In the Family

I have been advocating for this film ever since I first saw it in Chicago. When it came back to Chicago, I went to see it again. I am dumbfounded that it wasn't considered for an Academy Award.

Patrick Wang's direction is thoughtful, well-considered, and a pleasant change from traditional Hollywood film making. Scenes in which the action is happening off-camera carry more impact than had the action been filmed.

The film's subject matter -same-sex families, two dads, fighting relatives over child custody, death, loss, homophobia, race, love -could have easily turned this film into a maudlin mess were it not for Wang's skillful screenwriting, directing, and acting. The film also skillfully avoids being overtly political despite the subject matter. I'm writing my own first screenplay and I've learned a lot just from repeatedly watching this film.

I know it sounds like hyperbole, but this is seriously the best film I've seen in years.

Powerful. Subtle. Deliberate. Immersive. Inspirational. Challenging. Groundbreaking.

"In the Family" is not about the knee-jerk morality questions our society regularly pontificates on the surfaces of right and wrong. Rather, it is about multiple layers of meaning behind such words as truth, innocence, justice, empathy, compassion, family, and love as they actually play out in the real, down-to-earth lives that we live together as a human family. This film is no less than an indie-masterpiece.

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The first time I saw this film I thought about it for weeks on end, wishing for another opportunity to see it. The second time, I was able to simply bask in the beauty and power of the film. The Q&As were long, open conversations lasting over an hour. I am looking forward to another opportunity to see In the Family and I can't wait to tear through the additional material that is packaged with it. Worth owning, worth sharing with people that are close to you.

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Many critics could argue, perhaps convincingly, that "In the Family" could be edited from its almost 3 hours to 2 hours, however, the pacing of the film doesn't suffer from its length. And by taking time to develop the almost mundane everyday life of a gay couple raising a young son, the film is actually a bold political statement that speaks directly to every person who thinks being gay is somehow a non-stop sex fest. Because of that, the film makes a very strong point even before the issues at the heart of the movie become front and center. It's a family friendly film where sexual orientation is almost an afterthought of the movie and that is what sets the tone and makes it groundbreaking. That is a long winded way of saying that anyone who thinks the film should fit into a typical 2 hour movie formula, is missing the depth of the story and the emotional impact the pacing creates.

Many Asian-American actors would say they hate doing accents because they are connected with stereotypical roles, but Patrick Wang's southern accent probably wasn't what Asian-American actors had in mind and in this case it is a testament to Patrick's incredible acting abilities. I am one who thinks directors should direct and not also take on the demand of acting in their own films because both can suffer, but Patrick Wang's acting and directing are both amazing. He has embraced this film heart and soul and it's evident in its emotional complexity and perhaps this is a case where it could not have been as successful without Patrick in both roles.

In the film the downward spiral starts with the confrontation between Joey (Patrick Wang) and Chad's sister over the will and is a riveting scene that doesn't leave the viewer rooting for anyone, but actually feeling the pain and the point each is making about the circumstances. But for Joey it is the most devastating because everything in his life is gone overnight; his partner, his child, and his home. The loneliness and destruction of his life is powerfully and beautifully created by Patrick's acting and directing making this a heart wrenching film that shouldn't be missed. And the film's conclusion? Emotionally brilliant.

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This film is certainly not for everyone, at almost 3 hours length, with minimal soundtrack and mostly static shots. But I sat riveted until the end, as did most of the audience in the theater.

The plot sounds melodramatic: a gay Asian man fights for the custody of the son he shared with his deceased lover. But writer/director Patrick Wang, who seems clearly influenced by the understated Yasujiro Ozu and Ang Lee, avoids the easy moral conflicts. Instead, he focuses on the daily lives of mostly average and good hearted people. There are no stereotype villains here. Instead of a Hollywood court battle, we have an almost documentary like deposition meeting that still manages to be dramatic and emotionally true.

The cast is uniformly terrific, especially young Sebastian Banes as Chip and Brian Murray as the lawyer. Certain quietly powerful scenes still stay with me, like the kitchen scene post-funeral and Chip replaying the audiotape of his father's voice calling his name. Patrick Wang will be a talent to follow! This was also a favorite of the late Roger Ebert, a champion of small independent gems.

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The Hole (2012)

First off I must say that I loved this movie. I am a big fan of Joe Dante's work and it was great seeing him back behind the camera where he belongs. This is a great film for the family who likes to watch scary movies together. All of the young actors did a great job in their roles. I was so happy to see Dick Miller's cameo. It's not a Joe Dante movie with out Mr. Miller! My only problem with this blu ray is that they have decided not to release it in it's original 3D version. I have the blu ray from England and I have to say that the 3D is really used well in this film. Joe Dante has a great eye for visuals and seeing it in 3D the way he intended makes them all the better. Still, even in 2D this is a great movie and I recommend picking it up. If you can get a hold of the 3D version and have the equipment to view it it's worth looking for.

This was a wonderful film. I first saw it on Netflix on New Year's Day. I liked it enough to get the Blu-ray of it. It's basically a teenager type movie. I was expecting the older boy to act more maturely in trying to get his girl, but he didn't seem to care. So that was unexpected. A good treatise on overcoming our fears, however. It is almost packaged as a horror flick, but SPOILER ALERT: when my wife saw the clown attacking the younger boy, instead of being frightened, as she usually is with horror, she burst out laughing and could not stop. The demise of the clown was especially funny. Anyway, a very good job to the actors and a very good film. Happy watching!

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I had little expectation for this movie but found excellent acting, appealing characters and tight directing.

Also, good sets and film quality shame some larger budget fare.

Real chemistry between the brothers and the girl next door and all three characters provide surprising dimension

in a 92 minute movie.

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This movie is awesome!! I thought the acting from all the stars was top of the line. Especially the young co-star Nathan Gamble. He has all the makings of a future household name. His acting in every feature film, every guest tv spot, every short film, every skit...it's so professional, crisp, and dead on. This movie is no exception. I honestly think Nathan's acting outshone the other actors by a bit. Chris Masoglia was very cool as the brooding teenage brother. He did his part to the letter as well. And Haley Bennett gave a convincing and effective performance as well.

I'm so glad to see this movie getting a domestic release and home copy release. It's about time.

10 out of 10 all around!

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Joe Dante ("Gremlins," "Matinee," "Howling," "The Burbs," "Piranha," "Small Soldiers," "Twilight Zone The Movie") demonstrates why he was handpicked by Steven Spielberg to direct "It's a Good Life," one of the segments in "Twilight Zone the Movie" with this little known gem. The premise isn't too complicated: Two brothers and their single mother move into a house with a mysterious hole located in the basement. As the two brothers befriend the girl next door, the trio soon begin to find themselves confronted by supernatural events related to the presence of the hole.

What transpires is a simple tale with large mythical overtones that help make it accessible to a diverse audience. The horror "scenarios" aren't incredibly novel or original per se; but Dante still manages to make them chilling and unique in a way many contemporary horror films haven't. In fact, there is a very compelling reason WHY they seem to have been derived from other horror movies -but to explain that reason would be to divulge a major reveal of the story. Let's just say that Dante is one who, in his philosophy of storytelling in general, and horror movies in particular, has espoused the belief that stories are receptacles of universal emotions; and that horror films in particular are most successful when they capitalize on universal fears. The fact that he can incorporate iconic, recognizable elements from other films and still make them fresh and compelling is a testament to how deft he is at handling this material.

The third act is a visual treat that harkens back to his work on "It's a Good Life." I recommend seeing this movie for the last act alone!

While not his best movie, "The Hole" is an unexpected gift from a sorely missed talent. Hopefully this movie is meant to signify Joe Dante's return.

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In the Loop (2010)

"War is unforeseeable." It was an off-the-cuff comment by British government official, Simon Foster that brought down the wrath of the Prime Minister's chief enforcer and attack dog, Malcolm Tucker. In trying to dig his way out, Simon is then caught in another off-the-cuff interview talking about "climbing the mountain of conflict." In the meantime, US government official, Karen Clarke and General George Miller are hoping to short circuit mounting pressure for war on the US side. Thinking they've identified a like-minded Brit, they invite Simon to Washington to attend some conferences. Simon is sick of the know-it-all attitude of long-time staffer, Judy, so he takes the new hire, Toby. When Toby leeks details about the secret war committee meeting to CNN, the whole fiasco becomes a media feeding frenzy. Malcolm is less than pleased. He doesn't like to "learn anything about a British government official on TV unless they've died." And if words could kill, Simon would die a very brutal death, indeed.

If rough language offends you, do NOT go to In the Loop... consider yourself warned! For those who enjoy scathingly funny, take-no-prisoners dialog, In the Loop is high art. While the style of In the Loop is decidedly British, I believe American audiences, for the most part, will get on board with this one. Some of the accents are a bit difficult, but not impossible. It is impossible, however, to catch every line because of the unrelenting, rapid-fire pace of the dialogue. But in the end, most will catch more than enough to enjoy this film.

As I left the theatre, I overheard several conversations about wanting to stay and watch it again. This is an intensely funny movie... assuming it's your kind of humor... and you'll come away wanting to remember some of your favorite lines. But the filmmakers don't give you enough time to process one laugh line before firing the next one. This one will be on my want-to-own DVD list.

