfolk to investigate the meteor that crash landed in their town. What Forrester soons discovers is that the meteor that crashed was no meteor. Chaos ensues when the aliens reveal themselves and their deadly intentions. For its time, "The War of the Worlds" had quite the special effects. It may not be as dazzling as that modern rip-off "Independence Day" and even the '80s tv series of the same namesake but it certainly had heart and was more entertaining. I remember first seeing the film in high school and enjoying every second of it, and ten years later I still enjoy watching "The War of the Worlds". Too bad Devlin Emmerich didn't have a backbone and had to ape the concept of this film for his atrocious "Independence Day". That just lacked originality. Nothing beats the original concept of aliens invading earth than "The War of the Worlds" in my book.

War of the Worlds: ground breaking sci-fi
H.G. Wells, is one of the first the introduce readers with the idea of aliens from mars taking over the earth, and triggered many writers later to write books involving martians. In the masterpiece, Wells introduces many ideas and masterfully blends them into his story.
England is in trouble as cylinders of metal carrying martians constantly crash on the earth every 24 hours. Each cylinder carries a walking tripod, that has a heat beam attached, a beam that melts and burns anything it hits. As more aliens come, they bring gasses that can kill a human just when they inhale it.
All seems lost for the main character as he tries to dodge martians, and return to leatherhead, where his wife has taken refuge. He is forced to hide from the martians byhimself, for almost everyone is dead.
Hope of survival is almost noting for humans, when they find out the martians have developed flying machines, to promote their world wide destruction, but something happens to the martians......
This is a great book and I am very pleased that I took the time the read it, even though some parts were very slow.

An Early Color Sci-Fi Classic
"The format is standard instead of widescreen...," says an Amazon reviewer of War Of The Worlds, one "lotus_scrum" of Phoenix, AZ. She also later adds, "Not the WORST looking dvd but the full screen format hurts it badly for me. If it gets a new release with widescreen, remastered sound and picture I'll give it a 5." None of which makes much sense, since the DVD has fine sound, and was NEVER shot in widescreen, since widescreen didn't exist back then!

And as President of the Widescreen Watchers Association, I should know. Here is the release date of the first movie shot in widescreen, which happened to star Marilyn Monroe: How To Marry A Millionaire - November 5, 1953.

And here is the release date of the standard movie in question starring Gene Barry: War Of The Worlds - August 26, 1953.

As you can see, War Of The Worlds could hardly have been presented in late August - almost 3 months before the process was first tried in early November! In addition, although many films started being shot in widescreen in 1954, several studios were slow on the uptake and did not make their films mainly in widescreen until late 1955 or early 1956. From Here To Eternity (1955), shot in standard screen, is a prime example of that.

What all of the above means in regard to this particular film is that nothing was cut off of the picture, so to paraphrase Flip Wilson, "what you get is all there was to see."

It's a beautiful film (although perhaps corny by today's computerized Matrix standards) and the use of color is rich and vibrant. Once you've seen it you'll never forget it. It's Pal and Haskin at their best.

I also recommend other such color sci-fi classics as Forbidden Planet, When Worlds Collide, and The Time Machine. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The definitive screen adaptation of Henry James's The Turn of the Screw, the 1961 production of The Innocents remains one of the most effective ghost stories ever filmed. Originally promoted as the first truly "adult" chiller of the big screen (a marginally valid claim considering the release of Psycho a year earlier), the film arrived at a time when the thematic depth of James's story could finally be addressed without the compromise of reductive discretion. And while the Freudian anxiety that fuels the story may seem tame by today's standards, the psychological horrors that comprise the story's "dark secret" are given full expression in a film that brilliantly clouds the boundary between tragic reality and frightful imagination.

In one of her finest performances, Deborah Kerr stars as Miss Giddons, a devout and somewhat repressed spinster who happily accepts the position of governess for two orphaned children whose uncle (Michael Redgrave) readily admits to having no interest in being tied down by two "brats." So Miss Giddons is dispatched to Bly House, the lavish, shadowy estate where young Flora (Pamela Franklin) and her brother Miles (Martin Stephens, so memorable in 1960's Village of the Damned) live with a good-natured housekeeper (Megs Jenkins). At first, life at Bly House seems splendidly idyllic, but as Miss Giddons learns the horrible truth about the estate's now-deceased groundskeeper and previous governess, she begins to suspect that her young charges are ensnared in a devious plot from beyond the grave.

Ghostly images are revealed in only the most fleeting glimpses, and the outstanding Cinemascope photography by Freddie Francis (who used special filters to subtly darken the edges of the screen) turns Bly House into a welcoming mansion by day, a maze of mystery and terror by night. Sound effects and music are used to bone-chilling effect, and director Jack Clayton, blessed with a script by William Archibald and Truman Capote, maintains a deliberate pace to emphasize the ambiguity of James's timeless novella. The result is a masterful film--comparable to the 1963 classic The Haunting--that uses subtlety and suggestion to reach the pinnacle of fear. --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (66)

The greatest ghost story ever filmed
Jack Clayton's superb film version of Henry James's novella THE TURN OF THE SCREW is unquestionably the most faithful rendition of James ever brought to the screen: the film retains not only all the famous ambiguity of the novella but also all the beauty as well as all the suspense and horror. Deborah Kerr gives the performance of her life (with the exception only, perhaps, of Sister Clodagh in BLACK NARCISSUS) as the beautiful and hysterical governess brought to a gigantic mansion to care for two odd children, who may or may not be communing with the ghosts of Kerr's predecessor and the manor's manservant. The uncertainty as to whether the ghosts are real--or products of the governess's repressed fears and insecurities--is the famous crux of the James novella, and beautifully translated into the film. There are teasing moments of narrative uncertainty, such as the classic sequence in the schoolroom, that capture all the mystery of the original source, and the great sequence with Kerr trying to restrain a hysterical Flora from joining what looks to be the ghost of Miss Jessel out by the manor's lake in the pouring rain is authentically creepy.

