Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition) (1951)

This is one of a handful of films from this period of saturated color and the gorgeous cinematography of Jack Cardiff. Many of these films incorporate within their story and script elements of literature, art, mystery and timeless love that transcends death. This one delivers all.

Ava Gardner's character is beautiful and untouchable in this film, her heart is as cold as the statues she caresses, her attention as bloodthirsty as the bullfights of her ex-lover... one of many we discover. Her requirements of a lover are that she be given all, and of course, no one can deliver. The story begins in one of these trite vacation atmospheres playground of the very rich dilletantes. We are told she was a singer not a very good one by her own admission. We are treated to Gardner's real singing voice, which is not cultured, but unique and husky (too bad they didn't let her sing all her own stuff in SHOWBOAT it's the right voice for that character). She seems to get by on her beauty, which is immense, and her capriciousness. She is not particularly likable, but she doesn't pretend to be better than she is, and that is interesting. Then a mysterious boat appears, with a sad handsome man who is working on a painting of Pandora... which bears a resemblance to her.

At this point the movie moves from the mundane into the magical, with tormented love at its most operetic. This movie was an artistic enterprise, with high emotions, high risk. If F.Scott Fitzgerald's characters interbred with Greek mythology, this is the child they would create. It has some faint awkward moments of voiceover and explanation, but it is magical in it's look, and moreover, it is, like many other Jack Cardiff films, simply one-of-a-kind. The perfect rainy day movie. Very watchable.

than the first time I saw it. The new remastered DVD is awesomely clear, color crisp and Ava G as always beautiful.

And Leonard Maltin, you said: "Sorry to say, a big Technicolor bore, one of writer-director Lewin's misfires, about a woman who destroys the lives of all the men around her; then mystical, otherworldly Mason materializes." ... aside from that did you like it? LOL.

Not boring, yes about a selfish lady who finds a reason to not be selfish. geeeeee what a concept.

Seriously, if you like mystical possibilities, beautiful women, and scenery... buy this, you'll like it.

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Ava Gardner is absolute ravishing as the character of Pandora, the object of men's desires and a woman who is searching for the meaning of her own life, until she meets a man named Hendrik, a man who may be the answer that she has been looking for.

To describe the 1951 film "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" may be a little difficult. It's definitely a dramatic film, a love story but with a twist of fantasy mixed into it. The film was definitely uncharacteristic for a film released during its time. But by saying that, I don't want to dismiss this film as fantasy kitsch, nor do I want to portray Ava Gardner as the ultimate sex kitten and that is why this film should be watched. "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is much more than that. It's a magical film in which characters encounter fate, destiny, tragedy and focuses on a unique love shared by two individuals.

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is written and directed by Albert Lewin ("The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Saadia", "The Living Idol") and stars James Mason ("Heaven Can Wait", "Lolita", "A Star is Born", "Georgy Girl", "The Verdict"), Ava Gardner ("Mogambo", "The Night of the Iguana", "On the Beach"), Nigel Patrick ("The League of Gentleman", "Raintree Country", "Breaking the Sound Barrier") and Harold Warrender ("Ivanhoe", "Conspirator", "Time Bomb").

VIDEO:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is presented in 1080p (1920 x 1080p). It's important to note that this film is 60-years-old and prior to watching this Blu-ray release, I have had the movie on DVD from KINO courtesy of their "Glamour Girls" DVD box set.

The original picture quality of this film was very dark and even murky, showing its age. The Blu-ray release is a major step forward in the restoration of this film. The 2009 Technicolor restoration not only shows us how the film was meant to be seen, but no longer are the scenes that were too dark an issue. You can actually see the detail indoors. May it be the detail of the wood or the tiles, the skin uplclose to even seeing outdoor details, especially during a scene with Stephen and Pandora riding in the race car. Before, the scene was so dark that you couldn't see much detail but now on Blu-ray, you can see the detail on the road, where the car is driving to and for the indoor scenes, you can see everything quite nicely.

May it be detail of the home, the vehicles or the clothing, the detail can be seen in HD quite nicely.

With that being said, the film is not perfect. You will see color fluctuations at times and slight flicker. You can see normal skin tones star to turn greenish and back (for a very short while). Also, where many niche companies tend to want to remove and limit any dust or scratches that can be seen on the Blu-ray, you can see them clearly in HD.

But by no means do I expect a smaller company like KINO to spend over a million dollars or more for restoration like the major film companies have done with their timeless classics. If anything, what KINO managed to do in bringing this classic to Blu-ray and showing us how much better it looks from its DVD counterpart is quite amazing and if you loved the film, you're going to love it on Blu-ray. This is probably the best this film will ever look in a video release.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is presented in an uncompressed Linear PCM 2.0. Dialogue is clear and understandable and through the restoration feature on the special features, you can see how the restoration of the film really brought out the audio for the film. From the dialogue to the music of Alan Rawsthorne, audio-wise, the film sounds good for a 60-year-old film.

There is one caveat and that is there is no subtitles. There is some dialogue spoken in a foreign language and I wish those were subtitled but I guess it was non-essential as the subtitles were not part of the original part of the film but for those who are not able to hear, the lack of subtitles is actually disappointing as English subtitles are typically a standard in any release.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" comes with the following special features:

* Alternate Opening Titles(2:28) Prints for the UK market varied slightly from the American release. Instead of the prologue about the Flying Dutchman, the UK version featured a quote by Omar Khayyam.

* "El Torero de Cordoba" (17:28) A 1947 documentary about the career of Manuel Rodriguez Manolege, the Spanish bullfighter who was the inspiration for the character Montalvo. Presented with burned-in English subtitles.

* Comparison of Restoration (5:49) A featurette that shows how much the 2009 Kino restoration looks versus its original 35mm (unrestored) Technicolor print.

* Theatrical Trailers Featuring the US Release trailer, US Release (abridged and B&W) trailer and the UK 2010 re-release trailer.

EXTRAS:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" comes with a slipcase.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" was a film that I never expected to be released on Blu-ray from KINO. As there are so many other films in the company's catalog that can easily be considered for release on HD. But I'm happy we did get a release because this film is quite magical and definitely unique when compared to many films released at its time.

Ava Gardner is just beautiful and ravishing in her her role as Pandora Reynolds and even in reality, the actress was the object of desire for many of Hollywood's top actors as she was married and had relationships with Mickey Rooney, Howard Hughes, Artie Shaw and Frank Sinatra.

While Gardner brought the beauty and believability to the character of Pandora, James Mason was very convincing as the Flying Dutchman, Hendrick van der Zee. A professional performance that you would expect from a well-revered thespian, even a Shakespearean actor, Mason does a fantastic job in his role.

But the biggest surprise was the story. I was expected some type of vampish movie of men just going crazy over a woman that they can't have which was quite cliche during that time and in cinema decades earlier. But what I didn't expect is the twist of Hendrick as being the actual Flying Dutchman and is an accursed man who wants to finally die in peace but needs a woman willing to die for him. As macabre as it may sound, the way the film was written and how Pandora is always searching a meaning to her life and finds a connection with Hendrick made this love story about fate and destiny and overall, a story that I truly enjoyed.

So, I'm grateful to see such a film being released on Blu-ray as it truly is a film that stands out compared to other early '50s films. And I hope KINO continues with releasing more classics on Blu-ray!

Overall, "Pandora and the Flying Dutchman" is a film worth watching and for those who owned it on DVD previously, this Blu-ray version is a significant improvement in picture quality and audio quality that you will definitely want this release. No more darkness, no more murkiness, not to say that this Blu-ray release is perfect but it is the definitive version to own of the film at this time. Definitely recommended!

Read Best Reviews of Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (Deluxe Edition) (1951) Here

The fantasy / romance premise for this film is an interesting one, but the execution of the plot leaves quite a lot to be desired and much of the dialogue is quite lame and stilted. The plot has been covered well by others, no need to add more about that. James Mason's central character is the best thing about the film. He is extraordinary (as usual). Ava Gardner is very lovely to look upon (although her gowns are far closer to 1951 than to the 1930 time frame), but her acting is rather lackluster (as usual). However, far worse performances are given by Mario Cabre' and Sheila Sim (extreme under-playing and over-playing respectively). The Spanish location photography is great, as to be expected from the legendary cinematographer, Jack Cardiff. The direction is adequate, but no better. The telecine transfer on this DVD is poor in places, with color timing way off at times (sometimes with a purplish cast) and falls seriously short of what a Technicolor print can deliver. The print this was transferred from has considerable damage at the start and end of reels (can't be missed with scratches, dirt, and multiple cue marks). There are several splices, most producing a loud pop in the audio. Some simple re-making of the splices or blooping them would have helped a lot. Some scenes are way too dark to easily watch, and generally the picture is very grainy.

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I highly recommend this movie. It's a great story, really romantic. Beautiful actress Ava Gardner, is just wonderful in it, and so is actor James Mason. They make a great on screen couple. It's a film definitly worth seeing. It definitly deserves all the stars it can get.