"In the Loop" is blisteringly profane (a full 10 on the "Deadwood" scale), but in a smart way; it received an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay. In a scenario that is probably closer to the truth than anyone would ever admit, an unfortunate British undersecretary answers a fairly bland question about the possibility of Mideast war during a radio interview. An awkward response to that unexpected query triggers a storm of political shenanigans in London and D.C. Hilarity ensues. James Gandolfini is the only name actor (for U.S. audiences), and his not-that-hawkish general is a delight to watch. Peter Capaldi plays the British prime minister's hatchet man with fire and brimstone that is awe inspiring. His f-bomb laden verbal attacks on... well, pretty much anyone within 100 yards, are jazz riffs of obscenity. Classic stuff, smart, razor sharp. Don't miss the deleted scenes; they're as funny as the best bits of the regular feature. If you love satire, you'll love this.

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If you liked The Office, Spinal Tap and Dr. Strangelove and you also don't mind the very frequent but highly effective use of swearing then this is a must-see movie.

To paraphrase one of the many rants from the British spin doctor, if you don't watch this movie "I'm going to tear out your shinbone, split it in two and stab you to f*****g death with it!"

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This is the smartest, funniest movie I've seen in ages. It is filled with a multitude of quotable one-liners that me & my friends will be using over & over again. Moreover, it ran for SIX MONTHS here in the Bay Area. It is destined to become a rep-house institution for the next decade and the DVD will become a cult-fave for many.

All I do is work and watch movies, basically, and this is the best film I have seen in years.

Here's my fave quote: "Why don't you take your cheese, and your backlog of Mojo, and your eighth of dope and ____ off!"

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This is a movie that some people really dislike. It contains a surfeit of vulgar and profane language largely from the character of the British prime minister's director of communications brilliantly played by Peter Capaldi. Also, it is satire, which is disliked by many people. The great American playwright George S. Kaufman once said that "Satire is what closes on Saturday night." The subject is a series of meetings in London and in Washington between U.S. and U.K. high government officials concerning the possibility of an impending war, presumably somewhere in the Middle-East.

Most of the actors in this film are new to me. Some of the actors playing the parts of Americans may well be British actors. These days, actors on both side of the pond can provide either American or British accents nearly perfectly. One actor, definitely American, is James Gandolfini, playing an American General who reputedly uses a live hand grenade as a paper weight.

The superbly written film portrays these officials who, in their attempts to avoid the outbreak of a new war, only manage to move both countries closer and closer to it. The cast and director of this fine film acquit themselves admirably. The opening credits state that part of the funding for this film was provided by the U.K. Film Council, an organization that has since been abolished in order to reduce government spending.

The film adroitly demonstrates the failure of human beings to communicate. To quote T.S. Eliot from one of his plays: "Men tighten the knot of confusion into perfect misunderstanding."

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White Heat (2013)

"White Heat" is unusual in that it is a genre film that is also widely considered to be film noir. It's immistakably a gangster film, yet it deviates from the conventions of that genre in that its main character, Cody Jarrett, is complex and introverted enough to be a noir protagonist. "White Heat" was masterfully directed by Raoul Walsh and features James Cagney in one of this most memorable gangster roles. Treasury Department investigator Philip Evans (John Archer) is hot on the trail of the notorious criminal Cody Jarrett (James Cagney) after the Jarrett gang has robbed a mail train, killing several people and making off with a substantial sum. In order to guarantee himself immunity from the multiple murder charge, Cody confesses to an out-of-state robbery that took place at the same time, for which he receives a couple of years in prison. But the Feds are wise to his scheme and place an undercover agent (Edmond O'Brien) in the cell with Cody, hoping to learn the identity of the person who launders money for the Jarrett gang.

The psychology of Cody Jarrett is the most striking aspect of "White Heat", and the element around which the story revolves. We are told by the federal investigators that Cody is actually "insane". He is bloodthirsty and so unstable that his pursuers fear that he will go completely off his head before they can learn anything from him. Cody also has a pathologically dependent relationship with his doting and equally ruthless mother, who is played to perfection by Margaret Wycherly. Cody is such an extreme personality that James Cagney's ability to make him completely believable is remarkable. The "good guy" undercover cop, Hank Fallon, is bland and submissive, which only increases our focus on Cody. Another striking characteristic of "White Heat" is its technophilia: The film spends a great deal of time demonstrating cutting edge surveillance technology that is used to track Cody. Cody is defeated more by technology and bureaucracy than he is by his own lunacy.

The DVD: Bonus features include a documentary about the film, a theatrical trailer, an audio commentary by author and film professor Dr. Drew Casper, and a "Warner Night at the Movies" prelude to the film. If you have time, "Warner Night at the Movies" is a nice feature. With an introduction by Leonard Maltin, Warner Brothers provides a nice collection of mini-features that emulate the now-defunct tradition of showing a cartoon, a short, a newsreel, and a trailer with every theatrical film. "White Heat" was released in 1949, so we have, from 1949: a trailer for the film "The Fountainhead" (2 minutes), a newsreel of the year's highlights (1 1/2 minutes), a short "Joe McDoakes" comedy, called "So You Think You're Not Guilty" (10 minutes), based on the old vaudeville routine "Pay the Two Dollars", and a Bugs Bunny cartoon called "Homeless Hare" (7 minutes). You can also watch the featurettes separately if you like. "White Heat: Top of the World" (16 minutes) features interviews with filmmakers, critics, and theorists, including Martin Scorsese and Alain Silver, in which they discuss the film's themes, James Cagney's role, and the characters of Cody, Ma, and Cody's wife Verna, played by Virginia Mayo. The audio commentary by Drew Casper approaches "White Heat" as a gangster film, not as film noir, as this seems to be Dr. Casper's area of expertise. Casper talks about how the film was promoted, James Cagney, Freudian influences, themes, and analyzes director Raoul Walsh's style for some scenes. Subtitles are available for the film in English, Spanish, and French.

The intense character study of criminal insanity in Raoul Walsh's "White Heat" (1949) is most likely the other great Cagney performance that has endured the test of time in Warner's gangster genre. Cagney plays the psychotic and sadistic Arthur 'Cody' Jarrett, a ruthless gang leader with a penchant for deriving pleasure from the affliction of pain. Plagued by torturous headaches and a mother fixation with Freud written all over it, Cody revels in murdering his wounded accomplice during a jail break. Cody's 'ma' (Margaret Whycherly) has allowed herself the luxury to forget that she's given birth to the criminal anti-Christ. Meanwhile, Cody's wife, Verna (Virginia Mayo) flaunts her sexuality to every man she meets while enduring the brutality and neglect of her unstable husband. This, of course, ends badly for all concerned. The plot thickens when a henchman plots an 'accident' for Cody, that is foiled when an undercover cop, Vic Pardo (Edmund O'Brien) inflitrates the gang. The finale of this barn-burner will justly go down as one of the greatest in all crime films, as Cody betrayed and about to die, shouts triumphantly, "Made it, ma! Top of the world!" against the backdrop of a burning chemical plant. "White Heat" may have been a remake twice removed, but neither the 26' nor the 34' versions come close to the immediate panic and raw hysteria of this great film classic.

Warner's DVD exhibits exemplary image quality throughout. The gray scale is rich and nicely balanced with deep solid blacks, clean whites and fine distinctions of tonality. Fine details are fully realized, even during some of the darker scenes. Occasionally film grain and minor dirt and scratches appear but these will certainly not distract. The image quality overall is sharp and consistent for a presentation that will surely please. The audio is mono but extremely well balanced and very nicely represented. Extras include an adequate audio commentary by noted authoritarian, Drew Casper, a newly produced featurette which is very succinct and Leonard Maltin's hosting of "Warner's Night At The Movies". Highly recommended!

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James Cagney never exceeded, before or after, his achievement in Raoul Walsh's "White Heat," and indeed few actors have even equaled what Cagney did in that film. His performance as the evil, psychotic yet charismatic Cody Jarrett is the absolute high-water mark for the screen portrayal of a career criminal. Cagney's charisma is so overwhelming that we, the audience, despise the federal agent (Edmond O'Brien) who infiltrates Jarrett's gang and finally betrays him. O'Brien's character is as upright, courageous and resourceful as anyone could wish; yet he's just a worm compared with the breathtaking power of Cagney's Jarrett. Cagney implicates the audience in his crimes more than any of Hitchcock's villains ever did, and indirectly sounds a warning about certain other charismatic characters who have turned up now and then on the political scene. Of course a great performance can't exist in a vacuum; besides Cagney's brilliance and the yeoman service of O'Brien as the federal agent, there are superb performances by Virginia Mayo as Verna, Jarrett's treacherous, trailer-trash wife; Steve Cochran as Big Ed, the thug with big ideas but no brains or guts to back them up; and especially Margaret Wycherly as Jarrett's mom, turning her saintly-mother image from "Sergeant York" on its ear, smiling her icy smile in approval of her son's bloody predations. A brilliant melding of film noir and police procedural, "White Heat" is unquestionably one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. The new DVD of "White Heat" from Warner Brothers is a wow; the print is crisp and excellent, and there are loads of extras including an interesting featurette on the making of "White Heat" and a recreation of a 1950 "Night at the Movies" including newsreels, a short subject and a wonderful Bugs Bunny cartoon, "Homeless Hare."