Another classic chiller
This black & white movie starring Deborah Kerr is truly chilling. Without the use of blood, guts or special effects the film has a creepy quality that makes you watch every dark corner for an unexpected scare. Shadows and haunts weave in & out of the lives of two children (brother & sister) left to the care of hired help. When Miss Giddens (Kerr) comes as governess to care for the children she soon discovers she has competition for the attention and affection of the two youngsters. As she confronts dark forces she attempts to unravel the sinister influence from their innocent hearts and minds. Her only hope is to save them before they are lost forever.

Scream if you want to see this on DVD ASAP!
Coming from a generation that considers the Scream movies to be pretty scary, I honestly think that this film should be essential viewing for all slasher movie fans. The high school horror crap so readily churned out appals me when I watch a film like The Innocents, and I'm reminded what a good scary movie is really like.

Although I'm not 100% sure about Deborah Kerr's performance in The Innocents, it certainly didn't tarnish my respect for this film. Miles and Flora are played by two outstanding children, who truly are stars. Miles' character was just the most eerie thing I've witnessed in a movie for a long time - he indeed had the air of an innocent, but there was definitely an adult, almost sexual side to the boy. Very creepy.

The lighting effects, multitude of mirrors and spooky Miss. Jessel filled me with fear from the moment I started watching this - and I was hooked until the closing credits. My favourite part of The Innocents was the governess's bizarre dream sequence - spinechilling stuff.

I'll be sure to recommend this film to all my friends in the hope that it'll get the recognition it deserves. More of this style of psychological horror please Hollywood - if I'm subjected to another bad teen horror movie I will not be responsible for my actions.

The devinitive version of "The Turn of the Screw"
Without doubt, this is the definitive version of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw." The acting of Deborah Kerr as the governess is superb, as are the performances of the actors playing the two posessed children. Filmed in atmospheric black-and-white, this is one film that deserves the full DVD treatment. My only reservation is with the title. While appropriate, it should have retained the title as given by Mr. James. Five stars!

STILL SCARES AFTER MORE THAN FORTY YEARS!!!
The Innocents, featuring an excellent performance by Deborah Kerr, is a perfect example of why less can be so much more when watching a psychological thriller. Even after forty years this masterpiece still delivers the thrills and scares. The Innocents not only makes the viewer think, but it provides many jolts which will keep any seasoned horror/suspense buff on his or her toes. This film is definitely worth seeking out, although, unfortunately, it has yet to appear on DVD. ... Read more

Reviews (79)

Wolfmans Got Nards & I Can't Wait For The DVD To Be Released
This is a great scary movie for kids and adults alike...
This little-known GEM of a film & one of my favorites with mostly a cast of unknowns. Stephen Macht (Graveyard Shift& many other stephen King films) & Jason Hervey (older brother, Wayne on Wonder Years) are familiar faces. A great kids frightfest that has the Creature From The Black Lagoon, Mummy, Wolfman, Frankenstein & a really hot & sexy Dracula with his female coven!

A passel of oddball kids fight the dark forces of evil in their small neighborhood with the help of Frankenstein & Scary German Guy (an old Germanic man that is a neighbor). Great plot, cool special effects, some excellent one liners & some wonderful child acting all make for a terrifc family frightfest! Check out the teacher in the beginning of the movie. The kids call her "Meow Mix" because her head is shaped like a cat's head! Great oddball writing in this movie makes it scary & funny!

Wonderful story! I just can't wait for this to come out on DVD!

The movie i have loved since i was a kid!
Monster Squad has so many good things about it its hard to find things wrong with it. It brings many life lessons with it. Here are the ten lessons i learned:
1.German people are scary, especially the "scary german guy".
2.Wolfman has "nards".
3.The kid who smokes and wears a leather jacket is the coolest guy in the town.
4.Don't mess with the fat kid.
5.The Creature from the Black Lagoon is no match for a twelve gauge.
6.Make a clubhouse next to a house where a hot chick lives so you can spy on her when she undresses.
7.The mummy in your closet isn't real and even if he is your dad will never see him any ways.
8.The army is always late.
9.Free movies await the person who lives close enough to a drive in.
10.monster squad is a classic.
Well I think I've said enough, so buy it already and have fun laughin at crude 80's sayings and ridiculus fat jokes.

Monsteriffic!!!
Classic Monsters, Gang of Middle Schoolers fighting Evil, Great SPFX, One of my most favorite movies ever. Reminds me somewhat of the Goonies, (1 fat kid , 1 obsessive cumplusive kid, 1 young adult, and the rest is history)

wolfman gots nards!!!
this is the best movie ever. its funny the movie is older then me but its my favorite movie.

but its abut these group of kids who have to stop dracula from taking ova the world.

but it has all the monster classics. so if you like drac and the other creaures of the night, watch it!

Mummy Came In My House.
This is one of the best 80's movies ever. cleverly developed. The dialog in this film is also fantastic. "wolfmans got nards."
A must have movie. You'll love evey rsecond of it. ... Read more

Description

While visiting London, Sue and her brother, Eddie, are out sightseeing on their own while their parents attend a business conference. At first bored, they are delighted when the bus stops at the infamous Terror Tower.But the fun turns to fright when the kids see the wax statues in the Tower's torture chamber moving as is they are real...and ghostly images start calling out warnings to them.Suddenly, Sue and Eddie are running for their lives as they travel back in time to the Middle Ages to escape the dark fate awaiting them in Terror Tower.