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Hard Boiled (1992)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This review was written for the Dragon Dynasty DVD VERSION of this film, but thanks to Amazon's bizarre practise of porting reviews from one product platform to another product platform with no regard to differences between them, there's a good chance you're reading this review on the Blu-ray listing for this title. Having seen the Blu-ray version, I can say with absolute certainty that it is only a VERY MODEST improvement over the DVD in terms of picture quality. While I have neither the time nor inclination to review the Blu-ray, I would direct you to the extremely informative review at DVD Beaver (dot com), and concur 100% with the "disappointment" label given this release. What is most puzzling is the loss of the trailer gallery available on the earlier DVD set. Strange that a format that actually holds more is, in this case, used to hold less!

The remainder of this review is for the previous DVD special edition, which the new Blu-ray does little to better:

There should be no doubt that HARD BOILED is a phenomenal action picture, one of the best ever produced in Hong Kong. Much has been written all over the internet about it in the years since it was released direct-to-video in North America in the very early 90's.

Now, some 16 years later, through any number of flawed prints, alternate edits, crummy dubs and subtitles of varying quality, not to mention several PREVIOUS special editions on DVD, each with their own pros and cons, the chance to do right by this film in so many ways is, typically, blown by the Weinstein machine and their cabal of Hong Kong cinema experts.

Oh, sure, this disc is watchable, and considering there is now a generation of teenagers out there who weren't even BORN when this was released, I'm sure there will be new fans made from watching this film. But the film ain't the problem for the rest of us.

Who in their right minds, in 2007, puts DUBTITLES on a "premium" special edition of possibly one of the most important Hong Kong motion pictures of all time. DUBTITLES based on a dub that was made, what, 16 years ago now? That dubbed version was indeed responsible for bringing a great many western fans into the fold, but that doesn't mean we liked it. Or any dubbing for that matter. Just because HARD BOILED is over half action sequences doesn't automatically mean the dialogue sequences are unworthy of even a moderately more accurate translation of WHAT THE CHARACTERS ARE ACTUALLY SAYING IN CANTONESE. Instead, they appear to have paid the receptionist a few bucks to type the original dub script verbatim into the subtitle stream.

Thankfully, far superior subtitles are still available on other, BETTER DVD releases of the film. Some of which even have an image where Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Chow Yun-fat DON'T look like they've put on about 50 pounds!! I'm no expert on aspect ratios and the like, but I know enough, and I've seen enough Chow and Leung movies to know that they don't quite look like this in real life. Gotta wonder who's bright idea it was to CROP the movie, then STRETCH it back to the proper aspect ratio. I can think of a few people who probably figured no one would notice, or if they did, that they'd just be the usual internet pedants.

If that's what I am, so be it, but for god's sake, you think a label that so eagerly wants to be viewed as the top shelf for Hong Kong and Asian movies, would actually start treating those very products with some REAL respect. But then again, look what they did with their "edit" of the Protector. Laughable. And to hear the commentator on that one JUSTIFY the cuts tells me where he really stands when it comes to his paymasters' wishes. This edition of HARD BOILED is another clue.

If I were just reviewing the film, I'd give it 5 stars. But since this is a DVD review, and I managed to find one at a store that broke street date, AND I'm now out about for something I now know I DIDN'T NEED TO UPGRADE, the best I can muster is (a generous) two stars, largely for the interviews on the second disc, which are not bad, and the location tour, which is not without interest.

The commentary on the other hand, while not a total write-off, obviously, offers SOME interesting tidbits that are tangentially related to the film itself, but to save a list of errors and 'best guesses' that would make your eyes glaze, just dig up a copy of the old Fox Lorber DVD from and listen to this film's CREATORS, John Woo and Terence Chang contradict Dragon Dynasty's commentator on several occasions. Or listen to the track on the Criterion edition of this title, where they do the same thing (though in fairness, the Fox Lorber track may have been a longer, uncut version of the Criterion one, only minus Roger Avery and Dave Kehr). John Woo and Terence Chang MADE the film, so who should you trust? A self-anointed expert? Sure, he means well enough, and he knows more than I do (which is why I'm a lowly peon who doesn't do commentaries ;) ), but a lot of the less film-specific stuff on this track feels awfully familiar...

Watch this disc for the movie (in Plump-o-Vision) and the interviews. Then do a little surfing to find one of the superior international versions if you really feel you need an "ultimate edition" in your collection, 'cause this ain't it.

Hard Boiled is one of the best action movies ever and every John Woo film from the 1980s is golden. Hard Boiled has been released twice in the U.S. now, once from Fox Lobrar and once from Criterion, both are now out of print. (Of course there are numerous companies in Asia selling the film currently, thank goodness for Ebay!) I own both versions; the Criterion one has the best features but the picture is noticiably darker. This version of Hard Boiled from Dragon Dynasty/Wienstein Company has an amazing picture, stand out colors, well lit dark scenes, and excellent detail. If I was juding this film on color, brighteness, and overall picture, I would give it 5 stars.

However, there is one major flaw to the film somehow slipped through the cracks. The original film's aspect ratio is 1.85:1; wide screen tvs at home are 16:9, or 1.78:1 (Standard tvs are 4:3 or 1.33:1). Because 1.85 is wider than 1.78:1, you will have small black bars on the top and bottom of a widescreen tv, this is normal. For some reason, they decided to turn this movie into widscreen 16:9, and what this means is images on the sides as well as top and bottom are cut off slightly. Imagine looking at a photograph and then zooming in about 7 percent all around, essentially this is what has happened here. The film is still viewable, but artistic quality is compromised because the image is being cut off all around.

As for this release, the menus are good and the special features looked neat, I haven't had time to watch them yet.

Hopefully by releasing this movie many people will get to see the film for the first time. Just be aware that the movie is not in its original format and that the image is cut off slightly on the top, bottom, and sides.

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For those of you lucky enough to own the Criterion Collection edition of this movie, you might want to hold onto your copy as none of the extras from that edition are included on this one. That being said, the video and audio on this version easily surpass any previous Region 1 incarnations making this edition a must-have for fans of the movie.

The first disc features an audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. He shows off his impressive knowledge of HK geography by pointing out which locations in the film don't exist anymore and their significance in the country's culture. Logan also dishes out interesting factoids, like the teahouse in the opening sequence was going to be demolished and this happened right after they filmed the last scene in the place! As with other commentary tracks that he has done his encyclopedic knowledge about the film and HK cinema in general is quite impressive, making for an informative track.

Disc two starts off with "A Baptism of Fire: A Featurette with Iconic Director John Woo." He was a big fan of Steve McQueen in Bullitt and Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry and with Hard Boiled; he wanted to create his own Dirty Harry. Woo wanted to make Chow Yun-Fat like Eastwood's iconic character but with the Asian actor's warm charisma.

"Partner in Crime: An Interview with Producer Terence Chang." He talks about how he met Woo in the late 1970s but that they didn't start working together until ten years later. Chang also talks about the genesis of the film which was originally a psycho who kills baby (?!). Fortunately, after they filmed the teahouse shoot-out, Chang convinced Woo to discard this idea.

"Art Imitates Life: An Interview with co-star Philip Chan," the actor who played Tequila's boss in the film. He was real policeman before getting into film and brought that authenticity to his role. He actually ran a team of undercover cops and speaks admiringly of working with Woo.

"Mad Dog Bites Again: An Interview with Leading Villain Kwok Choi." He talks about working with Woo on the film. Originally, he was hired to only design the action sequences but Chow Yun-Fat recommended him to play the villain's right-hand man.

"Hard Boiled Location Guide": takes us on a fun, fascinating tour of many of the locations from the movie. Some places, like the teahouse (which is now a mall), don't exist anymore and a little historical background is given to some of the places.

Also included are two trailers, the U.S. and Hong Kong versions.

Finally, there is "Stranglehold Video Game Mini-Making Of." This is the John Woo-approved sequel to Hard Boiled that allows you to play Tequila. This extra shows how deeply involved he was in the game's production with Chow Yun-Fat returning to provide the voice for his character!

Read Best Reviews of Hard Boiled (1992) Here

HARD-BOILED

[La Shou Shen Tan]

(Hong Kong 1992)

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Theatrical soundtrack: Mono

John Woo's electrifying crime-thriller amounts to a great deal more than the sum of its action set-pieces. As with virtually all of his post-1986 HK films, Woo generates a tangible sense of melancholy by placing honorable, chivalrous even lovable characters into situations where all those precious moral virtues are constantly being challenged and devalued by the greed and cynicism of our modern age. And yet, Woo was eventually persuaded to conclude his picture on an optimistic note, with the villains routed and the good guys allowed to resume their places in the grand scheme of things. It's a daring move, given everything which precedes it, but no less effective than the all-out tragedy which Woo had originally envisaged.