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It's about time! I've been waiting for "White Heat" to come out on DVD for years, and now -on the heels of the RKO film noir boxed set Warner's issued last summer -"White Heat" is finally being released as part of Warner Bros.'s gangster boxed set, with movies by James Cagney, Bogart and Cagney's rival, "Little Caesar" Edward G. Robinson!

"White Heat" is Raoul Walsh's best movie, even better than "High Sierra," which is quite similar in its plot of a gangster being hunted by the police to his ultimate demise.

It's also James Cagney's big comeback role, for which he did not receive so much as a nomination for best actor. Of course, that's par for the course for AMPAS; Movies that were ahead of their time have been overlooked for most of the Academy's history.

Although firmly ensconsed within the film noir genre, and a movie that's clearly of its time, Cagney's defining role of gangster Cody Jarrett was way ahead of its time: Never before has a thug of the silver screen been played so brutally yet so sympathetically (psychopaths were never played by such obvious leading men; they were usually women, femme fatales such as Barbara Stanwyck in "Double Indemnity" and Ann Blythe in "Mildred Pierce," or the occasional character actor like Peter Lorre, in "M"). In 1949, one didn't see "tough guy" actors such as Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster and Humphrey Bogart play mental weaklings, such as Cagney portrayed in this flick. It was unheard of even for the biggest villains to be turned to mush by a psychotic disorder; Such roles would not become commonplace until the "psychological westerns" (an interesting, but largely forgetable, genre) of the 1960s. Yet, Cagney tackled this role with over-the-top aplomb and sarcastic panache.

"White Heat" boasts a sterling supporting cast, most notably Margaret Wycherly as Ma Jarrett, the hardboiled crime matriarch to whose grease-splattered apron strings mama's boy Cody desperately clings. This too required guts on Cagney's part, given the thinly veiled subplot of Cody's fixation on and fierce attachment to his mother. Although more implied than explicated, 1940s audiences got the Oedipal message.

Steve Cochran plays Big Ed, Cody's right hand man, whose backstabbing rivalry to Cody inflames Cagney's Napoleon cmoplex. "If I turned my back long enough for Big Ed to put a hole in it, there'd be a hole in it," quips Jarrett, who lacks sentiment for anyone else in the world except his ma. Edmond O'Brien turns in the movie's best supporting performance as the undercover cop, whose befriending of Cody behind bars actually betrays the cop's sympathy for Jarrett's mental plight.

"White Heat" ends in a blazing fury of cinematic pyromania, courtesy of director of photography Sid Hickox, who also photographed immortal films noir "The Big Sleep," "Dark Passage" and "To Have and Have Not."

A quintessential film noir, "White Heat" is a highly polished product of the Warner Bros. studio system, the kinda film they don't make anymore. As with all Warner's A-list movies, it features a pummeling Wagnerian soundtrack by the legendary Max Steiner. The score is one of Steiner's most intense and complements the on-screen violence with Steiner's rich use of big brass, low strings and incendiary winds and trumpets.

Put this in your DVD player, and you'll be on top of the world!

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Following the completion of "Each Dawn I Die" in 1940, James Cagney promised not to make another gangster movie. But after almost a decade of trying to change his screen image, Cagney relented in 1949 and agreed to star in the now-legendary classic, "White Heat." As the psychotic Cody Jarrett, Cagney took the gangster genre to new heights. Although certainly a gangster movie in terms of plot, "White Heat" is also a film noir with one of the most deeply disturbed protagonists of all time. One example is the unforgettable prison mess hall scene where Cody goes nuts after hearing about his mother's death. Then of course there's the explosive ending where he shouts the famous line, "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" Needless to say, Cody Jarrett is one movie gangster you'll never forget.

As the movie opens, Cody Jarrett (Cagney) and his gang rob a train and then head for a cabin in the mountains. The Treasury agents investigating the crime have no evidence against Jarrett but are convinced that he is guilty. So they send Hank Fallon (Edmond O'Brien), an undercover agent, to infiltrate Cody's gang and get the proof he needs to convict Cody and his accomplices. When Cody is arrested for a lesser offense, Fallon becomes his cellmate and slowly wins his trust and respect. When another prisoner tries to kill Cody, Fallon saves Cody's life, and before long Fallon is learning the inner workings of Cody's gang.

While Cody is in jail, his rival, "Big Ed" Sommers (Steve Cochran), takes over Jarrett's gang and seduces Jarrett's treacherous wife Verna (Virginia Mayo). Cody's mother (Margaret Wycherly) finds out about Ed and Verna and makes plans to get payback for her loyal, loving son. But when she confronts the two she is murdered, and when this news reaches Cody in prison, he goes berserk. After calming down, Cody plans and executes a brilliant escape from the prison along with several cellmates, including Fallon. Fallon desperately tries to stay in touch with the Treasury agents, but Cody is dangerously on edge and the smallest mistake could cost Fallon his life.

After getting payback on Ed and Verna, Cody takes charge of his gang and plans a robbery on a chemical plant. After hearing all the details, Fallon gets word to the T-men, and an ambush is waiting for Jarrett and his gang when the attempted robbery begins. As his gang members are gunned down one by one Cody goes completely nuts, climbs on top of one of the gasoline tanks, and starts shooting, and the rest is movie history. Few movie gangsters have ever had such a spectacular death scene as Cody Jarrett. And no one else could've played Cody Jarrett better than Cagney.

The Warner dvd of "White Heat" has an excellent image and audio quality, plus very good bonus features including a commentary by film historian Dr. Drew Casper and a new featurette that includes interviews with famous directors like Martin Scorsese. In "White Heat," Cagney gave one of his very best performances, and Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, and Steve Cochran were terrific as usual. Despite Mayo's good looks, she convincingly played one of the most unattractive tramps of film noir, who snores while sleeping and spits in public. Both O'Brien and Cochran appeared in numerous noir films, and although they were both very talented neither one became a big star. Of course, Cagney is the real reason why this movie remains so enjoyable. For anyone who likes great movies, this dvd is a must!

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3:10 to Yuma (2007)

Although many say the Western is dead, in books as well as movies, it continues to rear its head and make itself known every so often. There's something inherently noble and visceral about the artform and the subject matter, the calm delineation between good and evil, that stubbornly continues to attract an audience.

In 2007, the Western showed back up at the box office in a trio of films that came out roughly at the same time. 3:10 TO YUMA was the first out of the gate, but it was followed in quick order by THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD and NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN.

The movie had been made fifty years ago, and much of the plot in that version made it into the remake. Both movies were based on a short story by Elmore Leonard, who has had several of his Western and crime novels made into films.

Christian Bale stars as Dan Evans, a one-legged, down-on-his-luck rancher struggling to keep a home together for his wife and two kids. Russell Crowe plays Ben Wade, an intelligent and heartless outlaw who's leading one of the blood-thirstiest gangs to ever take up the owlhoot trail.

Both stars take turns stealing scenes. Bale has the hard-edged look of coarse rawhide. Crowe possesses some of the deadest eyes ever shown in movies.

One of the best portrayals in the movie was a surprise to me, though. It took me a minute to recognize Peter Fonda as professional bounty hunter turned Pinkerton agent Byron McElroy. Fonda reminded me a lot of his father Henry, but part of that is because Fonda has aged. He also delivers a quality of acting and honesty in the character that is just amazing, and he was content to carry the supporting character role and didn't try to upstage anyone.

Logan Lerman was another surprise. He stared as William Evans, Dan's 14-year-old son. I'd thought Lerman was much older, but as it turned out he was 14 when the movie was made. He was likeable and intense.

When it came to truly cold-blooded villains, though, Ben Foster as Charlie Prince totally blew me away. The hair on the back of my neck went up as soon as he stepped on stage, and within a minute I hated him.

The story is simple. Dan is struggling to make ends meet and bumps into Wade during an armored wagon job. Later, after taking Byron McElroy into town for medical attention, Dan confronts Hollander, the man who's trying to run him off his land. When Hollander won't give him an extension on his loan, Dan finds Wade and helps take him captive. Then he agrees to help transport him to Yuma for $200.

The movie quickly spins out into the action of the violent road trip. In addition to being one of the fastest gunmen around, Wade is also a skilled psychological warrior, constantly taunting his captors and seeking out their weaknesses.

The action involves traveling through hostile Indian lands, meeting up with a team of killers working the railroad coming through the area, and a final showdown in Yuma that is one of the most exciting I've ever seen in a Western.

For two hours, I sat marveling at the characters, then tensely awaiting the outcome of the latest danger they were all facing. Even then, the twists and turns of the characters, the back stories they were all hiding till the very last moment, were awesome. No one was quite who I thought they were.

Westerns succeed best by having good men with a history of bad violence and bad men who haven't completely gone over to the dark side. 3:10 TO YUMA is one of those.

One caveat I will offer to people who have seen the original movie starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin, this version does NOT follow the same paths or end up the same way. Expect to be surprised and shocked at how things turn out. And you'll be tense nearly the whole way through.