... Read more

Reviews (11)

Possibly, The Best Goosebumps Video
Actually, I give this Goosebumps video 4 1/2 stars. I have seen all of the Goosebumps videos, and this may very well actually be the best one. The only one I really didn't like was "Stay Out of the Basement." I did like "The Werewolf of Fever Swamp." I really liked "Welcome To Deadhouse," "The Haunted Mask," and "The Haunted Mask Part 2." But if I had to choose the best, I would have to say this is the one. Like good horror, the movie STARTS normal and harmless. Gradually, some spooky things start to happen. One fine thing about this video is that a harmless practical joke ("We tour guides have to have some fun") foreshadows the horror to come. It's hard for me to talk about this without ruining the surprise, but I will do my best. Things go along normal for some time, but then spooky things start to happen. The setting of the tower provides a wonderful background for an alternation of fear between real threats to Eddie and Sue and trivial objects that just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Without ruining this video for you, I will say that it will keep you guessing. The greatest thing about this video is that while their are some really implausible events, (such as a journey far away Eddie and Sue will take), the implausible events eventually lead the way to a tragic event that ACTUALLY DID HAPPEN in 1483. Once this is established, we stop worrying about the implausible aspects of this story, and we are able to concentrate on the horror that DID ACTUALLY HAPPEN in history. I don't want to ruin the final scene, but I will say we are given a great combination of relief and sudden fear. The scenery is wonderful and the movie will keep you in suspense. Another thing I must compliment is the smooth transition between scenes and locations, and scenes where we think one thing, and then start to realize another. If you like the Goosebumps, you absolutely MUST have this video tape.

I loved it!
"A Night in Terror Tower" was my favorite Goosebumps book by R.L. Stine. The movie leaves out a lot of the detail in the book (as do all movies adapted from books). However, it is pretty neat to see after you read the book.

Very Good Episode
NOT SCARY- fun to watch!!!!

Have a new appreciation for Canadian Actors!!!!

you wouldnt wanna but this book down tell u read it all.....
this is one of the best books i have ever read when you read one page you wanna keep going and going it like so good..if you havent read it then you are messing out on something and whn you get one reading this you really gonna wanna read it so let me gte started and tell you about it its about to kids that are in england and they are on a tower in a tower that was aa terrior tower and they have like waxed fringers and the starts to see them move.so he tells his siter and she done believe him ,but then she see it move to and then she gets really freaked out also so they run and catch up with the tour group and thisi guy graps them and does like this rock thing and they go back in the time.and they find out there a prine and princess and ther parents are the king aand queen and the are in the terrior tower with this man that tells what they are and they are about to get tortured and you have to read the book to see if they get free are not..>>>by kim<<<<

All Locked Up And No Place To Go!
Sue and her brother Eddie are visiting London when they run into a little problem. The can't find their tour group. Still there's no reason to panic. No way their tour guide would just leave them. All alone. In a gloomy old prison tower. No way they'd get locked inside. After dark. With those eerie sounds. And a strange dark figure who wants them...DEAD!!! ... Read more

Reviews (200)

One of the best classic horror films of all time.
My opinion of this movie, The Birds, is that it is a masterpiece of it's own time. This was a great piece of classic horror; Alfred Hitchcock did a fantastic job. The special effects were very believeable, especially for coming from the early sixties. I still haven't figured out how they got all of those birds to attack, or if half of them were fake. Also, Hitchcock did a great job of showing blood and gore when it was qppropriate, like when Jessica Tandy as Lydia Brenner finds Lonny Chapman as Deke Carter with his eyes pecked out. The movie did, however, lack music so this made it kind of drag along. Music would have paced the movie, and also added suspense and other effects. Tippi Hedren as Melanie Daniels was a bad actress. She showed no real emotion and always seemed to be worried about her appearance instead of her acting. I really noticed this in the bedroom scene, when she was being attacked, and she didn't even scream. Rod Taylor, who played the role of Mitch Brenner, was a great actor. He seemed real and Believable. He showed emotion in every scene, and his overall performance was pleasant. Jessica Tandy is great in all the films she is in, and this one was no exception. As Lydia Brenner, she did a great job of acting rude and mean to Melanie Daniels through out the whole movie. I was, however, very annoyed with the young actress that played Cathy Brenner. She was a horrible actress with over-elaborate emotional breakouts, and when she cried after she was attacked, it was so annoying, I thought my ears were bleeding. The ending to the film was very bland. There should have been more closure to the whole situation instead of just making you wonder what happened to them. The Birds is nothing like modern day horror films. It takes a more believeable line to horror than most modern day films. Modern horror consists mostly of the supernatural or total carnage. Although I would still put The Birds into a category with any modern day horror flicks, I still believe that it is definitely classic horror.