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"Give a man a gun and he is a hero. Give him two and he is God"

Nothing can quite prepare you for the amount of bullets that are used in this film all done to an impeccable action style that has still not been beat. If there was ever a Guinness Book of Records for the "Most bullets shot in a film" John Woo's Hard Boiled would be first place for a very long time. It is a terrible shame that this director has only been toned-down by Hollywood. There is not a hope that he would be allowed to do what he has done here with Hong Kong actors to the Hollywood cream of the crop. It seems that it is okay to have a Hong Kong Asian to shoot the hell out of everything but this same action when applied to Western culture would only shock and shame. The same can be said for the star of Hard Boiled Chow Yun-Fat (Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon) who since moving to the West has fired less bullets in all his Hollywood films put together than he does in the first five minutes of this film. Does that really matter? In many ways Yes it does. Unlike THEIR Hollywood films the gun violence here is not gratuitous. It is artistic and warrented. No one can come away from this film to say that have seen unjustified and unnecessary amounts of actions. It is all integral to the style and plot of this movie. Yes, innocent people do get mowed down in a hail of hot lead and yes the violence is bloody, but is that not what gun violence is? Here you see exactly what guns do to people. Forget Michael Moore's "Bowling for Columbine" The true message of gun control is right here! The plot is even about the dangers of gun smuggling!

One thing for sure is that there is more gratuitous gun violence in most Hollywood productions than there is here. Here we have a hard boiled cop who is assigned to tracking down gun smugglers. He is a hard boiled cop because he knows how to use his guns. His superiors are using him to fight fire with fire. The action gets going from the word go as the hard boiled cop busts a gun dealing operation. His buddy cops and innocent people get killed in the process. He then goes to extract some revenge and put the big gun runners out of business only problem is there are literally thousands of them he must cut down. Cue unrelenting battle sequences from start to finish all done in excellent style and slow-mo. You have not seen anything like Hard Boiled before, nor will you again. The ending in the hospital is like DIE HARD with ten thousand times more suspense.

Hard Boiled is also a wonderfully acted movie with excellent first rate action direction. The story is also coherent and good, especially for an Asian production. This is every action fans wet dream. Believe me if you have not seen Hard Boiled then it is about time that you did.

Majestic Filmmaking, not to mention John Woo's greatest film. This is the stuff of Legend with an action hero to root for.

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16 Wishes (2010)

This is a very good and funny movie with a heart-warming storyline and a great message. Abby Jensen has been making a secret wish-list for her Sweet 16th Birthday ever since she was a little girl. Her and her best friend, Jay run into a mysterious woman named Celeste. Celeste gives her candles with numbers on them. Everytime she makes a wish, it comes true. Abby makes a wish that everyone treats her like an adult, and it comes true as well, but not the way Abby wanted. She turns 22 and loses all her friends and her parents kick her out. She must figure out the rules of the wishes and tries to become 16 again before midnight, or else the wish becomes permanent. I highly recommend 16 WISHES!!!

I normally don't watch kids movies, but there was nothing on and so, I decided to give it a watch. I actually became a bit glued as the story really caught my attention. It's not a great film, but it's a feel good film. It definitely makes you appreciate what you have.

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Girl gets wishes granted, but then regrets them and learns to appreciate her life. It's a pretty old story and has been reused in hundreds of teen girl movies. Still, 16 Wishes isn't a bad retake for the intended audience. It's a bit unrealistic and tough to suspend disbelief during some scenes (like when the girl suddenly becomes an adult). A bit more time with the script would have helped. The better moments are more of a take on Dickens' Christmas Tale. It's certainly not a classic in the genre but should entertain young girls for a while.

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This movie was perfect for anyone who has had their 16th birthday or almost ready to celebrate their 16 th birthday. The young man star I was used to seeing in another weekly show that had been discontinued Kyle XY. I was disappointed when it went off the air. The girl I had also seen on Disney shows of course. She is really cute and appears to be sweet.

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My 17th wish is more Debby Ryan. From Jessie to Radio Rebel to this classic, this Disney star has never been better!!!!

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ICHI (2009)

Historical samurai dramas are the Japanese equivalent of the Western except that they still maintain their credibility. This is a reworking of the popular Zatoichi the blinds swordsman series, with a blind female musician trying to track down the person who may or may not be Zatoichi and who may or may not be her father.

I like the structure as more and more is revealed about the two main characters over the course of the film through the use of flashbacks which can, early on, sometimes be misleading. Toma, the samurai whom Ichi protects, at first appears to be nothing more than a coward but he is more than that and there are resonances which I don't want to spoil. The two leads are absolutely fine in their roles, the cute kid who helps Ichi is bearable, but the villains tend to be over the top. In particular the chief bad guy comes over like a psycho samurai Quentin Tarantino, whom he rather resembles.

It's attractively photographed with several striking snow scenes. There is a strong emotional content and lots of brooding silences, profundities, and deep thoughts -this is a samurai movie after all. There's even more blood, lashings and lashings of it as our heroine wades through the bad guys using her special backhanded slicing technique. The climax features even more blood and carnage with bad guys against good guys, hero against villain, heroine ag... ah, that would be telling.

I had a good time watching this. Sequel, please.

I have the UK edition. It's in Japanese with English subtitles. No extras apart from a trailer.

Ichi is one of those films that I've been meaning to tackle for some time. The look, the feel, the mood, and the mythological elements are all of undeniable Asian influence. Yes there are undefeatable principles at play within that span beyond the swordplay and action elements in the foreground. Before we look at the excellent philosophical tones of the picture, let's get the hard facts out of the way.

Coming in at a 120-minute runtime, Ichi consists of the full-length feature film on a single disc housed within a standard clamshell DVD case. The show wears an appropriate if not slightly conservative Restricted ® rating due to violent imagery, swordplay, digital gore and a healthy dose of character-driven drama.

Language options are typical sub & dub meaning both the original Japanese vocal track is present as well the choice of an English dub (either presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound) with the option of running English subtitles available with either vocal track.

The story, which has to be watched to be fully understood (or appreciated for that matter), goes something like this: Ichi, the female incarnation of the legendary blind swordsman Zatoichi, is herself a blind master of the blade and roams about town with her shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese guitar) in a mission to locate the man who helped raise her. Alone the way she happens upon no shortage of unsavory characters (rapists, thieves, and hustlers) looking to take advantage of her.

Ichi is no pushover, as the baddies soon discover in dramatic visual style, and defends herself with spectacular swordplay time and time again. Shot in a blend of slow and regular motion segments, and with digital blood spurting wildly, the film is a testament to the charms of Asian cinema (and calls to mind some of Quentin Tarantino's frequent homage in films such as "Kill Bill").

As the prose develops, so too does the cast increase with Ichi herself gaining the companionship of a young male traveling partner despite the fact that she is by far the better sword wielder. Haruka Ayase's performance as Ichi seems to depend heavily upon the viewer's expectations going into the film. I found her to be convincing enough and somehow proud despite her attire of rags but it appears as though fans of Shintaro Katsu's original Japanese television incarnation of the mythos are quite divided on this casting choice.

Villains, as is par for the course in these situations, are a bit over the top in my opinion (Nakamura Shidou in particular). However, while this may be a large detractor in an American big budget film, the Japanese have a habit of making the unbelievable believable through gritty ambiance and dialog that doesn't oversimplify character motivations.

Shooting locations and cinematography are particularly noteworthy for their massive scope and stunning vistas (particularly some of the snow segments, which can send a chill through even the most well-wrapped blanketed viewer).

The downside is that this simply isn't a piece of Asian cinema that will capture and hold the attention of the casual viewer. The pacing and plotting often become a bit bogged down upon themselves with an excessive of moments of silent reflection, brooding sighs, and artistic framing. For the most part this all works, but there will invariably be those a bit put-off by the pace fluctuations throughout (especially those viewers accustomed to the fast-cut American method of contemporary filmmaking).

The sound score is perhaps the biggest surprise with some really nice keys that go a long way in complementing the whimsical backgrounds.

In all, the picture works best when approached as a visually striking romp through a fairly historically accurate setting. Digging too deeply into the mythos seems to reveal complaints in many forms and the cast is a bit too inconsistent to win over the masses. Perhaps such complaints sound harsh, but the truth of the matter is that there is a lot of entertainment to be found here so long as you don't let expectations of grandeur bury it.

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Beautiful Actress! Great character! I very much enjoyed this movie, it had a good story line and the characters were developed enough to keep your interest, even the supporting child actor was charming, thanks!

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ICHI THE BLIND SWORDSWOMAN (2009) is a redux of Zatoichi, the Blind Swordsman; the classic Jidai Geki TV series. Directed by Fumihiko Sori, (Vexille, "Ping Pong"), with screenplay by Shimosawa Kan; this film switches the gender of the lead character, has significant improvements but it also lacks some of the original's strengths. "Ichi" stars beautiful Japanese bikini model/actress Ayase Haruka, and this is her follow up role to "Cyborg She" (which I will review later). The film is a departure from the stylistic style of Kitamura's "AZUMI" and is a welcome return for director Sori to his action roots after the fun-filled "Ping Pong".