The Western genre is pretty rare nowadays--the Hollywood of today usually prefers other kinds of films (we feel you Clint Eastwood). Fortunately for the die-hard fans of the classic Spaghetti Western, the waiting is over. 3:10 to Yuma is one of the best Western film in years and probably one of the best films of 2007 overall. Not only we get excellent performances by Crowe and Bale, but the film captures the Western film traditions from the past--everything from a compelling story with a sense of justice and great gun action. Read on and I tell you, even if you're not a fan of Western, why you have to watch this extraordinary film.

Brief Intro Story:

The Old West is hard place to live, not only you have to deal with criminals and desert weather, but also with creditors who can be just as dangerous.

Things are not going well financially for the crippled family guy Dan Evans (Christian Bale) who has to support his wife Alice and two sons--he didn't pay the bills and his creditors burned his barn. As he is going back to town with his kids to complain about what happened, they see the famous outlaw Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) with his vicious gang who just busted a wagon full of cash (killing almost everybody). The gang members see Evans and his kids, but Wade (the boss of the gang) decides to only take their horses and leaves them standing there, but the gang makes a mistake--they left one wounded man. The gang goes to town and while Wade is alone and having fun with a local girl, he gets captured by the authorities while he is talking to Evans--who made it to town anyways. But they need extra help to transport him to catch a train that will take him to prison, and that's where Evans volunteers to help--for $200 dollars. He doesn't know that transporting this infamous bandit will turn his life around.

Review:

Director James Mangold (Walk the Line) has created an instant Western classic in almost every aspect. Here we find two cowboys, who are on different sides of the law, but at the same time, there is a sense of fellowship, loyalty and understanding between them--Not only their acting is impressive, there is so much chemistry on screen. In one hand, we have the outlaw Ben Wade who is a casual guy, a bit of a playboy, but he can be vicious if you push his buttons. despite all the immorality and his cockiness; he is a likeable character nevertheless. Then we have Evans who is a serious man of integrity, a loving father that will do everything he can to support his family righteously. There is a point in the film where his loyalty is put to the test, as well as the will to continue with the mission--this is the point of no return when it's not even about the money anymore. The two characters blend towards the end, they finally understand each other and create one of the best endings in recent memory.

Technically speaking, 3:10 to Yuma is a marvel to behold. We get the classic look and feel of the Old West with excellent cinematography, intense gun battle sequences and good costume design. Perhaps for many, the first act might be a bit slow, but after Wade gets captured, the film picks up with great drama and suspense. With all these great sequences, we also get excellent sound effects--which reminds me a bit of Kevin Costner's Open Range. Some of these sounds effects creates even melancholia--listen carefully, specially during the final battle.

The Verdict:

We didn't know taking the train could be so difficult back in the Old West. 3:10 to Yuma will not disappoint fans of the genre. It follows the classic Western formula with great performances by Russell Crowe and Christian Bale. Do I see a nomination for any of these vanguard actors? I'd say yes.

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If there is a truly unique American contribution to film making then that contribution has to be the Western. Though not as popular a theme these days as it was in past decades, it only takes a powerhouse film such as 3:10 TO YUMA to remind us just how pungent storytelling of this type can be. Yes, the story itself (based on a short story by Elmore Leonard) is rather simple: desperate farmer needs money to save his failing farm and family and signs on to escort a powerful outlaw to the train that will take him to prison. But in this screen adaptation by Halsted Welles, Michael Brandt, and Derek Haas the story is fleshed out by sharing with the audience the essence of the pioneer spirit and the sequelae of the Civil War on the minds of the dispossessed who turned to crime against the ruling order the railroads and the banks represented the conquering North and the film becomes one of profound understanding about man's plight in the pioneer West.

The landscape and atmosphere of Arizona is captured with dusty accuracy by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael and sets the stage for director James Mangold ('Girl, Interrupted', 'Walk the Line', 'Identity', 'Kate and Leopold', 'Cop Land') to work with his talented cast to give a realistic view of life in the hard times of the old West. Russell Crowe is the notorious outlaw Ben Wade whose gang includes such actors as Ben Foster and Rio Alexander and once he is captured during a robbery, the local sheriff promises to pay $200. to destitute, crippled farmer Dan Evans to escort the prisoner to Contention, AZ for catching a ride to the 3:10 to Yuma and prison. The connection between the two disparate men Wade and Evans is the message of the story and is beautifully enhanced by allowing the audience to understand both sides of 'the law'. The co-stars of the film include Gretchen Mol as Evans' wife and young Logan Lerman as Evans' impressionable son William, Dallas Roberts as the head of the bank investment at risk, Peter Fonda, Alan Tudyk, Vinessa Shaw and a large cast of the people who interplay in the drama.

Both Crowe and Bale give superlative performances, acting so cohesively that it would be difficult to single out either for the Oscar: this is ensemble acting at its finest. For once the added features enhance our appreciation of the tales from the Old West and how they became legends and the comments by the director, producers and cast actually make sense! The film will doubtless become a classic: it deserves the honor. Grady Harp, January 08

Read Best Reviews of 3:10 to Yuma (2007) Here

I love the Western myth too much to like this film, which does injustice to the savvy of Western characters in general, and to the Code that drives every classic Western. In these things, it becomes a pseudo-Western; if it *does* revive the Western genre, I hope its successors don't commit its same atrocities.

The film is an exercise in Implausible Plotting. Cowboys and lawmen of the Old West escort a Notorious Outlaw across the wilderness and leave his hands cuffed in front of him, even after he kills two of the escort party in ways he never could have done had they just bothered to tie him up. Said cowboys and lawmen send a decoy "outlaw" in a stagecoach to throw the bad guys off the trail of the escort, and they just happen to lock the unfortunate decoy in the stage *for real* without giving him a key, so he can burn to death when the gang catches up and discovers his identity. Said cowboys and lawmen, armed and holding the higher ground, look out a hotel window to engage in conversation with the Notorious Outlaw's psychotically murderous gang, and then allow them to ride away unaccosted after several death threats, so the carnage can come later. What sane person would behave as these characters do? They act stupidly so dramatic tension can last longer.

Yes, the scenery is lovely. Yes, the acting is pretty much flawless, but who would have expected less from Crowe and Bale? The character actions and the conclusion are the problem here. After seeing this film, my 18-year-old brother remarked, "Well, if that was reality, I'd definitely wanna be on the side of the bad guys ... all the good guys were either stupid or wimpy." That is not the Western myth; that is the antithesis of the Western myth.

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The Western film: a truly American invention and in this new millennium a rare commodity. "Unforgiven" comes to mind and that was 10 years or so ago. There are others, of course but they are few and far between. There are Westerns that glamorize the Old West: "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon" and those that don't: "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance."

"3:10 to Yuma" is somewhere in between the two mentioned above and it is about the eternal struggle between good and evil, between the have and the have nots, between those that would uphold the family and those that would demolish it and those who would preserve the peace and those that would let chaos rule.

James Mangold ("I Walked the Line") has chosen to remake, revise, re-invent the 1957 Glenn Ford starring "3:10 to Yuma" with a sterling cast of Russell Crowe (as outlaw, train robber, Ben Wade), Christian Bale (erstwhile Batman as Dan Evans: everyman, ranch owner-going broke) whose life is turned upside down when he accidentally comes in contact with Wade while Wade is in the process of robbing a Pinkerton protected stage of all of it's loot.

Crowe dominates the screen as Wade. His Wade is mercurial, slimy, sexy, brutal...seemingly willing to do anything for the thrill of stealing and killing. Crowe plays Wade quietly even sympathetically but always in control even when he physically isn't. Crowe dominates, both physically and cosmically, every scene that he is in: he sucks the oxygen out of a room upon entering and, in the one sex scene of the film, his "prey" has no choice, nor does she struggle by the way, but to comply with his wishes. In fact, she wants it as much as he does.

Bale's Evans is downtrodden, desperate as well as desperately poor. He is days away from losing his farm and more importantly losing the respect of his family: the more important of the two in the world of "3:10." For in this world you are nothing without family and property and less than nothing if you lose it.

On many levels Wade and Evans connect: they look at each other and their expressive eyes tell us something akin to "there but for the grace of God go I." But way down deep inside each man, inside their cores, they are brothers who have merely taken different roads.

There is lots of violence, murder and even a little sex in "3:10" and perhaps it is even a bit long by 20 minutes but ultimately Mangold pulls all the various pieces together into a cohesive whole. But the real magic of this film comes from the premiere acting jobs of Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and a terrific Ben Foster ("6 Feet Under") as Charles Prince: a grotesque killing machine, more "Mad Max" than Jesse James who, against all odds plots to save Wade from destruction.

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The Losers (2010)

On the surface, it's just another action movie. Stuff blows up, people get shot, the bad guy is trying to destroy the world and the good guys are trying to stop him. It's the perfect popcorn movie.

But take a closer look at The Losers and you'll start to see that there's more than just mindless entertainment going on here. It's not trying to deliver a message, thank god, and it's not an action movie with pretentions of being great art. But it's smart, well written and well acted, and that separates it from the last 10 action movies you paid good money to sit in the dark and stare at.