A nightmare comes to life - thanks to Hitchcock!
Although Alfred Hitchcock is widely regarded as the greatest director of suspense and "thriller" movies in Hollywood's long history, in his direction of "The Birds" (1963), he outdoes himself. Even more than "Psycho", which started the modern "slice-and-dice" genre of horror movies, "The Birds" is a truly disturbing and surreal experience - a nightmare which comes to life on film. In my opinion "The Birds" is unlike any other Hitchcock film - it actually comes closer to movies such as "The Sixth Sense" or even "The Matrix" in the way it takes the "real world" we are all familiar and comfortable with and turns it into something that will cause you to lose sleep at night. The film's plot is deceptively simple: Melanie Daniels (Tippi Hedren), a rich and rather spoiled young woman, meets Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), a handsome and rather mysterious man, in a pet store in San Francisco. She is intrigued enough to follow him to his home in Bodega Bay, a charming but isolated small fishing town on the northern California coast. There she meets the local schoolteacher, Annie Hayworth (Suzanne Pleshette), who once had a brief affair with Mitch. Annie takes an immediate dislike to Melanie and her interest in Annie's old boyfriend. Eventually Melanie meets Mitch's mother (Jessica Tandy), a high-strung and suspicious woman who leans upon her son for emotional support and stability. However, this soap-opera style plotline is simply the background for the REAL story in the movie: as the film progresses the birds in Bodega Bay and the surrounding countryside begin to act strangely - they suddenly attack humans for no apparent reason, and start gathering in large and ominous groups on power lines and rooftops. Eventually the birds become murderous - they kill a local farmer by crashing through his bedroom window and hacking out his eyes. Then they attack the schoolchildren and the townspeople in yet another of Hitchcock's famous film sequences. As the frightened and baffled townsfolk are hemmed into their homes and stores like "birds in a cage", they blame Melanie for bringing this terror into their once-peaceful little town. The film's famous climax occurs at the home of Mitch and his mother, as a massive flock of birds attacks the home at night and tries to get inside to kill our heroes. To make this film even more disturbing and bizzare, Hitchcock decided not to have a musical score, and there is no music whatsoever - only the terrifying screeching of the birds as they attack. What makes this film work is how Hitchcock deftly takes "everyday", normal things - such as sitting on a park bench and smoking a cigarette, and turns it into something bizarre, surreal, and truly frightening. Although some critics have refused to label this film as one of Hitchcock's best, it does rank as one of the scariest thrillers of all time. Beware of "The Birds"! (But you'll love the movie).

Beware THE BIRDS!!!
The Birds is one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films. Perhaps that has a lot to do with the beautiful Tippi Hedren, who shines in everything she does. The gorgeous scenery, adorable costumes, and lavish colors also add to the surreal atmosphere, which quickly gets disrupted by a flock of killer birds. Like many firsts Hitchcock introduced with his films, this is the first "nature run amock" film, just like Psycho was the first "slasher" film. This Psycho follow-up was yet another ground-breaking addition to the horror genre and further revealed the master director's darker obsessions.

Like Hitchcock's fabulous Rebecca and mediocre Jamaica Inn, this is based on a story by the extremely talented Daphne Du Maurier, but Hitchcock was left with the task of fleshing out the short story into a feature film. He did one hell of a job. Hitchcock and screenwriter Evan Hunter borrowed only the title and basic conceit of Daphne du Maurier's 1952 short story, "The Birds." Du Maurier's tale, conventional and utterly humorless, is a Cold War parable that uses the unexplained bird attacks as an apocalyptic metaphor for nature thrown out of balance by technology and warfare. It's told from the perspective of Nat Hocken, a disabled war veteran and farmhand living in a cottage with his family in the British Isles.

The film version is set in Bodega Bay and follows bored, spoiled socialite Melanie Daniels (Hedren) as she romantically pursues dashing lawyer Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor). Tension soon develops among Melanie, schoolteacher Annie Hayworth, Mitch's former flame (Suzanne Pleshette), and Mitch's domineering mother (Jessica Tandy). The emotional interplay is interrupted (and reflected) by the sudden and unexplained attack of thousands of birds on the area.

Hailed as one of Hitchcock's masterpieces by some and despised by others, THE BIRDS is certainly among the director's more complex and fascinating works. Volumes have been written about the film, with each writer picking it apart scene by scene in order to prove his or her particular critical theory--mostly of the psychoanalytic variety. Be that as it may, even those who grow impatient with the slow build-up or occasional dramatic lapses cannot deny the terrifying power of many of the film's haunting images: the bird point-of-view shot of Bodega Bay, the birds slowly gathering on the playground monkey bars, the attack on the children's birthday party, Melanie trapped in the attic, and the final ambiguous shot of the defeated humans leaving Bodega Bay while the thousands of triumphant birds gathered on the ground watch them go.

Eerie, scary, and suspenseful, this is a great film and classic Hitchcock, which highlights his genius. There is no sound track to cue the audience in as to when to be scared. And what other filmmaker could take the simple sound of wings fluttering in a house and turn it into the sheer sound of terror?

Hitchcook can make anything scary.
Hitchcook can make anything scary, and this movie is profff, I don't no how fake birds can be scary but they are, in this film anyway.

It all starts with an opener that's more like 2 people trying to play a joke on eatchother, and ends with a tailhanger ending, paked with scares and creeps this is a must see.

Tense thriller is a winner
This eerie Hitchcock thriller doesn't have a shower scene but is has its fair share of suspense, dread and anticipation as to when the birds will attack. Filmed in color and without the accompaniment of music, the movie builds steadily towards tense and dangerous moments when hundreds of blackbirds swoop down on the human populace and scratch, peck and claw them to shreds without rhyme or reason. Even a lone seagull gets in its licks on Melanie Daniels who has followed Mitch Brenner to Bodega Bay to close in on the handsome fellow. The film has several attacks in which adults and school children are ravaged, and the air assaults are frightening to watch. The dangerous birds' unexplained sheer destructive force is displayed in the attack in a bedroom where the unfortunate Ms. Daniels is trapped, and their determination to destroy every human in their path is awful to behold. The movie's special effects are first-rate, and the gloomy, overcast skies of the Northern California coast add to the depressed mood of the film. The characters all seemed detached and distant from each other and although Ms. Daniels tries very hard to connect with Mr. Brenner, the romance angle is never developed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This 1943 version of thehorror story is more Technicolor musical than scare piece. Claude Rains plays the unfortunate, masked anti-hero, but he doesn't get the room to showcase a promising and sympathetic performance. Susanna Foster and Nelson Eddy, on the other hand, get plenty of screen time to warble. Well worth a visit just for the look of the film, which won an Oscar for cinematography.--Tom Keogh ... Read more

Reviews (44)

A cute but not particularly deep little flick
I wanted to see this because it had Claude Rains mostly, but also because I wanted to see Nelson Eddy as a person after hearing him in the Disney short "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met". Besides, I've been a fan of the book by Gaston LeRoux and the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber for some time, have seen the silent movie version of this story, and wanted to chalk up another credit to my Phantom experience.