Ichi (Haruka Ayase) is a beautiful, blind musician who travels this Edo period Japan with her traditional Japanese guitar and a walking stick--well, a walking stick at first impression, but inside, she hides a razor sharp katana. Ichi may be blind, but she is also a skilled swordswoman. In her quest to find the man who helped bring her up, she comes across swindlers, rapists, gangsters who want to take advantage of her disability. Ichi fights back with her remarkable sword fighting skills. Sometime during her travels, she meets up with a cowardly, dishonored samurai named Touma (Takao Osawa, Aragami) who she ends up saving from angry gamblers affiliated with the Banki Gang. The pair unwittingly become entangled in a turf war between the Shirakawa and Banki clans battling for supremacy in a small inn town of Bitou. Ichi may find the answers she is looking for in the person of the leader (played by Shido Nakamura) of the Banki group of cutthroats--and the resolution of the conflict may reveal the fate of the man she is looking for.

"Ichi" is a film that is very commercial in its appeal. It has the charm to attract the younger generation as well as samurai aficionados, as well as electrify the male testosterone because of Haruka Ayase. This actress is beautiful, and although she barely wears any make up, and this role has wearing rags, her close ups are enough to add excitement and you can tell that she has a model-like statuesque figure. Ayase became well acclimated to the action genre after "Cyborg She" and she does have the presence that can grab attention.

The film may have the somewhat stereotypical themes of redemption, revenge and compassion as is quite familiar with jidai geki films, and I don't deny that the film has certain weaknesses in its premise. I don't mind stereotypical storylines, but film feels a little routine. Ichi was brought up by a Goze group of blind performers and she was exiled when she was sexually abused. The Goze faction of musicians are an odd lot, their rules are certainly fleshed out but I was left asking for the reasons as to why such rules would apply. Yes, "Ichi" does have a lot of emotions going for it, and her links to a certain blind swordsman does manage to entice our attention. The problem is, the film is filled with over-the-top characters that threatens to overshadow its tone. Director Sori is responsible for such anime hits such as "Vexille" and "Appleseed", and you can see the costume designs by our villains look very anime-inspired. Also, the bumbling samurai played by Takao Osawa has his interesting qualities, I can buy his reasons for not wanting to use his sword but this fact overstays its welcome as there were times in the last act that I almost screamed "Draw your sword, dammit!" Of course there is a developing romance between Touma and Ichi, but the film doesn't develop this too much.

Well, does "Ichi" deliver in its action sequences? Yes and no. Yes, the fights are very cool to watch and they are quite kinetic in its execution. There are also a very good number of them, Ichi is on display as she quickly dispatches her assailants with quick thrusts and stabs, complete with very nice posturing, "Ichi" provides great eye candy. There are also a significant use of slow motion to display Ayase's moves--this would normally bother me, but I am willing to forgive its use this time around. Director Sori also doesn't make Ayase's character seem too invincible, Ichi does have her female vulnerabilities, as skilled as she is, she is a woman and has her limits. Ichi has a strong advantage when she fights in the dark, but may have more of a handicap when there are some loud noises. As for why I also said no, well, the fights may look cool, but they were lacking some credible impact in its narrative. The script hampers the action sequences, because while it does attempt to carry emotion, it doesn't feel climactic. I guess the set ups were also too simple and they can be very routine.

The cinematography is quite gorgeous, and accompanied by a somber, moody score, the film does manage to impress me in the way it plays each scene. The film's color palette leans towards the tone of Earth colors as with most jidai geki films and the atmosphere does resemble a Kurosawan samurai film, with the wind blowing dirt meant to signify a finale. The set designs are also good, they are very similar to Kitamura's "Azumi". Director Sori brought along his buddies responsible for "Ping Pong", Shido Nakamura and Yosuke Kunozuka performed well, but it just felt like a step backward when compared to their previous film together.

Ultimately, "ICHI" won't be one unforgettable jidai geki film, but the film does have its charm and the action scenes are good enough for "hack and slash" feature. Plus, there is the absolutely stunning Haruka Ayase who is just so damn attractive who roams around feudal Japan, slicing and dicing her way to her quest. The film closes in a manner that leaves it open for a sequel. Despite the film's flaws, I found it quite entertaining. Don't expect a film very faithful to its roots but just be along for the ride. This "Zatoichi" re-imagining will not make a dent on the classic status of Shintaro Katsu's original but thankfully it is a good enough diversion.

Recommended! [3 ½ Stars]

Video/Audio: 1.78 ratio anamorphic widescreen. Nice clean transfer. The film is sharp with restrained colors, favorable to earth colors. The 5.1 Dolby Digital track is strong and powerful. The English Subtitles are good but sometimes they scroll too fast.

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I like the older Ichi movies but this was different. It gave you a look at the old Japanese life in the past.

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The Lives of Others (2007)

Hopefully, Academy members will rightfully award the Oscar tomorrow night for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year (2006) to 'The Lives of Others.' Writer/Director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's debut stands head and shoulders not only over the other nominees, but also over all the nominees for Best Picture. That so-called 'best' list pales in comparison to the heights attained by von Donnersmarck's creation. It is a expertly-plotted, richly-told depiction of life under the dominion of the East German spying apparatus, the Stasi.

'Lives' tracks the Stasi's efforts to bug and disrupt the lives of writer Georg Dreyman (a striking Sebastian Koch) and his actress girlfriend Christa-Maria Sieland (the incomparable Martina Gedeck). Assigned to the case is Stasi agent, Gerd Wiesler, indelibly played by Ulrich Mühe. The reasons for spying on Dreyman and 'CSM' (as the Stasi calls her)? A Politburo minister has the hots for CSM. That's it. For that most personal of reasons, lives are ruined. A professional reviewer of 'Lives' really hit the nail on the head when he said that the movie turns on the fact that Weisler realizes he is spying into the life of a man who is 'vastly his moral superior.' That's it. You get propelled into Dreyman's life and you are struck immediately and permanently by his decency and the quality of his character. Over time, Weisler starts injecting himself into the proceedings. At that point, the sequence of events is irrevocably changed.

von Donnersmarck's movie is a continual series of one great scene after another. I thought perhaps it had reached its denouement with the fall of the Wall. But it keeps getting better. Dreyman requests his Stasi files. He begins to piece together the story and the role of Weisler.

'The Lives of Others' is 137 minutes of the best entertainment imaginable. Ulrich Mühe is an East German who himself was the target of Stasi oversight. For this film, he was awarded Best Actor at the 2006 European Film Awards. Is there a more just triumph than that?

I often don't agree with Oscar choices, but this time they got it right.

"The Lives of Others" is one of the most interesting movies about communism that I have seen in a decade; it shows, as few others have, how communism suffocates human imagination...not just stifles political dissent.

A spy Captain Wiesler is given the task of eavesdropping on a well known playwright, not for political reasons, but because a communist boss is jealous of the man and wants his female lover for himself. As the spy begins listening in, he begins to question the values of his society and the integrity of his orders.. Up to that point, Wiesler dutifully obeyed without question. But as the spy continues to experience the world of the playwright, he starts to live the subject's life vicariously...so the enemy ironically becomes the friend. The experience helps Captain Wiesler grow in humanity so he ultimately makes the decision to run interference to save the playwright's life.

The film details the transformation of an organization man in a hostile society...and makes us remember the great books of totalitarian dangers such as Animal Farm, Anthem, Brave New World, and of course, 1984. (It is no accident that the key YEAR in which the events take place in this film is indeed 1984). Instead of leaving the viewer in a state of deep negativity, "The Lives of Others" gives us reason to hope, reason to believe that goodness may prevail over corruption. So by the end, I was deeply moved.

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Gerd Weisler (Ulrich Muhe, appropriately drab) is an East German Stasi (Secret Police) drone: the type of man that his superiors count on to "get" his prey. Early on in this fascinating, superior film, Gerd arrives home from a hard day of spying on his fellow East Germans and prepares a meal: microwaved white rice onto which he squeezes tomato paste from a tube. This scene, in its spare, workmanlike manner sets the course and adjusts the sights of this film: the unremarkable, out of hate and jealousy assigned to bring down those deemed different, those deemed remarkable, those deemed talented. Weisler is the perfect Stasi automaton: a socialist monk with ice-cold eyes and an incorruptible true believer's faith in the system he has sworn to defend against "enemies of socialism" no matter where he finds them.

"The Lives of Others" begins in 1984 a particularly Orwellian date and 5 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall, Weisler is invited to a night of theater by his school friend and boss Colonel Grubitz (a slimy bureaucrat performance by Ulrich Tukor) for a performance of a play written by Georg Dreyman (Sebastian Koch) and starring Dreyman's live in girlfriend, Christa-Maria Sieland (Martina Gedeck from "Mostly Martha"). Dreyman is tall, handsome, dresses in colors other than grey and Christa-Maria is wondrously gorgeous and a great actress to boot.