I saw this a few hours ago with a friend, and personally, I thought it was awesome! It was literally filled to the brim with action, comedy, and special effects. Clay, Roque, Jensen, Pooch, and Cougar are part of an elite United States Special Forces team that are on assignment in Bolivia. When they are betrayed by an enemy named Max, they become fugitives and are believed to be dead. They are forced to team up with a mysterious woman named Aisha who may be able to help them find Max. I understand this movie is based on a comic book by Vertigo, but I never read any, so I couldn't compare it. My favorite character was Chris Evans as Jensen, because he had all the hilarious lines. Another thing, was that this film reminds me a lot of 'The A-Team' If you love action, I highly recommend THE LOSERS!!!

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Adapted from the short-lived Vertigo comic series, "The Losers" delivers a solid B-action-movie experience. It's got humor, `splosions, and an over-the-top bad guy played by Jason Patric. A few things holding this film back from true greatness are the over-stylized editing (it feels a bit gimmicky after a while), the fight scenes are fast and frequent but aren't that memorable, the plot seems like it was lifted from an "A-Team" episode, and there's no big name stars to pick up the slack for the less than original characters that fill the film. Jeffery Dean Morgan is the leader of The Losers, and while he did an excellent job as The Comedian in "The Watchmen," I couldn't help but wonder how much more an actor like George Clooney or Russel Crowe would bring to the part.

However, the cast has some major talent with Zoe Saldana (kicking butt and in her underwear no less) and the future Captain America, Chris Evans. I doubted Evans' ability to pull off the part of Marvel Comics' most patriotic superhero, but his performance in "The Losers" has convinced me otherwise. Overall, "The Losers" was a fun action film and hopefully they'll come back for another go-round.

Read Best Reviews of The Losers (2010) Here

This is a good action movie, and I was pleasantly surprised by the film when I saw it in the theaters. It keeps the core elements of the comic book series, and manages to not lose the books charm. You DON'T have to read the books to enjoy the movie, but if like the move, the books are even better.

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THE LOSERS is anything but. Created to appear like a comic book in motion, writers peter Berg, James Vanderbuilt and Andy Diggle have come up with a script that has defined some strong, unforgettable characters, outlined an all over the place story line, and managed to polish it all off with just the right amount of parody, humor, steamy scenes, and silly dialogue that makes the movie work. It is a film highly dependent of pyrotechnics and special effects, but these also are pulled off in such a way that they, too, are entertaining an even set the audience to cheering.

The story comes across as a bit jumbled due to the many sites where the action takes place, but essentially it is the tale of a group of five men (CIA operatives) who in an attempt to save some children in a fated helicopter escape from a disaster in Bolivia instead are assumed dead when the report of the exploded helicopter reaches the US. The five men toss their dog tags into the flaming ruins of the helicopter and thus become lost to the world. The team is a talented and well trained unit and each of the members has a special identity and gift: Clay (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is the leader (and womanizer), Roque (Idris Alba) is the brains, Jensen (Chris Evans) is the wildly funny guy, Pooch (Columbus Short) is the sensitive guy, and Cougar (Óscar Jaenada) is the sniper with the ever present hat. The team (the Losers) becomes the target of a betrayal in dealing with one Max (Jason Patric) who is preparing the bomb to end all bombs. Out of nowhere comes the mysterious Aisha (Zoe Saldana) who works her way into the group via Clay's attraction to her beauty. But Aisha has her own agenda and the team joins her in uncovering and hopefully destroying the lethal Max who is planning global warfare. There are unexpected twists in the plot and internal challenges to the team's structure, but it all comes round in the end.

Yes, this is yet another noisy action film with classy acting from not only the stars but from everyone in the large cast. It is a hoot of an action thriller and hopefully this cast will be reassembled for a Part II in the future. Grady Harp, August 11

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Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961)

Belmando is at his best in this beautiful movie as a young priest who faces women with all kinds of troubles in his parish. This is classic Melville with Henri Decae's excellent camera work. A rare gem of it's own kind.

Jean-Pierre Melville will be known by many as an "Auteur" filmmaker.

One of the few men who were a major influence on Nouvelle Vague (French New Wave), Melville was known for films that were tragic, minimalist film noir. From films such as "Les Enfants terribles" (1950), Bob Le Flambeur (1955), "Le Doulos" (1962), "Le Samorai" (1967) and "Le Circle Rouge" (1969), there was a time when he wanted to escape from it.

To no longer be known as an "Auteur maudit" and when given the opportunity to make a big-budget film, he went for it!

In 1961, he had his chance with "Léon Morin, Priest". The film is an adaptation of Beatrix Beck's 1952 novel and it would be the film that gave Melville the chance to have the money to film expensive shots and yet incorporating style from the New Wave. Attracting audiences were the inclusion of popular talents Jean-Paul Belondo ("Two Women", "Breathless", "A Woman is a Woman", "Le Doulos") and Emmanuelle Riva ("Hiroshima Mon Amour", "Kapo") but also to earn Melville a different type of recognition for his film that he had never had before.

The film would receive rave reviews from the right because of its Catholic/religious theme (note: Melville was an atheist) and receive rave reviews from religious to non-religious film critics. But it also helped that Beck's original novel was highly popular and you had a popular filmmaker such as Melville and his name attached to it.

VIDEO:

"Léon Morin, Priest" is presented in black and white 1080p High Definition (1:66:1 aspect ratio). Previously, the film was only available via DVD through the BFI (British Film Institute). The biggest difference in HD is that there is more detail and clarity. Especially outdoors where Barny is walking around town. You can make out buildings in the distance much more clearly, especially the cobblestone road and overall environment much more.

The contrast of the film is actually quite magnificent with blacks levels which are nice and deep. White and grays that look very good but most of all, none of the blurry type of imaging that was seen on the BFI DVD. You can see the faces in the distance. You can see the strands of hair of the female employees at Barny's job, the picture quality definitely looks very good in HD and there is no doubt that this is the best looking version of "Léon Morin, Priest" by far!

Cinematography by Henri Decae ("The 400 Blows", "Elevator to the Gallows", "Le Samourai") is fantastic and because of the bigger budget, it allowed for more creativity from Melville and Decae for the various shots included in the film, especially the crane shot as we see Barny going up the stairs to visit the priest.

According to the Criterion Collection, this high-definition digital transfer was created on a Spirit 4K Datacine from a 35 mm fine-grain master positive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Léon Morin, Priest" is presented in lossless LPCM monaural. The dialogue is very clear coming through the center channel. I personally chose to watch the film with stereo on all channels set on my receiver for a more immersive soundscape but testing the monaural lossless soundtrack, dialogue is quite clear, especially the music by Martial Solal.

According to the Criterion Collection, "Léon Morin, Priest" was remastered at 24-bit from 35 mm optical track print. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD. Crackle was attenuated using AudioCube's integrated workstation.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Léon Morin, Priest The Criterion Collection #572' on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

Jean-Pierre Melville and Jean-Paul Belmondo (4:45) A French television interview excerpt from JHT 19HI5, Sept. 1961 with director Jean-Pierre Melville and actor Jean-Paul Belmondo. Belmondo talks about being cast as the priest and Belmondo talks about the film.

Selected-scene commentary by film scholar Ginette Vincendeau Ginette Vinecendeau talks about Melville's larger budget, how the film was quite risky at the time, how the Catholics loved the film and how the film did well during debut.

Deleted Scenes Melville's original film was over 3 hours long but he ended up trimming quite a bit from the film. Of those deleted scenes, two are featured on this Blu-ray release.

Original theatrical trailer (3:10) The original theatrical trailer for ""Léon Morin, Priest".

EXTRAS:

"Léon Morin, Priest The Criterion Collection #572' comes with a 30-page booklet which includes the following essays "Life During Wartime" by Gary Indiana and "Melville on Leon Morin, Priest" (from Rui Nogueira's "Melville on Melville").

JUDGMENT CALL:

Poetic, risky and intelligent. "Léon Morin, Priest" is a film that Melville had wanted to create for nearly a decade. A film that would separate him from his other fellow filmmakers who were known as "auteur maudit".

And although not a noir film which many tend to associate with Jean-Pierre Melville, the film's efficacy is due to how Melville was able to bring his French New Wave style to a bigger budget picture but also bring in two popular talents, the priest Jean-Paul Belmondo and the main actress Emanuelle Rivera.

Belmondo who was the hot actor at the time, especially for the films "Breathless", "Two Women" and "A Woman is a Woman", was skeptical himself about playing the role of a priest. But through the direction of Melville, Belmondo transforms himself to the man of faith and showing that the actor can play more than bad boy roles.

With Rivera, playing the main role of Barny is quite intriguing because she looks so wholesome.

But once you start to hear the thoughts in her mind, her attraction to her boss Sabine and then her attraction to the priest, you can sense the sexual frustration through her performance.

In one scene, Léon Morin, who knows that Barny is trying to flirt with him, tells her to find a husband. Her response is why need a husband when she can do it with a stick. He responds to her by concern of how dangerous it is but she responds that she is not "fragile".

One thing that Melville made sure not to do is focus too much on the religion. We know through the conversations of Barny with the priest, that she has problems not only with the Catholicism but that there is a sense of pessimism within her. She wants to provoke the priest, to see him anger but he does not.

She goes to see him a good number of times but each time she goes to provoke him, he is prepared to answer her questions about religion, to show that even though he is a priest, he is not perfect. And its the fact that he is no honest to her but to everyone else and even if one wants to provoke him, he does not push them away. He is interested in talking with them, discussing whatever issue they may have and showing them that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

While some may feel the film is pro-Catholicism and its goal is to push people towards the religion, Melville is the first to say that this is not a religious film. And while the film is very much loved by Catholics at the time, the film is primarily about forbidden love and a good illustration of how faith can change a person's life.