Overall, this wasn't a bad little movie - I felt that the fact that it was in colour rather detracted from the sombre, ominous mood this kind of tale needs - it should really be sort of Victorian film-noir, shot in black and white. But then, I felt that they really changed the story so much in this film version that it can only be looked on as a story independent of the book which was its inspiration, and so for that reason the colour is okay. I also felt that Claude Rains' character seemed as though it was going to be a main character at the beginning of the film, but then he seemed to disappear from the film for much of the rest of it. Also, the progression of his adoration complex for Christine was sadly overlooked throughout the film, and we are to understand his descent into bitterness toward mankind from the few scattered minutes of screen time that he has?

Although the rival banter between Raoul and Anatole was very amusing, it seems a little out of place in a story of such tragic dimensions, and draws one's focus completely away from the relationship between Christine and the Phantom of the film's title, which really is the core of the entire book and should be the same or similar in the movie. As another example of distraction - I like hearing Nelson Eddy sing, but at least two of the operatic numbers could have been shortened to make room for some more character development and depth in Erik and Christine's relationship.

I felt that the silent version of the film not only followed the plot of the book more accurately, but that the emotions and experiences of the characters were ones easier to "jump into", even despite the common (for a silent) over-acting of its players - but at the same time, this 1943 version was easier to watch. It's not as long or nervewracking. Still, I would recommend you to do it all - read the book, watch both films, and listen to the original London cast recording of the musical if you can't go and see it. Each one of these things will enhance your appreciation and enjoyment of the story in some way or another.

A Beautiful Film
I saw the 1943 version of "The Phantom of the Opera" before I read the book and (last) saw the 1925 version. I have to admit that it was not like the book at all, but the Lon Chaney version was a little. Claude Rains was very convincing as the tormented and lovesick Phantom, and was always more interesting than Lon Chaney. But Claude Rains was not given very much screen time, except near the beginning and end of the film. The sets were fabulous. Nelson Eddy and Edgar Barrier were almost constantly trying to win over Christine, and even though these scenes were funny, I've noticed that they can very easily become distractions that seem designed only to de-emphasize Claude Rains, which only hurts the film. Susanna Foster and Nelson Eddy sang a lot, and while these numbers were very nice and a joy to listen to, they were the only time Nelson Eddy really got a chance to shine, which is unfortunate. However, Susanna Foster fared well throughout the entire film. I would not recommend this film to anyone who doesn't like opera, or to anyone who wants to see a lot of the Phantom.

Horror fans will be disappointed
This film is more about the opera and the courting of an opera singer by two suitors than a deranged murderer running amok in the hidden chambers of the Paris Opera House. A great deal of screen time is devoted to the pursuit of the lovely Mademoiselle Dubois by a baritone and a Paris detective as both men are comically inept in trying to win the woman's favors. Claude Rains' phantom is a poignant figure, his madness notwithstanding, and he also has designs on the opera star and spirits her away to the catacombs under the building to possess her forever and have her sing the concerto he composed especially for her. The lush color and sets give the production a professional and polished look but the movie lacks suspense and thrills and is strictly for aficionados of the opera.

Pretty Good
Not my favorite interpretation of Phantom, but still good. Susanna Foster kind of bugs me, but that's okay. And they really changed the story. It's not at all like the origional novel, but it's about Phantom, and that's a good enough excuse for me! Anyways, it was pretty nice. The Raoul character was most realistic. I just don't like Susanna. :)

The Phantom Goes Musical
Gaston Leroux's penny-dreadful novel was hardly the stuff of great literature, but it did manage to tap into the public consciousness with its gas-light-gothic tale of a beautiful singer menaced by a horrific yet seductive serial killer lurking in the forgotten basement labyrinths of the Paris Opera. Lon Chaney's silent classic kept the basic elements of the novel intact'-and proved one of the great box office hits of its day, a fact that prompted Universal Studios to contemplate a remake throughout most of the 1930s. Although several proposals were considered (including one intended to feature Deanna Durbin, who despised the idea and derailed the project with a flat refusal), it wasn't until 1943 that a remake reached the screen. And when it did, it was an eye-popping Technicolor extravaganza, all talking, all singing, and dancing. The Phantom had gone musical.

In many respects this version of PHANTOM anticipates the popular Andrew Lloyd Webber stage musical, for whereas the Chaney version presented the Phantom as a truly sinister entity, this adaptation presents the character as one more sinned against than sinning'an idea that would color almost every later adaptation, and Webber's most particularly so. But it also shifts the focus of the story away from the title character, who is here really more of a supporting character than anything else. The focus is on Paris Opera star Christine Dae, here played by Susanna Foster. In this version Christine is not only adored by the Phantom; she is also romantically pursued by two suitors who put aside their differences to protect her.

Directed by Universal workhorse Arthur Lubin, this version is truly eye-popping in the way that only a 1940s Technicolor spectacular could be: the color is intensely brilliant, and Lubin makes the most of it by focusing most of his camera-time on the stage of the Paris Opera itself and splashing one operatic performance after another throughout the film. But in terms of actual story interest, the film is only so-so. Susanna Foster had a great singing voice, but she did not have a memorable screen presence, and while the supporting cast (which includes Nelson Eddy, Edgar Barrier, Leo Carrillo, and Jane Farrar) is solid enough they lack excitement. And the pace of the film often seems a bit slow, sometimes to the point of clunkiness.