As Weisler watches Christa-Maria on stage he also scopes in on Dreyman, via his opera binoculars, watching Christa-Maria with love and admiration. The look of distrust and envy in Wailer's eyes is frightening: his eyes widen, squint and widen again. What does Weisler see or sense on that triumphant, for Dreyman and Sieland, night? Is it watching them basking in the glory of an audience's love and appreciation? Is it the palpable love and warmth between the two themselves: something that Weisler has never, will never feel? Whatever it is, Weisler has found his next assignment.

Though Dreyman is deemed "the only writer we have who is not subversive," Weisler forces the issue and sets up a full Stasi surveillance: bugs, cameras and sets up a roost for himself in the attic of the Dreyman-Sieland home.

Then in the process of spying on these two warm, happy, talented, loving people something happens to Weisler: he slowly, through the ugly process of spying, thaws little by little: Weisler falls in love with them and more to the point.., he falls in love with their lives.

First time director, Florien Hinkle von Donnersmarck has produced a remarkable, involving, intelligent film: an intricate, frightening film full of lives caught at the difficult crossroads of patriotism on the one hand and on the other the vortex of individual duty and honor.

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First of all, this is not only one of the best foriegn films I have ever seen, but one of the best films I have seen period! I have nothing to add to the other five star reviews here that hasn't already been covered.

That said, it pains me to report that this DVD release has a serious flaw and that is the subtitling! Some other reviewers have commented on the poor quality of the translation in the subtitles, which may in fact be true. But even more of a detriment is the fact that if you watch this film on a widescreen TV you will not see ANY subtitles at all! This is because the disk was encoded to display the subtitles in the black dead space area, outside of the letterboxed region where film frames appear. Widescreen TVs don't display this dead space, they actually fill up the screen with the letterbox frame which means that the subtitles are completely lost! The disk offers no option to display the subtitles properly on a widscreen format television set, i.e. inside the letterbox frame. This is particularly ironic considering that SONY, the distributer of the DVD, is the same company that manufactured widescreen TV on which I discovered the problem! You'd think that they would have had a clue about how to format the subtitles on the DVD to work on all of their television models! If you have a conventional TV set, then you won't have this problem since it will display the letterbox with the black boundaries intact.

So if you are a widescreen television owner and are fluent in German, then I can heartily recommend this wonderful movie. If not, then make sure you have a conventional set on which to watch this DVD or wait for SONY to fix this embarassing mistake before you make the purchase!

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What a powerful movie. I felt the oppressiveness of the system from the movie in a way that i haven't seen since reading Solzhenitsyn's "The Gulag Archipelago". I don't know how anyone survived those decades, let alone how any normal human contact was possible. I wonder even more how anyone in the system like the major character could move from a position of responsibility for interrogations to actively supporting a writer who writes a damning article about suicides in East Germany.

The plot of the movie is actually rather straightforward and linear.

A playwright, a supporter of the regime has a beautiful lover, who is a well known actress.

She is blackmailed into a sexual liaison by a high ranking party member using his threats to end her career or worse.

The official decides to get rid of the playwright-boyfriend using information gained from surveillance by the Stasi on their apartment.

(so far sounds pretty much like David and Bathsheba, she who was the wife of Uriah)

The agent assigned to the case, listens into the lives. While at the same time figures out with his immediate superior that they are being used by the official to further his sexual agenda.

What happens next is that the agent covers up for the playwright's underground activities by submitting false reports that they are involved only in writing a new play, while they are actually moving towards more active resistance to the government.

But the movie isn't about the plot, it is about the character development, in all four major players.

the Stasi supervisor, the agent, the playwright and the actress-girlfriend.

And how the system changes, distorts or reinforces each of their beliefs.

The most interesting one is the agent's movement from a loyal player to a subverter of the system. What are his motivations? are they believable? how far will he go to protect these two people? will he get caught?

it feels like a gripping detective story with lives on the line, with a huge rock ready to drop on anyone of them and poof--into prison.

It is how they adapt to the pressures, how they continue to live with themselves and with their friends that forms the background for the character development.

i love books.

therefore i really liked the ending.

i hope things like this occurred in East Germany, and continue to occur in all those places in the world that are not free to speak their minds and think their own thoughts, in private, and to speak them in public.

thanks to the movie for a thrilling and thought provoking ride.

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Code of Silence (1985)

This movie is Chuck Norris at his best. He plays the part of Eddie Cusack a Chicago cop who only wants to get the job done. He is up against two mob family's in the middle of a war, caused by drugs and family blood. While trying to save the life of one mob family's daughter he must also bring both familys to justice. Between car chases that will have you on the edge of your seat and trademark Norris fight scenes it is easy to see why i gave this film 5 stars.

Code of Silence offers an excellent synergy and balance often missing in action films--especially other Chuck Norris action films.

I agree with other reviewers that this film perhaps showcases Norris' finest acting. Yet he is very well cast as the lone, honest, resolute and uncompromising "good cop," Cusack, who confronts Columbian drug lords, the Mob and a dirty cop in his unit, all with equal aplomb--and comes out the winner in the end, even in the face of mounting, and nearly overwhelming, odds.

The fight scenes are well choreographed, too, with Norris delivering compact, effective and believable punches and kicks. He even takes a few himself, portraying a character capable of taking it as well as dishing it out.

For all the no-nonsense heroics, Norris manages to keep his tacit characterization very human and believable. In brief, Chuck Norris plays the quintessential Hero: committed to doing the right thing, and transcending himself in the process. I found the absence of token, gratuitous sexual content, or even sexual innuendo, refreshing indeed, and serving well to further signify and solidify the true heroicism of Cusack.

In addition to the excellent on-location filming, there are also well-placed touches of humor and tenderness that make this gem of an action-drama shine with exceptional luster.

Even if you are not an avid Chuck Norris fan, Code of Silence may make you sit up and take appreciative notice of him. File under "Top Shelf Police Action" on your DVD rack. This film is one of the best in the genre.

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He's mean, he's lean, and he's not about to do things by the book! Welcome to the world of the action star, that social loner who won't sit idly by when the scum of the earth prey on the human race. While the rest of us live our little lives playing by the rules like the dupes we are, these guys go out and make a difference. They actually like us despite our weaknesses, amazingly enough, and take care of us out of a sense of responsibility similar to what a lord used to feel for his peons. No matter what they do or whom they kill in the process their instincts never fail them. Even when their partner, significant other, child, or anyone else close to them dies horribly as a result of the threat the action star poses to the villains, they never swerve from their core principles. Their superiors recognize the action star's godlike powers and, while complaining publicly about their reckless behavior, put them right back out on the street to kill the bad guys. No investigative committee will stop these right-wing heroes from mopping up the riffraff. Who needs lawyers or a judicial system when we've got Charles Bronson, Sylvester Stallone, or Chuck Norris? Not me.

I used the above description for another of Chuck Norris's films, but it applies to virtually every American action film made in the last thirty years. It definitely applies to every Norris film, especially "Code of Silence," a movie widely considered to be this actor's best big screen role. Norris plays Chicago cop Eddie Cusack, the archetypical loner with a chip on his shoulder. He exasperates his superiors, banters endlessly with his partner Dorato (Dennis Farina), and will move heaven and earth to bring down the bad guys. His sense of right and wrong is infallible. Whereas other police officers agonize over making the right decisions, Cusack never falters. After Dorato goes on the injured list due to a botched bust, Eddie's new partner Nick Kopalas (Joe Guzaldo) seeks Cusack's advice on a particularly difficult problem involving the code of silence that unites police officers. Kopalas's original partner, the aging alcoholic Cragie (Ralph Foody), accidentally shot a kid during the aforementioned bust. Kopalas saw his partner plant a gun in the deceased victim's hand. What's a young cop with no time on the force to do? If he turns in Cragie everyone will hate him. If he doesn't, he's no better than the street scum he encounters every day. Ah, such moral conundrums!

"Code of Silence" slathers this subplot in lots of action centering on an emerging gang war between Colombian drug kingpin Luis Comancho (Henry Silva) and a mafia don named Felix Scalese (Nathan Davis). Scalese's underling Tony Luna (Mike Genovese) touched off the crime wave when he interfered in the drug bust mentioned above. Luna wisely leaves town for a quick vacation, but his daughter Diana (Molly Hagan) remains in harm's way. As Comancho launches a series of revenge assaults against the Chicago mafia, it's up to Eddie Cusack to kill a bunch of people and sort through the bodies. He also acts as a protector for Diana after she narrowly escapes execution at the hands of Comancho's thugs. Eventually these two threads, the code of silence issue and the mob war, come together in an action packed ending loaded with explosions and a high body count. Cusack's fellow cops learn a thing or two about the antiquated notion of sticking together no matter what in the process. "Code of Silence" contains a little bit of everything, including action, a message, romance, and humor. Especially amusing is a scene where two street thugs attempt to rob the bar where Cusack and his fellow cops hang out. Ooops!