Because of Melville's involvement, the film is presented ala Mis-en-scene. Shots are done in location and at a studio setting but the efficacy "Léon Morin, Priest" is its cinematography and editing combined with a storyline that is intellectual which lends to a poetic feel through its imagery.

As for the Blu-ray release, "Léon Morin, Priest" does not have a plethora of special features that Criterion Collection is known for but you do get a classic interview with Melville and Belmondo about the film. And for those who have a hard time of picturing Belmondo as a priest, Melville does answer the question of why he was cast. We also get a pretty good selected scene commentary by Ginette Vincendeau who does have a good amount of things to say about Melville and two deleted scenes and the original theatrical trailer plus the booklet.

While its easy to recommend this to Melville viewers and those who enjoy films that are intellectual and enjoyable, those who are stuck with the thought of enjoying noir-ish Melville may find "Léon Morin, Priest" and its focus on conversations of faith and its theme of forbidden love to not be their cup of tea as it lacks any gunshots or any gangster-type characters. In other words, a very different Melville type of film and while it may appease theologists, cineaste who appreciate intellectual cinema, "Léon Morin, Priest" is not for everyone.

Personally, I love the fact that Melville wanted to distinguish himself from his fellow filmmakers and do something different. It's unfortunate that we may not see the full three hour and 13 minute cut of "Léon Morin, Priest"

that Melville had originally shot, because watching the two deleted scenes, we get to see more of the thought process of Barny, especially in regards of what was happening in her village during German occupation. Still, I'm grateful for the Criterion Collection for releasing a Melville film on Blu-ray and DVD.

Overall, "Léon Morin, Priest" will no doubt attract those who love films with intelligent conversation such as Eric Rohmer's "My Night at Maud's", not necessarily pedantic but clever and enjoyable.

The performances by Jean-Paul Belmondo and Emmanuelle Riva are wonderful and the direction and cinematography were tastefully done, poetic and pleasing to watch.

Buy Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961) Now

The Second World War profoundly affected so many millions of lives in so many places around the globe, that it has provided an inexhaustible supply of stories over the years. Jean-Pierre Melville's LEON MORIN, PRIEST, based on an autobiographical novel by Beatrix Beck, presents one woman's account of life in occupied France and her relationship with a local priest in her village. Under Melville's astute direction, the film shows us a unique facet in the endless World War II mosaic.

Widely regarded as the father of the French New Wave in the 1960's, Jean-Pierre Melville (LE SAMOURAI, ARMY OF SHADOWS) was a master producer and director whose influence on his filmmaking progeny Truffaut, Godard, Resnais, Rohmer, etc. was profound. Born Jean-Pierre Grumbach to a Jewish family, he became obsessed with film at an early age. His own moviemaking explorations were interrupted, however, by induction into the French army in the late 1930's. With the Nazi invasion of France in 1940, he changed his name to Melville and joined the underground French resistance, eventually taking part in the Allied liberation of Europe.

Heavily influenced by American culture and movies, Melville started his own production company after the war. The films he turned out in the fifties (BOB LE FLAMBEUR) provided a clear stylistic break from the work of classic French directors like Jean Renoir and Rene Clair. After a few box office flops, though, Melville decided to tackle more commercial fare. Working with producer Carlo Ponti, he took on the relatively big-budget adaptation of Beck's bestselling book.

Set in an occupied village mostly during the war years, LEON MORIN, PRIEST centers on the relationship between single mother, Barny (Emmanuelle Riva) and Leon Morin (Jean-Paul Belmondo). Barny initially ventures into the confessional of the local Catholic church intent on mocking a cleric and his tenets. But she doesn't count on her chosen priest being the challenging and charismatic Morin. By casting magnetic New Wave actors Riva (HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR) and Belmondo (BREATHLESS), Melville smartly gives his film a will they/won't they frisson which sparks the religious and spiritual dialogues the characters engage in. Barny isn't the only single woman in the village to find the ascetic priest alluring, and the supporting cast, playing characters with varying allegiances, is as consistently compelling as the two leads.

Though Melville clearly knows the world he depicts, he chooses to keep the elements of the Nazi occupation largely in the background. The invading German forces are always felt, and the ramifications of their presence are inescapable, but the director chooses to focus more on the unrequited love story, making it the center of the film. These are complex, fascinating characters, and Melville brings out the multi-dimensions of their lives and dilemmas. For anyone with an interest in cinema, LEON MORIN, PRIEST is essential viewing.

Read Best Reviews of Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961) Here

This will apparently be the first review of this Russian-inspired Atrium DVD of one of the three greatest religious movies I have seen, the other two being MONSIEUR VINCENT, and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. An Editorial Review, two consumer reviews of the Criterion version, both useless, and an endless vituperative series of COMMENTS, mostly by correspondents who have NOT seen the film, are all the prospective buyer has to go on. One reviewer waxes enthusiastic (5-stars) without exactly saying why; the other savages Melville's mid-period masterpiece because he got bored, gave up, and thought that Jean-Paul Belmondo was too much of a hoodlum to play the role of a priest. Well, let me tell him and you that his casting in this part is inspirational (as of all the other parts), and his performance is one of the most rivettingly charismatic in the entire annals of the cinema. By the same misguided reasoning, he should never have played STAVITSKY, or the sight-impaired student in TWO WOMEN either, in both of which he was superb. The movie, set in a small town in wartime France, pits the young priest working out of a run-down parish against a range of randy females who seek his services for purposes other than pure religion. With the patience and self-control of a saint, the wit of a Moliere, and a profound personal philosophy based on true (asexual) love for his fellow-man-and woman as expounded with brilliant insightful dialogue drawn from scriptures and religious writings, Belmondo and his director lead us on an odyssey that could serve as a modern rendering of The Last Temptation of Christ. The main female role is taken by Emmanuelle Riva, as sadly incandescent as in HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, the one female parishioner to whom he comes closest and the one most likely to divert him from his true purpose. There are some interesting, amusing, and heart-rending side-plots involving the various ladies who work at the same boring office in the town, that reveal something of the tensions and dangers of life in France under Nazi occupation. The battle between the two principle protagonists -abstinence versus temptation and belief versus atheism - takes place through words, thoughts and ideas. It is what you expect from a film based upon a Prix Goncourt-winning novel, THE PASSIONATE HEART. Anyone lacking the intellectual apparatus for this artistic approach will very likely get bored, quit, and write a damning review. For the rest, it is potentially one of the most provocative, moving and spiritual experiences that they will ever see on celluloid, and the ending when it comes is like the aftermath of an explosion. I am glad to report that this version, much less expensive than the Criterion product when I bought it, has English subtitles and looks quite beautiful in its cool black-and-white tones. As someone who knows Melville's work quite thoroughly, I did not mind the absence of extras. You "pays" your money and you "takes" your choice. We all should live within our means!

Want Léon Morin, Priest (The Criterion Collection) (1961) Discount?

John-Pierre Melville's 1961 exploration of the friction between faith and desire stars John-Paul Belmondo in a cassock. There's something very cool -certainly intentional -about Belmondo's look that only further fuels the sexual tension he evokes among the women encounters on his life's path. But there are many factors at work here beyond the repressed sexuality inherent in a vow of celibacy. Looming over everything are the shifting values of a post war France recovering from the war. There's an aura of ambiguity and uncertainty in the world of this story, themes to which Melville would return and to which he was personally attracted.

Belmondo's priest is the spiritual guardian of a small French village during the Nazi occupation. He believes that anyone can be saved. So when he encounters Barny (Emmanuella Riva), a sexually frustrated widow and communist militant who barges into his church and tears his religion apart, he reacts with compassion. Thus an unexpected relationship is begun that is the core of the film's dramatic tensions and pleasures.

A Jewish atheist, director Melville surprises us with a movie seemingly filled with religion. But a closer look reveals only the frightening distortions created between lonely people caught in prisons of their newly discovered existential freedom. Or, in other words, the paradoxical dilemma of the traps imposed by our free-will choices.

Melville once glibly said the main idea of the film was none of the kind, but only to "show this amorous priest who likes to excite girls but doesn't sleep with them." But I think Melville knew better. One thing's for sure: It's impossible to imagine this film with a star other than Belmondo. His rumpled charisma and physicality, even in a liturgical frock, are astonishing. That face!

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Mesrine: Killer Instinct: Part 1 (2010)

I have been eagerly awaiting the DVD release of the saga of notorious French criminal Jacque Mesrine! Branded his country's Public Enemy No. 1 for his international exploits during the sixties and seventies, Mesrine's notoriety brought him a certain celebrity status. With murders, bank heists, kidnappings, and bold prison breaks--Mesrine embraced his lawlessness with a flair and flamboyance that have maintained his cult appeal even thirty years after his death. Adapting Mesrine's own memoir, writer/director Jean-Francois Richet has divided Mesrine's escapades into two feature films. This one--"Mesrine: Killer Instinct"--charts his initiation into a gangster existence and his rise to worldwide attention while the follow-up "Mesrine: Public Enemy #1" charts the end stages of his criminal career. "Killer Instinct," in fact, ends quite abruptly and will certainly feel incomplete without its second half. So be prepared for a two-parter because you'll want to see this tale through to its bitter finale!