The saving grace of the film'-in addition to the aforementioned photography, which won an Oscar-'is Claude Rains. A great artist, Rains did not make the mistake of copying Chaney, and although the script robs the Phantom of his most fearsome aspects, Rains fills the role with subtle menace that is wonderful to behold, completely transcending the film's slow pace, the lackluster script, and "sanitized for your protection" tone so typical of Universal Studios in the 1940s.

Like most "Universal Horror" DVD packages, this one is superior. The centerpiece of the bonus material is a very nice documentary, "The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked," which details the origins of the novel and the numerous film adaptations of it'and which is actually quite a bit more interesting than the 1943 film itself. There is also a nice, if somewhat perfunctory, audio commentary track by historian Scott McQueen, trailers, stills, and the like. But when everything is said and done, it's the film that counts'and unless you're a diehard Phantom fan you're likely to be unimpressed. ... Read more

Amazon.com

One of the spookiest ghost stories ever put to film, The Uninvited is also one of the few classic haunted-house movies to treat the subject with respect and seriousness. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey play a brother and sister who leave the city to live in a beautiful old house dramatically perched on a cliff overlooking the Cornish coast. As they discover some of the house's peculiarities--the unexplained chill that settles in certain rooms, the aroma of mimosas that wafts through the house, flowers that wilt when brought inside--they are told by local girl Gail Russell that the house is haunted, by the spirit of Russell's mother no less. The rationalist city folk first scoff at the idea but as Milland slowly falls in love with the frightened girl he investigates the legends and discovers some startling hidden truths. Donald Crisp costars asRussell's humorless, hard-bitten grandfather who forbids her visits to the house. Handsomely shot against the beautiful Cornish countryside, director Lewis Allen wisely suggests more than he shows and the uneasy tone and quietly restrained direction looks forward to such films as The Haunting and The Legend of Hell House. Though Allen ultimately reveals a suitably spine-tingling apparition, some of the film's best moments are chilling in their simplicity: nocturnal moans, slamming doors, and the dog's whimpering fear of the upstairs. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (65)

One Of The Best
THE UNINVITED is a truly top-notch haunted house film. The story has lots of spooky moments and the ghostly manifestations are presented with subtlety, leaving much to the imagination of the viewer. Lighting is used effectively to heighten the mood, and, having been filmed in 1943, there is no special effect overkill to make it seem hokey.

Besides the haunting aspects of this film, it is an excellent movie in most other respects, as well. The acting is first-rate, the music is lovely, and the scenery is as beautiful as it is appropriate to the mood. The tension builds steadily as the romance between Londoner Roderick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and local girl Stella Meredith (Gail Russel) progresses. Ruth Hussey does a fine job in the role of Fitzgerald's increasingly edgy sister, and Donald Crisp is excellent as Stella's over-protective grandfather.

THE UNINVITED is an excellent movie and one of the best ghost stories on film to date. In terms of pure hair-raising, spine-tingling chills, the original 1963 version of THE HAUNTING is tops, in my opinion. THE UNINVITED isn't far behind, though, and in terms of overall production values, it doesn't get any better than this. A great addition to any video collection.

Something Menacing
Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey star as a brother and sister, who while on vacation in the Cornish countryside, fall in love with a house for sale and decide to buy it. The home is surprisingly cheap, and they quickly discover why. Doors open and close, the upstairs studio is cold and damp and somehow menacing, the animals won't go upstairs, and worst of all, just before dawn the moans of a crying woman echo through the house. Somehow connected to all this and in terrible danger is Gail Russell, the daughter of the man who sold the house. Her parents lived in the home, and her mother died there. It becomes very clear that she is in danger every time she visits the house unless Milland and Hussey can find an answer as to why they have "uninvited" guests. If this excellent ghost story had been made today, the emphasis would be on computer generated special effects to deliver the chills. But that's not what makes this such an effective film. The dark, candle lit cinematography, the restrained performances and direction, and the measured approach to presenting the chills is what makes it work. The story and mystery are involving, presented in a way that makes the viewer believe it could actually happen. Milland and Hussey are very good, and Gail Russell delivers a sympathetic performance as Stella. The only criticism of the story is the character and performance of Cornelia Otis Skinner as a woman who knows the truth of what happened with Russell's mother. She is over the top in a film where everyone else is restrained, and the parts of the story that shift the focus from the house to the insane asylum that Skinner runs interrupt the flow of the film. But other than that, this is a perfectly crafted film that delivers a terrific, suprisingly effective ghost story that make it tops in that genre. The film establishes a mood and credibility that make it a real winner.

It will send chills down your spine
I don't normally like ghost stories as movies because all too often they turn out to be silly, obviously fake, or overly gory. The Uninvited, however, was a pleasant surprise. It has a lot of elegance and class, and instead of trying to scare you outright as other films do, it succeeds in establishing a chilling, uncanny atmosphere with great economy of means. Special effects are kept to a minimum, and this, along with strong performances from the cast, keeps things subtle enough to be believable.

Great! Where is the DVD
This fine movie, scarry, spooky, wonderful...where is the DVD???!!!!

Stellar by starlight
Top-notch movie. A spectacular blend of spooky atmosphere, spirited characters, and hauntingly beautiful music.

This is one of my all-time favorite movies. The plot plays absolutely fair with the clues, too. Those who pay attention can solve the mystery of the haunting.