The best thing "Code of Silence" has going for it is its authentic set pieces. Director Andrew Davis filmed the movie in Chicago and cast a lot of people that look and sound like native Chicagoans. I saw several actors playing cops here that I've seen playing Chicago police officers in other films set in that city. When we see Norris fighting a punk on top of a train, not only do we realize that it's actually him up there doing the stunt but also that it's the famous Chicago loop. Filming in Chicago works, giving the movie a hard-edged realism missing in most other action films. Thankfully the performances elevate the film as well. Norris actually shows a bit of range in the Cusack role, something he seems largely incapable of in many of his other movies, and having Farina and Silva onboard certainly gives the picture more oomph. I've always maintained that casting Henry Silva as the primary villain in any movie adds at least a star to the overall rating of that picture, and I can say the same thing here. Watching Silva dissolve into one of his trademark rages is always worth the price of admission. It's unfortunate in the extreme that his advanced age prohibits him from making films nowadays.

MGM is spending a bunch of bucks releasing many of these old 1980s actioners to DVD. "Code of Silence" receives a widescreen anamorphic picture transfer but only a trailer as an extra. I've said it before and I'll say it again: why can't MGM contact Norris or the director in order to record a commentary track? For that matter, why not dig up some promotional materials for the film and throw it on the disc? Because the studio is cheap, apparently. Oh well, at least we can revisit these old movies without having to resort to ragged VHS copies. Give "Code of Silence" a watch soon.

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Code of Silence is by far Chuck Norris' best film. Not only is it great by the standards of his martial arts action films, but is actually a cut above many action pictures.

Norris plays a Chicago cop who finds himself caught between a turf war between the Mafia and a Colombian drug cartel. His standing on the force suffers at the same time because he testifies against two cops who are involved in a bad shooting. The Code of Silence ends up being double-pronged one side being the Mafia's Code of Silence, and the other being the police force's Code of Silence against bad behavior by their own.

Directed by Andrew Davis, who also directed Above The Law, Under Siege and The Fugitive, Code of Silence has great action sequences and a great villain in Henry Silva. This is Norris' finest film. Nothing he has done before or since has been anywhere near as good.

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Chuck Norris Rocks! Good Fight Sequences, Cool beat up firebird,nice garbage truck, silly police robot, although with Chuck Norris the police doesn't need a robot or even other police. Chuck Norris is a one MAN mean machine.

Remember,Chuck Norris is not afraid of the Dark, the Dark Keeps it's lights on because it's afraid of him!

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March of the Wooden Soldiers (3D Blu-Ray)

There are two versions offered for sale at Amazon. The Koch Vision Entertainment version, despite the description in the technical details, is NOT COLORIZED. The Goodtimes Home Video version version IS colorized. Which you prefer is entirely up to you, but don't order the Koch Vision version if you want the movie in color. The Koch Vision version has an extended silent film extra of the first time Laurel and Hardy appeared together (NOT as a team, however). The extra is interesting, but (by today's standards anyhow) a little slow. The Goodtimes Entertainment (Colorized) version, although a few cents cheaper than the other version, is, in my opinion, a much "cleaner" print. Even with the color level turned down so it appears as the original B&W, the Goodtimes version is sharper and more distinct. March of the Wooden Soldiers, holds up pretty well.

The Laurel and Hardy classic, March of the Wooden Soldiers (originally released as Babes in Toyland), was the fantastic result of combining two tremendous talents with a childlike, fantasy world and adult situations (Laurel and Hardy, Toyland and an evil landlord's mortgage conspiracy, respectively). Such rich source material makes for a film of unsurpassed quality: featuring rich and imaginative environments, costumes, sights and sounds. Every fairytale has its day, from Little Bo Peep to the Three Little Pigs to Mother Goose, and even Santa. We all know that the winter months are a time to remember to greatest holiday classics from years past, and March of the Wooden Soldiers is unsurpassed in its genre.

The holidays are associated with bright and festive colors--bright reds, greens, blues and golds--that set a warm and cheery mood, and the movies that we choose to enjoy during this season are no different. Fortunately, this edition of March of the Wooden Soldiers has been colorized, bringing newfound vibrancy to the events on screen and helping to integrate this classic tale with the traditional warmth of the holiday season. Rather than a visually dull grayscale that reminds one of the dour winter weather, toy soldiers shimmer in brilliant red onscreen, and our two comedian leads are further humanized by their newfound flesh tones and colorful Christmas garb.

As colorization efforts go, March of the Wooden Soldiers is a superlative effort, looking as though it was originally produced in the first generation of Technicolor, rather than decades earlier. The producers in charge of this re-mastering effort clearly thought that we would find an "aged color" appearance more acceptable than attempting to make it look completely modern, and this approach works very well. I'm sure you'll agree if you see a preview.

It's worth noting that this disc also includes the black and white version of the movie, perhaps as a peace offering to those of you who might object to the alteration of a classic film. I would go so far, then, as to call this the definitive purchase of March of the Wooden Soldiers, not just because you'll have a choice between color and black and white, but because the first step in colorizing any movie is to "clean up" the pre-existing black and white material as much as possible, and it certainly shows in comparison with other versions available.

In addition to both versions of the movie, this disc's special features really push it over the top. As a media buff, the included classic trailers are a wonderful prelude to the main feature--I like to imagine that I'm getting the same experience as the audiences who first viewed Laurel and Hardy some seventy years ago. And, in keeping with this package's holiday theme, the animated Rudolph the Reindeer movie is thoughtfully included, ensuring that you and your family get the most value out of a single disc.

For any family or fan of holiday cinema, this package is definitely a must-buy.

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Wow is all I can say! Laurel and Hardy's March of the Wooden Soldiers (aka Babes in Toyland) has never looked better. Legend Films and Genius Products found rare 35mm film elements and did a high definition digital restoration to create the finest looking black-and-white version of this L&H holiday classic ever seen. And to beat that, they created a stunning new COLOR version on the same DVD with a new Colorization technology. It really looks like it was shot in color. This disc is then jammed full of great bonus features to take any nostalgic viewer down Christmas memory lane. This DVD is FAR superior to the Goodtimes version (I viewed them side by side) and well worth the extra couple of dollars. I highly recommend this new definitive version of March of the Wooden Soldiers (with the Red box) both for yourself or for a gift.

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The "review" from Robert Badgley of March Of The Wooden Soldiers is certainly not the truth and clearly appears to be written by someone with a strange agenda. I suggest he get his facts straight before writing such a misleading, false and defamatory review. Amazon reviews are intended to inform, not mislead and misinform.

I was personally responsible for producing the prior color release from Goldwyn and I am also responsible for producing the current color and black and white release from Legend Films.

This was truly a lost Laurel and Hardy film. Film prints of this movie have gone from distributor to distributor and are well worn. However, both Goldwyn and a renowned distributor and collector provided 35mm material to produce a complete print that is widely recognized to be the highest quality. In my previous colorization company, American Film Technologies, I transferred that 35mm print to analog one-inch video tape. While extremely inferior by today's standards, one-inch video tape was the industry standard in video resolution at the time.

Now, for the FIRST TIME the Goldwyn film of March Of The Wooden Soldiers has been transferred Digitally in High Definition. The black and white High Definition tape, was completely restored using the Legend Films proprietary restoration technology. Then with the latest colorization process the film was colorized in High Definition resolution. This is the same Legend Films process used by Martin Scorsese to produce color special effects for The Aviator. The resulting color frames were then used to create a new High Definition colorized version. So you have on the Legend Films DVD, both the fully restored black and white version and a separate, fully restored color version.

By every measure, I believe the Legend Films DVD release is the highest quality black and white and color version of March Of The Wooden Soldiers that exists anywhere today.

Barry B. Sandrew, Ph.D.

Founder/COO, CTO

Legend Films, Inc.

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This Laurel and Hardy treasure remains the definitive holiday movie. "March of the Wooden Soldiers" (the original "Babes in Toyland") is a timeless musical-comedy with Stan and Ollie in top form abetted by stylish sets and visual effects. Most "colorized" films are an artistic desecration; however, this particular video is rendered in low-key pastels that resemble early Technicolor. The results are better than expected. Laurel and Hardy fans should be doubly pleased because this uncut version contains a delightful "storybook" sequence which hasn't been shown since the film's initial release in 1934. There have been several remakes of "Babes in Toyland," but none can match the original's effortless charm.

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Striking Distance (1993)

Bruce Willis at the peak of his action hero form playing a cynical hard-boiled cop trying to fight the system. A pre-Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker at the peak of her cuteness. Great character actors like Dennis Farina, Tom Sizemore, Brion James, John Mahoney, and Andre Braugher. Superb on location cinematography shot by Mac Ahlberg in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a cool genre score by Brad Fiedel (love that saxaphone love theme) and on the mark (and wonderfully over the top) direction by Rowdy Herington of Road House fame. Striking Distance is a nice little hard boiled action gem that seems to be slowly gaining a nice little cult following. For fans of 80's and 90's action films, this is a movie worth seeking out.