In "Killer Instinct," we meet a young Mesrine (the always reliable Vincent Cassel) as he is exiting a morally ambiguous post in the Army and starting a fresh life. He hungers for an excitement and payday, however, that the straight life can't provide. An old friend introduces him to a local mob boss Gerard Depardieu and soon he discovers where his true talent lies. Trying to balance a family normalcy proves difficult, though, giving way to Mesrine taking on a full ownership of his criminal enterprise. Embarking on a Bonnie and Clyde adventure in Canada with girlfriend Jeanne Schneider (Cécile de France), the two make waves when a daring kidnapping goes awry. And as they meet their fate in the aftermath of this event, the movie truly kicks into high gear. One sequence, outside a Canadian penitentiary, is as exciting and unpredictable as anything you're likely to see in a thriller! In whole, the film is a bold exercise in crime melodrama.

The film, however, is episodic by nature. We don't truthfully get to know much about Mesrine as the screenplay never delves into his psychology. We are forced to understand him through his actions as opposed to his thoughts--and this does leave a central aloofness that is undeniable. Thankfully, Cassel powers through this performance with an unexpected charm, a surprising intelligence, and an unrelenting brutality. Certainly Mesrine was a beast in many ways, but he had an appeal that held people in thrall. Cassel is a perfect blend of these disparate elements and his performance ignites like a powder keg in the film's most pivotal moments. Left with a somewhat superficial look at his bad deeds, the film doesn't deliver a lot of emotional attachment (I understand that certain dramatic elements ramp up in the second part). But for purely visceral thrills and a dynamic lead, you can't deny that "Killer Instinct" is a well crafted and thoroughly entertaining biography! Cue part two! KGHarris, 2/11.

if you saw, black swan & were impressed by the actor who played her dance director in the movie, go no further in your pursuit of catching

this amazing actor in action.vincent cassel also played the cross-dressing french duke in, elizabeth, starring cate blanchett..what you see in

mesrine, killer instinct is a bravura performance of an actor who uses his entire body, much in the style of a kirk douglas, or robert mitchum,

to convey the ebb & flow of reason, cause & effect of circumstance to inflict consequences beyond ordinary control..i highly recommend

both mesrine films..vincent cassel is a new kind of movie star to come out of europe. very gifted & not afraid to use his body as an instrument.

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MESRINE: THE KILLER INSTINCT

A French film starring Vincent Cassel, Gerard Depardieu, Cecile De France, Elena Anaya, Gilles Lellouch & Ludivine Sagnier. It tells the tale of the man considered to be the head of France's Bonnie & Clyde. There are lots of hardnosed men & lovely ladies in this one.

The movie skips forward all on its own & sometimes disturbing so but as it deals with a career that is known as fact in journal's & in fable through story perhaps that was unavoidable. Beginning with Mesrine's maturing during the existence of the Algerian Liberation Front & continuing through the Baader/Meinhoff Gang in Germany we're introduced to a character that loved to rob banks, consider himself a revolutionary (though he wasn't), kidnap the wealthy & get caught.

He bragged that no prison could him & he was right. Doing time on two continents & getting a special security classification of prison closed down in Canada. I was as surprised at the ineptness of Mesrine in-between jobs as well as the inept forces trying to corral him.

Nevertheless this was a good movie. It's an enjoyable watch & more than anything a wonderful portrayal by Vincent Cassel. He is Mesrine. Gerard Depardieu plays his crime family father figure which is set against Mesrine's detestation for his own working father. Depardieu's character is very well-done as he seems to admire the young & upcoming killer but is powerless to contain him, as he well knows. The ladies play his various love interests & they do it well. From the love of his life to his well reasoned choice between his work & her, his many mistresses & his soul mate the scenes are touching, intense & alternately casual. One thing is certain; his appetite for danger barely exceeded his appetite for beautiful women.

Violence rules the day here as well as a perplexing personality. It's better than a 3.5 Amazon star movie but not quite 4.0. There is a second Mesrine movie called Public Enemy #1 & he was that. It is somewhat less of a show than Killer Instinct due to writing I feel but Vincent is dead-on as Mesrine again & the role of the women is beefed up in a criminal sense. Ludivine Sagnier returns in her role as Sylvia & plays one of the most lithesome sensual females you'll see on screen. Public Enemy #1 gets 3.5 Amazon stars in my book.

Read Best Reviews of Mesrine: Killer Instinct: Part 1 (2010) Here

The Seventies were good years for charismatic French gangster Jacques Mesrine. Except, of course, for the last five minutes. Mesrine tells us his story in two parts: Mesrine: Killer Instinct and Mesrine: Public Enemy Number One. Each film runs about two hours. It's quite a ride.

Jacques Mesrine, with an outstanding performance by Vincent Cassel, captured the French imagination in the Seventies. He was born in 1936 to middle-class parents, went to good schools as a boy, demonstrated a taste for violence and probably found his criminal career in Algeria as a count-insurgency paratrooper and, so it was said, killer of prisoners. Whatever the truth, Mesrine, back in France and out of the army, became a full-time criminal specializing in bank robberies and burglaries. And what a criminal. He was shrewd, unpredictable, violent one moment, playful with his daughter the next. He'd rob a bank with a partner, then notice another bank down the block and run over and rob it, too. Other criminals learned to cross him, or just mispronounce his name, at their risk. During his career he managed to kidnap two millionaires from their country mansions, one in Canada and the other in France. Both times he carried it off with bravado and a crazy kind of belief that what he'd planned would work. Occasionally he'd be caught, sent to prison and then escape. When he landed in La Sante, a tough, maximum-security French prison located in Paris, he escaped again...in broad daylight...in a mixture of audacity, luck and determination.

Mesrine seemed to think he was invincible. He also believed he'd die young, not the least of his contradictions. As Cassel plays him, he is a figure a person can't keep from watching. Cassel's Mesrine isn't handsome, but a dangerous, unpredictable, confident and, at time, charming gangster who has little trouble finding women to share his bed and partners who, initially, anyway, join his schemes. As his notoriety grew, so did his ego and his sense of injustice. He gave interviews to the press and even wrote an (unreliable) autobiography. He killed a few people along the way, not always fellow gangsters. The French police were fit to be tied. And then we come to the last five minutes of Part Two.

The two movies are episodic at times. They jump from Paris to here and there, including the Canary Islands and Quebec, following Mesrine's unpredictable criminal life. Both movies are well cast, with actors who look as tough as Cassel. Gerard Depardieu in Part One plays Guido, a kind of mentor to Mesrine. He almost steals the show. Ludovine Sagnier as Sylvie Jeanjacquot, Mesrine's last woman, is as fine an actress as she is good-looking.

Cassel, however, is what makes these movies. Like Belmondo and Bogart, he qualifies as a dominating male lead actor despite his considerably less than handsome looks. Style, confidence and talent plus a camera that loves you don't need a chiseled profile.

Remember, the next time you're in a smoke-filled Paris bar and you think you see him at a table, it's pronounced "may-reen." Good luck.

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Great film! Tight script, good story, well acted and directed. If you like a good gangster flick, this one is for you.

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Enemy at the Gates (2001)

After many major Hollywood epics about the war on the Western Front (THE LONGEST DAY, PATTON, A BRIDGE TOO FAR, BATTLE OF THE BULGE, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN), it is long overdue that ENEMY AT THE GATES, centered on the pivotal battle for Stalingrad, should play to audiences ... particularly American audiences.

The core of the plot is the personal duel between two expert snipers, the Red Army's Vasily Zaitsev (Jude Law) and the German Wehrmacht major, Koenig (Ed Harris), the latter brought into the Stalingrad cauldron to kill the former before he totally destroys the morale of the German troops trying to capture the city. It's a cat and mouse confrontation depicted with startling realism, though, in this case, the mouse is just as deadly as the cat. The rest of the film is just window dressing, especially the sappy love triangle between Zaitsev, political commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes), and a female Red Army sniper, Tania, played by Rachel Weisz.

The film, set among the rubble and destroyed factories of Stalin's city, is visually stunning. The performances of Law, Harris and Fiennes are excellent, as is that by Bob Hoskins, who plays Joe Stalin's political representative on the scene, Nikita Krushchev. My complaints center on the accents of the main characters, which don't sound Russian by any stretch of the imagination, the previously-mentioned and totally superfluous love story, and the fact that the Krushchev is given way too much screen time at the expense of the Russian general, Chuikov, who doesn't even appear, even though he was the Red Army's military commander whose gritty defense of the city ultimately prevailed.

This story of the duel between Zaitsev and his German nemesis is based in fact, though a better telling of the tale is the work of book fiction, WAR OF THE RATS, by David Robbins. If you're interested in this footnote to the Stalingrad struggle, the book is a "must", and the film will serve as excellent visual reinforcement.

It is so gratifying to finally see a major motion picture made about the WWII Russian Front. After all, it was the Red Army that inflicted 80% of Germany's total casualties in the war, a fact that many Americans remain sadly ignorant of. It is high time we get past Cold War attitudes and pay tribute to the heroism of the Soviet Union in its bitter but ultimately triumphant struggle against Nazism. _Enemy at the Gates_ is a movie of epic proportions, featuring good overall performances by a solid cast as well as a spectacular cinematic recreation of the bombed-out city of Stalingrad.