Ray Milland gives a great performance as Rick Fitzgerald, a lighthearted composer whose sister talks him into buying a house by a seacliff that turns out to be haunted. (Personally, I'd kill for a home like that, ghost or not.) Ruth Hussey as his sister Pamela Fitzgerald has never looked better. She has beauty, class and humor. Gail Russell as Stella Meredith, who play's Milland's love interest and inspiration for his song, "Stella by Starlight," has a haunted beauty of her own.

This movie should be on every top 10 list. ... Read more

Description

Carly Beth is quiet and shy -- easily scared and overly trusting.She's never seen such a great Halloween mask -- really scary, really creepy, and really life-like.She has to have it -- to scare those boys who tease and humiliate her all the time!And when she does get it, the mask is every bit as weirdly spooky as she had hoped it would be. But wearing the mask seems to be causing strange things to happen to her and other people.Can the mask -- the symbol of her revenge -- be the cause of it all?What strange powers could a Halloween mask have?Unwilling to give up the mask, or to believe that it could be evil, she keeps on wearing it -- only to discover one day that she can't take the mask off.Carly Beth and the mask have become one.

... Read more

Reviews (13)

If looks could kill...
Based on the childrens book series "Goosebumps" by R.L. Stine, "The Haunted Mask" tells the story of a very "scarable" 11 year-old girl named Carly Beth (Kathryn Long) who is the victim of bullies like Chuck (Amos Crawley) and Steve (John White). This Halloween she wants to get her revenge on everyone. But how? While looking in the back of a party store, she finds a row of terrifying Halloween masks.

When she gets her hands on the most terrifying mask, she doesn't listen to the shopkeeper's (Colin Fox) warning about the mask being evil. When she tries the mask on for the third time on Halloween night, it makes her do horrible things to other people. It turns out that the mask is evil. Now she must find a way to stop the evil that is going on inside her and get the mask off that has become one with her.

"The Haunted Mask" is a very interesting video. The storyline is really fun and it's not scary at all. At times the acting is really cheesy but you have to understand that it's an episode of a childrens TV-series. Kathryn Long (of TV's "Forever Night") does an outstanding performance as Carly Beth making "The Haunted Mask" worth seeing. Overall, this video is sorta cheesy but still worth every penny spent. BUY IT OR RENT IT TODAY!

HAUNTED MASK
I LIKE IT MUCH BETTER THAN THE SECOND ONE!I ALSO WROTE A REVIEW ON THE SECOND ONE AND I GAVE IT FOUR STARS AND I GAVE THIS ONE FIVE!

Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask
Probably one of the best (or the best, actually) of the television series based on R.L. Stine's novels aiming to scare teenagers and pre-teens. This eerily effective and scary GOOSEBUMPS episode delivers enough thrills and chills to actually scare more serious horror fans who find movies like HALLOWEEN and THE EXORCIST scary. Just the thought of this normal Halloween mask (which first of all, is extremely scary looking to begin with) being stuck on your face as you slowly become the monster is just frightening. The script is nicely written so that it doesn't cross the line into extreme horror, but it does maintain excellent atmosphere.

It was pretty good!!!!!!!!!!!!
It was pretty scary!!.I liked it, Carly Beth was a GOOD character!!!!!!!!!.It starts out Carly Beth is a quiet,shy timid and very SCARABLE young lady!!!.Her half-friends half-enemies Chuck & Steve, constantly make fun of the poor girl and they are ALWAYS TERRIFYING her with worms,living pumpkins and dead octopuses!!!!!.I saw it when I was 6 years old,...so I don't remember much about it!!!.But it was GOOD and I have to give it a four!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The scariest movie since ''Bride of the Living Dummy''
This movie ''The Haunted Mask'' has a good plot. It all starts with Carly Beth putting on a mask. She doesn't know that the mask can't be taken off.
With help from Sabrina,her best friend,Carly Beth better get the evil mask off...before it becomes her face...forever!
I think it's scary. Every minute,something scary occurs.
R.L.Stine writes scary books. And,surprising.
This scary film teaches a lesson of love but in a scary way.
So,i think everybody should see this.
It's very scary,and surprising.
Nobody knew the mask was evil.
It was a surprise. A surprise in disguise.
That rhymes. So,see it to believe it.
My critic business rocks my foundation.
So,see The Haunted Mask now! ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

"Now you see it. You're amazed. You can't believe it. Your eyes open wider. It's horrible, but you can't look away. There's no chance for you. No escape. You're helpless, helpless. There's just one chance, if you can scream. Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, scream for your life!"

And scream Fay Wray does most famously in this monster classic, one of the greatest adventure films of all time, which even in an era of computer-generated wizardry remains a marvel of stop-motion animation. Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man." Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate.

King Kong's first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T. rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. King Kong was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the movies' most indelible and iconic images. And this is the definitive video version: remastered from a pristine archival print, with previously censored scenes of Kong flossing with natives restored. Also restored is the curious scene in which Kong peels poor Fay's clothing like a banana and tickles her fancy. --Donald Liebenson ... Read more

Reviews (97)

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST...
As a young child in the nineteen fifties, I used to watch this film whenever it appeared on TV on "Million Dollar Movie". I loved it then. I love it now. Time has not diminished the capacity of this film to mesmerize and hold the viewer in its thrall.

The story line is basic. Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong), a filmmaker and entrepreneur, leads an expedition to Skull Island where he discovers its deep, dark secret. It is a land where time has stood still, and prehistoric monsters still hold sway over the island and its inhabitants. There, the natives pay homage to the one whom they revere as "Kong", and who is, indeed, king of the island.