I was really surprised by the number of negative reviews of this movie. Granted, STRIKING DISTANCE, is not one of Bruce's best films, but I found it to be solidly entertaining, cliches and all. And I think it had some very good twists that I didn't see coming. I found the whole cast, (even (...)Sarah Jessica Parker) to be commendable in their roles. Special kudos to Robert Pastorelli, Dennis Farina and Tom Sizemore. I wanted to be entertained and STRIKING DISTANCE certainly filled the bill for me!!

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Bruce Willis is Pittsburgh cop Thomas Hardy, a former homicide detective who believes his cousin is in the center of the case he is investigating. When Hardy and his sexy new river patrol partner (Sarah Jessica Parker) discover a series of women floating dead in the Ohio River, Hardy begins to believe his cousin, an ex-police officer, is the serial killer, and the whole story goes back to his mysterious family past... Directed by Rowdy Herrington. Pretty good movie, but Die Hard, Lethal Weapon, and other movies like that beat this. Worth seeing (!).

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There are two mysteries to "Striking Distance" (1993) which drive this movie and provide the character motivation; as things build toward a climax (and only ten minutes remain to wrap everything up) you know that two has to be one-that the same thing will be the answer to both questions because not enough time remains to untangle two "different" sets of misdirection.

Of course first-time viewers applying first-class logical reasoning skills will never guess the answer, because someone (presumably the writers) cheats at the end and introduces the deus ex machina device. Dating back to Greek tragedy, deus ex machina is when an artificial character is suddenly introduced to untangle a hopelessly contrived plot. Looking back for clues to the involvement of this character you realize that there are none and that the writers have intentionally kept the audience ignorant, a cheap way to surprise the viewer, the drawback being that the technique makes it impossible to inject even the tiniest bit of suspense into the viewing process. What clues there are were inserted just to jerk the viewer around.

They cheat again with another of those stupid villain resurrection fight sequences at the very end. You know this tired stuff, show evidence that the villain could not possibly have escaped then have him Jason-like magically surface alive and kicking. The sad part being that it doesn't work (which must have been obvious during the editing process), it is totally unnecessary, and it could have been seamlessly trimmed out during post-production. Lose those moronic 20 seconds and you could add about 10 IQ points to the target audience.

That said, it is otherwise an entertaining film. Bruce Willis plays a trouble-making Pittsburgh cop named Hardy and.... big surprise.... he's unpopular with the department brass. He is demoted and paired with Sarah Jessica Parker patrolling the three rivers for the River Rescue Squad. Their romance is predictable but the chemistry is good and the relationship has a nice low-key charm. The river patrol provides an opportunity to stage some nice 1940's style action and chase scenes. Hardy is very easy to identify with so you can get a nice vicarious rush from his point-of-view.

Hardy is unpopular because he testified against his first partner in a police brutality case, because he insists that a serial killer is still at large, and that only someone on the force could be the serial killer. So mystery #1 is the identity of the serial killer. Mystery #2 is who killed Hardy's father (a police Captain) about the same time as the first round of serial killings. . His uncle (Dennis Farina) is on the force, and at one time so were two of his uncle's sons, Hardy's cousins and childhood friends. Not much is revealed about them because doing so would require a much more intelligent screenplay. One seems to be a violent nut case so you know he could not possibly be involved in the killings.

Roger Ebert summed it all up nicely in a template: "A rebel cop stirs up trouble and is disciplined, but determines to stay on the trail of a serial killer, while meanwhile he is assigned a partner that first he hates and then he likes, while the killer cleverly tries to frame him. Add several chase scenes and a deadly confrontation in which all of the key characters magically congregate at the same time."

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

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This is a great movie, there is nothing you can not like in this movie.

Bruce willis as well as the rest of the cast did a good job in this movie with very good acting, the plot is also entertaining with some twists in it, the whole thing about how all the family members of Bruce are cops is just cool, reminded me a little of cop land (town of cops), but this movie is even better than cop land.

Tom sizemore performance was also noticable, even Sarah jessica parker was good here.

currently, i only own a VHS copy of the movie, but if any one have not seen it yet, my advice is to buy the DVD because this movie is worth it and is FULLY ENTERTAINING !

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She's All That (1999)

Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr) is doing fine he's just started his last 8 weeks of high school, he's class president, he's dating the most desirable girl in high school, and they are a shoo-in for prom king and queen. Everything's good until his girlfriend arrives at school. Taylor Vaughn (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) got a tattoo on spring break, and she is now dating Brock Hudson (Matthew Lillard), whose only claim to fame is that he's an idiot on MTV's Real World reality TV. Zack is hurt, especially when his friend Dean (Paul Walker) razzes him about it. Zack responds by claiming he can make any girl in school into the prom queen. That's the kind of statement that leads to a bet. Dean says he'll choose a girl for Zack's challenge, and he chooses Laney Boggs (Rachael Leigh Cook).

Laney is about as big an outsider as Taylor's ego. She's an artist she has been advised that many artists are more appreciated after they are dead, so she should kill herself (we all need "friends" like that, right?). She looks after her father and her brother. She's clumsy. She wears unattractive glasses. She wears no makeup. She wears overalls. She even wears a daggy hat while she works in a fast-food joint. They've pulled out all the stops to try to make the beautiful Rachael Leigh Cook look plain (they failed, but they tried hard!).

This is the predictable My Fair Lady type of story, or so it seems at first, especially when Zack's sister Mackenzie (Anna Paquin) gets involved to do a make-over on Laney. But there are some nice little twists, and they add up to a film that's different enough to be a pleasant time. Two of the interviewees mention that this film was deliberately modelled on early John Hughes films; I'm not sure I'd agree with that, but it does capture the idea of the romantic comedy / teen comedy genre to which this film belongs.

There are some interesting lesser characters in this film. We get to see Gabrielle Union and Clea DuVall as minor characters, and Sarah Michelle Gellar in a non-speaking role (she's included in a list headed "They're all that" in the end-credits). Tim Matheson, in a single real scene as Zack's father, was haggard-looking, but convincing.

All up, this is a pleasant film, and I recommend giving it a try.

Well, I have always been into these kinds of movies about the young Generation X. I heard from my teenage sister that this movie is definitely all that. So is it?  One of the reasons why I was hesitant on buying this DVD is because there is only one extra and that's the music video by Sixpence None the Richer. There is no trailer, nothing....

For DVD enthusiasts, this is not cool!

As for the movie, I enjoyed the movie. I enjoyed the dance scene during the prom. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook did a great job. Also, you can see a special small cameo of Buffy the Vampire Slayer star, Sarah Michelle Gellar in the cafeteria scene. This movie is a fun movie to watch, but as a DVD...there should have been more included.

The movie was fun to watch...but the DVD was just blah! No extras...no good rating! Hope Miramax remembers that if they want their DVD's to be bought that rented, they need to add more to their DVD releases.

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I love this movie! It is great because it is all fun. Most movies have annoying parts that you just don't want to watch after you have seen it a few times, not this movie, every second is great! Not only that but it has to make you happy, sure it is a little cheesy, but it ends great. Not to mention the fact that most of us were NOT the prom queen type, so this movie is especially great!

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I love this movie. While the teen movie stereotypes are always apparent in every film, "She's All That" doesn't go overboard and, surprisingly, presents a relatively realistic view of the high school social strata.

After Zach, the class president and soccer star, is very publically dumped by his "magically delicious" (and equally popular) girlfriend, Taylor, he's hard put to maintain his legacy.

Uber-jock, though a little slow, Zach's friend, Dean, bets him that he can't replace Taylor and make any girl prom queen.

Enter Laney Boggs, an art student who cares little about the social scene. Dean picks Laney as Zach's prom queen "project" and Zach has a hard time convincing Laney to even go out with him.

Meanwhile, Taylor, the ex, is dating a Real World reject who she met over spring break, but she's still catty over her "discards" and is horrible to Laney, embarassing her at a party.

The more time Zach spends with Laney, the more he starts to like her and Laney begins to open up and finds a real outlet in her art.

Dean, sensing he might be about to lose the bet, asks Laney to prom before Zach gets around to it and, a recently single Taylor, attaches herself to Zach's arm, assuming he'll take her back.

Ultimately, feelings are hurt, battle lines are drawn...and a really cool dance scence takes place at the prom.

I love the fresh comedy in the movie that is amusing for teens without being impractical or raunchy. The characters are well-developed and actually evolve in a realistic fashion (even if you are left wondering how nice-guy Zach ever dated self-absorbed Taylor Vaughn).

All-in-all, there's really nothing comparable to the teen movies like "Sixteen Candles" or "Pretty In Pink" because those are genres unto themselves, but "She's All That" is definitely a nice representation of a good, modern teen movie.

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Beetlejuice (2008)

When this movie first came out about fifteen years ago, my father owned a video store and every Wednesday night was "Beetlejuice" night. I'm older now, obviously, but I still cannot get enough of this movie.

Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis play Adam and Barbara Maitland, two Connecticut yuppies who die prematurely in a car wreck. Within a couple weeks, their home is overrun by an ultra-trendy New York City family, Charles and Delia Deetz, and their Goth daughter, Lydia (played respectively by Jeffrey Jones, Catherine O'Hara, and Winona Ryder). Adam and Barbara want their house back, and attempt to scare the Deetz's out of the house by wearing sheets and even by possessing them over dinner, making them sing and dance to Harry Belafonte's "Day O." Those attempts fail and enter Michael Keaton as Betelguese, "the afterlife's leading freelance bio-exorcist." The movie is dark without being scary and funny without being ridiculous.

In my opinion, one of the real gems in this film is the late Sylvia Sidney as Juno, Your Case Worker. Sidney was pushing eighty when this film was made, but turns in a great performance as the embittered equivalent of an afterlife social worker. Love how the smoke from her ever-present cigarette comes out of the slit in her throat.

If you've never seen this movie, see it. If you have seen it but don't own it on DVD, get it. The picture quality is better than ever.

(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)I love this film. Barbara and Adam Maitland, a young couple madly in love (played by Geena Davis and Alec Baldwin) discover that they are not only dead but trapped in their home as ghosts waiting for the bureaucracy of the afterlife to set them free. When a New York couple (Catherine O'Hara and Jeffrey Jones) and their teenage daughter Lydia (wonderfully macabre Winona Ryder) move into their beloved house, the Maitlands want nothing more than to remove them. The problem is, the Maitlands are too nice to truly scare anyone. They meet a rogue ghost, the ribald, disgusting Beetlejuice (Michael Keaton) who promises to drive the family away, with a few strings attached. Lydia, whose goals aren't that far from the Maitlands and who has a morbid, poignantly sad outlook, discovers the ghosts and tries to help them. But Beetlejuice has his own agenda.

The casting for this movie is perfect, with only Alec Baldwin's performance less than memorable. Michael Keaton is suitably slimy and decadent, while Geena Davis plays the earnest innocence of her character equally well. The most startling performance is a young Winona Ryder, who shows tremendous range in her role as the morbid but good-hearted Lydia.

One of the most hilarious, dark scenes ever filmed is contained in this movie, when the New York couple throws a pretentious dinner party and the Maitlands take over. Director Tim Burton uses sight gags, situational comedy, and one-liners that all bear his trademark quirkiness to make this film inventive and, even years after its release, fresh. What's most amazing in this film essentially about the weirdness of being dead is the emotional drive of it. The Maitlands' yearning to reclaim their home even in death and Lydia's wounded, lonely adolescence lend humanity to an otherwise wild comedy.

I highly recommend this off-beat film for its hilarity and irreverence. Parents of young children should be warned that the film contains off-color humor as well as images and ideas that might disturb young minds. -Debbie Lee Wesselmann

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My one-star refers to this so-called "20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition" of this hilarious and eye-popping delight from director Tim Burton.

Since the inception of the DVD format, I have been waiting for a proper DVD of Beetlejuice with commentary and special features.

I am sorry to say that this pathetic disc is NOT what I have been waiting for.

Though they supposedly have spruced up the picture, the ONLY special features are three Beetlejuice cartoons and I think some music track or something.

NO commentary, NO behind-the-scenes, NO nothing.

So -NO sale.

I'm still waiting...

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I had a hard time finding this information when I searched for it, so I thought I'd type it up in case anyone else was wondering what comes free with your new Blu-ray copy of "Beetlejuice":

1. Danny Elfman "Main Titles"

2. Danny Elfman "Enter ... 'The Family'/Sand Worm Planet"

3. Danny Elfman "The Aftermath"

4. Danny Elfman "Showtime!"

5. Harry Belafonte "The Banana Boat Song" (worth the price of the Blu-ray disc itself!)

6. Danny Elfman "End Credits"

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I am continually amazed at the shoddy treatment that some movies get in their DVD release. This DVD is simply a disgrace, especially considering what a great movie this is. I give the movie itself 5 stars; it's a wonderful example of Tim Burton's energy and style.

This DVD has no extras worth mentioning. No deleted scenes, no featurettes, not even a lousy commentary track! To make it even worse, the film has been CUT DOWN from the theatrical release! I have never seen a DVD release before where you get LESS than was originally presented in theaters.

My advice is to save your money until somebody figures out that when a movie is released on DVD, it needs to live up to the capabilities of the medium, and should always provide more material than was originally released, not less.

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World on a Wire (The Criterion Collection) (1973)

Based on the American science fiction novel, Simulacron-3 (1964) by Daniel F. Galouye, World on a Wire is about virtual reality, world created inside a computer program, a pre-cursor to the Matrix. I believe this is the first movie adaptation of Simulacron-3, although there have been many sci-fi movies with similar themes since then. The Thirteenth Floor (1999) is another adaptation of the same novel (oddly, 1999 is also the year for the Matrix and The Dark City, another great sci-fi movie).

World on a Wire was made in 1972 for German TV. It is made of two parts each one is aboout an hour and half long. The movie has a very distinct visual style and atmosphere; the interior shots, camera angles, the locations, actors are very 1970 German.

I like this movie a lot because of its different style but it is probably not for anyone's taste. Even though the subject matter is sci-fi, there are no spectacular special effects or action scenes which are typical of Hollywood productions. However, I think the movie overall does a pretty good job of creating an eerie atmosphere and paranoid feeling of the world not being real.

I was especially amazed by how some of the scenes and ideas seem to be pre-cursor to the Matrix. For instance, the subjects sit in a chair with wires hooked up to their heads and they get downloaded to the computer world (you may think of that as the matrix) and if they want to exit the computer world, they use a phone booth. Sounds familiar?

I also like the love affair depicted in the movie; in my opinion it works so much better than the affair between Neo and Trinity in the matrix.

I recommend this movie for any sci-fi fan who can appreciate foreign movies with unique styles even if they lack CGI and spectacular special effects.

The only science fiction movie that German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder ever made was this long-lost three-and-a-half hour long film made for German Television. It has traces of "The Prisoner" to it, along with influences of Stanley Kubrick, Kurt Vonnegut and Philip K. Dick. The satirical look at the futuristic world of computer technology was incredibly ahead of its time in 1973, and is a recently rediscovered gem for film fans to now experience on high definition Blu-ray.

The film's storyline is simple, and even familiar in the sense that these themes have been touched upon by countless filmmakers from David Cronenberg to Steven Spielberg ever since. Fred Stiller (Klaus Löwitsch) is a cybernetics engineer who is responsible for the creation of a complex computer world of virtual reality cities and people. It is like Sim City, but the cybernetic people aren't aware that the life they are living isn't actually reality, but virtual reality which can be visited though a machine.

When one of Stiller's co-workers dies suddenly, there are suspicions of foul play. As he investigates this mishap, a deeper corporate conspiracy is discovered, and Stiller begins to doubt his own existence and reality. There are hints that he may actually be living in one of the computer worlds himself, unable to trust the world around him. The labyrinth of computer worlds makes it impossible to know what--if anything--is reality. We follow Stiller on a mad escape from authorities who may very well be programmed to find and destroy him, as well as nearly every other citizen. As the most wanted man in his world, there seem to be higher powers preventing Stiller from finding the truth.

More:

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As a film buff, I have had a chance to see a number of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's works. He was clearly a genius and I have enjoyed a majority of the ones I've seen. However, I have never found myself utterly fascinated with any of the films as much as this one, World on a Wire. It helps that I love sci-fi in all its forms, from escapism to more serious works. This definitely falls into the latter category; the film that it strangely most reminds me of is the original Russian version of Solaris (and fans of that film should definitely check this out). It shares a (somewhat) slow pace, cinematography and visuals that are quite striking at times, and a quite serious examination of seriously fascinating material. The story concerns a computer project in which a virtual world, complete with simulated individuals who don't know they're artificial, is created with the aims of predicting trends and needs of the future. One leader of the project starts to have suspicions about the project and uncovers a conspiracy involving it. The main twist of the film will probably be figured out by most viewers before the characters do. However, I think for most viewers this will not hurt the film. For me, even after several viewings, the film retains the fascination that it had the first time I watched it. Most interestingly, the film's ending has become increasingly more intriguing, as my interpretation of it seems to change every time I watch the film. All in all, a must watch for anyone who loves sci-fi of serious ideas.

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It's perhaps best described as a somewhat interesting oddity that has resurfaced and worth watching for fans of the director's work.

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A predecessor to "Total Recall" about computer virtual reality, it's misuse, and glitches that could occur. It's not an easy story to follow bacause Fassbinder wants to blur the boundaries. It's worth sitting through even if only for the gorgeous cinematography by Michael Ballhaus.

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