Denham, together with his beautiful, budding starlet, Ann Darrow (Fay Wray), as well as with the crew of the ship that brought him to Skull Island, investigates the strange ritual being performed on the island by its native population. Before she knows it, Ann finds herself captured by the natives. She is to become the bride of the mysterious "Kong".

When Ann discovers who the mysterious "Kong" is, she starts screaming and doesn't stop. The ship's first mate, Jack Driscoll (Bruce Cabot), who happens to be in love with Ann, manages to rescue her from the clutches of "Kong". Notwithstanding the fact that "Kong" has taken a shine to her, Ann is relieved to have been rescued by the man whom she loves.

Denham then arranges to capture the creature, whom he calls "King Kong" and takes him back to New York with them on the ship that brought them to Skull Island. There, King Kong makes his debut, one that movie lovers will long remember.

The special effects of this film were superlative for its time and still pass muster today. The relationship between the beauty and the beast still makes the viewer sit up and take notice. This is an attention grabbing film that is as exciting today, as when it was first released over seventy years ago. It is a truly timeless, cinema classic. Bravo!

A LANDMARK FILM AND ONE OF THE GREATEST EVER MADE
KING KONG in 1933 set the movie-going world afire with its fierce creativity and innovation, and is just as fascinating today on multiple levels. Steiner's score was revolutionary, and Willis O'Brien's copious realistic animation effects were absolutely inspired. A realistic and quite violent Depression-era adventure film which is often mistakenly lumped into the category of fantasy films, this movie has little in common with the cuter and largely benign films about mythical heroes and Greek gods. In the uncut version of this film, people get killed in a variety of unpleasant ways. The screams of the sailors eaten by a brontosaur and dumped by Kong into a deep ravine, natives stomped into the earth and a woman dropped upsidedown from a skyscraper, prove this was serious business in 1933.

Homages to this film are now regularly slipped into other movies, demonstrating that KONG is the seminal landmark. The movie has countless testimonials to its credit for having changed awestruck viewers' minds and lives, including that of O'Brien's prolific disciple Ray Harryhausen. KING KONG stands head and shoulders above everything that came before and after in the genre, and deserves to be seen as the historic original that it is thanks to a combination of talents (Cooper, O'Brien, Steiner et al) working at the top of their game.

What really happened to the 2nd Avenue el!
Interpretations--psychological, anthropological, social, evolutionary, racial--abound about 1933's KING KONG. "King Kong is about our inner animal of rage", "King Kong is a critique of man in modern urban times", "King Kong is about technology killing our true nature..." Ad infinitum, ad nauseum.

PUH-LEASE! KING KONG is simply a great story, perfectly directed, with the best animation techniques for its time. While the acting (by humans) is admittedly the weakest link in this film, it has so much else going for it, like suspense, horror, pathos, love, and tragedy. King Kong, the animal, is complex and there are different emotions we experience about him. We don't like him when he gobbles up people or smashes the 2nd Avenue el (an incredible scene!). We admire him for trying to save Fay Wray from the flashbulbs. And we feel incredibly sad when he's killed. Why? I think it's because we see him as a human, at least of having human qualities. But to extend that to some deeper, intellectual level is pointless. It's just an amazing film.

Last comment: The film also has some humor. As a New Yorker, I love the dialogue between the two women at the theater, waiting to see King Kong.

Girl one: "Hey, what's this show about, anyway?"
Girl two: "I don't know. Some big gorilla."
Girl one: (after a clod accidentally steps on her toe): "Aw. Ain't we got enough of them in New Yawk?"

I can't get enough of this classic film.

Max Steiner - Movie Music Master
Most of the other reviews fail to notice the artistry of the music in this classic. The music can stand alone as a symphony, every bit as wonderful for its time as John Williams is now. Especially listen to how it keeps tempo with the footsteps of the characters. It builds tension at just the right times, and keeps the listener interested. If you just close your eyes, you will be able to remember scenes and action merely from the music. If you become a fan of Steiner, find other old classics that he helped become classics through his wonderful music.

"The eighth wonder of the world!"
Classic horror epic is an adventure for the ages. The special effects are splendid, the actors deliver fine performances, and the snappy dialogue packs a wallop 71 years later. The sinister, foreboding Skull Island, the weird chants of the natives, the other-worldly shrieks and cries of the prehistoric giant birds and predators are quite realistic and make this film unique among others in this genre. Kong's titanic death struggle with the Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the film's great moments, as is the elevated train sequence that shows Kong taking out his frustrations on unwary strap-hangers. This film remains a towering work, made even more remarkable because the film-makers did not have the benefit of high-tech computer-generated images so common in today's science-fiction and horror films. "King Kong" is in a class by itself. ... 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

Amazon.com

On May 6, 1993, the mutilated bodies of three 8-year-old boys were found in a shallow creek in West Memphis, Arkansas. A short time later police arrested three local teenagers, linking the boys' killings to a satanic ritual. One of the boys confessed. The intriguing court case was about to unfold as filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ventured forth to make this documentary. They captured footage of not only courtroom proceedings but also interviews with the major players in trial--parents, suspects, lawyers. The documentary filmmakers, whose previous film, Brother's Keeper, is as intriguing of a crime story you'll ever see, tells this story without re-creations or flashbacks. The film makes a clear argument that the court trial may not be about witchcraft but a witch hunt. As with any great drama, the faces and situations are etched upon the viewer; however, we are dealing with real lives and real crimes (told gruesomely and necessarily by police photographs and videotape), and the impact is far greater. And so is the maddening ambivalence of the trial. Like the O.J. Simpson fiasco, a verdict is reached but the truth is questioned. Did police make fatal errors the night of the crime? Do last-minute clues lead to justice? Who's l