Still, the movie tends to drag at times, and could have been much better. The love triangle subplot was more of a distraction than anything else, taking up time that could have been better used to tell more of the awesome story of the battle of Stalingrad as a whole. Rather than simply having the German commander state, "These snipers are demoralizing my people," it would have been nice to have actually "seen" a little bit more of how the actions of Zaitsev and the Soviet snipers wore down the vaunted German infantry. Regrettably, the duel between Zaitsev and Koenig seemed to be taking place in a separate reality than the war itself, almost giving the impression that both sides had an unwritten agreement to let the two rivals shoot it out without interference. Also, the abrupt ending gave no explanation as to how the Red Army, seemingly on the ropes throughout the movie, suddenly emerged victorious. It would not have taken much film time to explain how this came about: the tenacity of Stalingrad�s defenders drew the mechanized German forces into costly city fighting, allowing the Red Army�s powerful reserves massed to the north and south to punch through the weak Axis flanks and encircle the Germans. Saving Private Ryan succeeded in telling much of the story of the Normandy invasion in a way that neatly complimented the movie�s plot. I wish that Enemy at the Gates had made more of a similar effort.

I know that �dramatic license� is a fact of life with historical movies, but it is way overdone in this one. The opening sequence of the Volga crossing is powerful filmmaking and is mostly accurate up until Zaitsev and his fellow soldiers enter the city. The following part about only every other man receiving a weapon and being sent of in a suicide charge is purely the stuff of legend, though, more fitting of the WWI Russian Army or a Soviet punishment battalion. The reality was that the Red Army in Stalingrad fought mostly in small detachments armed with submachine guns rather than rifles, moving stealthily amongst the rubble and ambushing the Germans in brutal house-to-house fighting. This sort of close-quarter combat, where the front lines were often separated by less than 20 yards (or even a mere hallway or staircase), would have played out on screen just as well (better, in fact) as the �charge of the Red horde� that is the stuff of popular imagination rather than true history. The conclusion of this scene is misleading, as well. The Soviets did shoot many deserters who attempted to flee the front lines, but this degree of harshness did not apply to survivors of a failed attack as shown in the film. The commanders of the Red Army were often brutal towards their men, but not quite that brutal. As for the way the sniper duel is finally brought to a close, with Koenig walking upright in plain view towards what he suspects is the spot where he has just shot Zaitsev dead, it is just ridiculous. Not even a rookie sniper would have made such a fatal error, much less an instructor.

The Soviet characters all share the names of actual people, but none are true to their real-world counterparts. Vassili Zaitsev was more of a natural leader than the movie gives him credit for, not just a shy boy from the Urals reluctantly pushed into the limelight. Danilov, the political officer, appears to have been crafted by the screenwriters almost solely in order to make a faddish intellectual statement about the pitfalls of Communist idealism. The real Danilov was shot (though not fatally) when he foolishly stood up to point out Major Koenig�s location to Zaitsev, not in an act of suicide. Tania Chernova�s on-screen character was the furthest from reality, though. She was actually a short, temperamental blonde who had previously fought as a partisan in Byelorussia and the Ukraine. A veteran killer by the time she arrived in Stalingrad and possessing a single-minded hatred of the Germans, the real-life Tania could hardly have been more different from the sensitive student/soldier who never actually fires her rifle once throughout the whole film. Also, Chernova was likely Ukrainian, not Jewish (only worth noting because of the widespread myth that most Ukrainians welcomed the Nazis as liberators from Soviet rule). Ironically, the character that seemed truest to reality was Major Koenig, a shadowy figure who some historians claim might never have existed.

Though I used most of the space here to criticize this movie, I guess the fact that I bought the DVD means that I nonetheless enjoyed it. I probably would have rated it better were I not such a Russian history buff. Do yourself a favor and take the time to read both _Enemy at the Gates_, by William Craig (a very readable non-fiction account of the whole Stalingrad campaign) and _War of the Rats_, by David Robbins (a novelized version of the sniper duel that is both a better story and closer to historical fact than this movie was). My main regret is that the film�s potential was largely squandered to make room for unneeded political rhetoric and melodrama. I only hope that its mediocre performance will not discourage film producers from backing other Russian Front projects in the future.

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I have studied the Eastern Front for many years, and finally there is a movie I can see about it.

The opening scenes, especially on the young Red Army soldiers cross the Volga river into the battlefield, were both realistic and visually stunning; which painted a gruesome and grandiose picture of all the books I have read regarding the battle of Stalingrad. Another strength about the movie is that it showed the tremendous sacrifice and suffering of Russian soldiers who fought on despite tremendous casualty from German fire and NKVD (Soviet State Security forces) executions.

I think this film has brilliantly captured the fact that however much the Soviet press in WWII played up the propaganda about personal heroism during the war, the authorities had a total lack of respect for individual lives. According to Antony Beevor's book on Stalingrad, Chuikov, the commander of the Red Army in Stalingrad that disappointingly did not show up in this film, was quoted as saying "Every man must become one of the stones defending Stalingrad." Perhaps the real horror of the battle of Stalingrad was that Russian soldiers were used as discardable weapons in order to defeat the enemy, which utimately saved the world from Nazi domination.

The cinematography of the duel between two snipers (Ed Harris and Jude Law) was very good, but I believe too much time was spent on this theme. I did not care for the love story that kind of got stuffed into the movie perhaps to soften up the hard edges of battle. As a war movie, "Eenmy at the Gates" have some obvious weak spots. However, overall I am just very happy to see a well-produced movie on one of the most decisive battles of the Eastern Front, and hope that more films will be made regarding this subject in the future.

Read Best Reviews of Enemy at the Gates (2001) Here

In March 2001, a World War II film adapted from a 1973 nonfiction book "Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad" by William Craig was released in theaters.

Featuring a screenplay written and directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud ("Wings of Courage", "L'Amant", "Seven Years in Tibet", etc.) along with co-writer Alain Godard ("Wings of Courage", "Der Name Der Rose", "Palace", etc.), the film which had a budget of $68 million, went on to make over $96 million worldwide.

"ENEMY OF THE GATES" is a fictionalized story about the Russian sniper hero Vassili Zaitsev. Known for killing hundreds of Axis soldiers using a Mosin-Nagant rifle but also a symbol of success for the Russians in their use of training of snipers.

The film begins with a young Vassili being taught by his grandfather how to shoot a fox that is about to hunt down a horse. We are then taken to World War II where Vassili (Jude Law) is a Red Army soldier and is traveling in a cattle truck with soldiers and civilians. He immediately takes notice of a beautiful woman (Rachel Weisz).

The cattle truck is then turned to a military convoy headed to Stalingrad, which is being under attack from the Germans. We see soldiers trying to cross the Volga getting gunned down and slaughtered as the Germans have airplanes to take down the ships in the sea.

The Russian military issues the warning that if anyone from the Red Army attempts to run or retreat, they will be killed. The groups are split into two groups. One that is assigned with a Mosin-Nagant rifle, while the other carries ammunition. Vassili is given the ammunition.

Because of misinformation of how far the control the Germans have of the city, members of the Red Army end up being slaughtered by their own military for violating the rule.

We then see a car driving through the streets and becomes under fire from the German, eventually knocking the car over. The driver, Commissar Danilov (Joseph Fiennes) hides amongst the bodies of other Russians. As the Germans come and make sure all Russians are dead, a few of the Nazi military leaders start to relax while one takes a shower outside of a destroyed building.

Commissar Danilov gets one of the rifles but he is not a real soldier that knows how to fire guns but one of the Russian survivors, Vassili tells him that he will take all five of the Germans out and he does so by using a rifle with one shot each. Danilov is grateful that Vassili was there to take them down and is amazed of what courage this young man had in taking on the Nazi's literally by himself.

Meanwhile, Nikita Khrushchev (Bob Hoskins) arrives in Stalingrad to coordinate defense strategies. Because of the constant lead changes between the Russians the Germans, morale is down. To improve morale, Commissar Danilov offers Khrushchev a suggestion that the Russians need to have a hero. When asked if he knows of one, Danilov suggests Vassili.

Commissar Danilov who has the job of boosting morale through media like newspapers and propaganda fliers has took his new friend Vassili and made him the major hero throughout Russia. Wherever Vassili shows up, the Russian soldiers are inspired to have him around. Vassili is now transferred to the Russian sniper division.

As the film progresses, Vassili ends up at the home of Mother Filipov (Eva Mattes) who lives with her son Sacha (Gabriel Thomson). That is where Vassili is reunited with the beautiful woman he saw when he first became a soldier. The woman is a soldier named Tania Chernova (Rachel Weisz) who learned German.

Vassili is happy to see Tania but so is Commissar Danilov who seems to have fallen for the soldier as well. He immediately tries to convince her that her knowledge of German can help the Russians intelligence decode German communication.

Meanwhile, Vassili's fame continues to grow as he and the other snipers are killing off German soldiers and officers. The Germans who are aware of the Russian hero, Vassili decide to bring their top sniper to go after him. His name is Major Erwin Konig (Ed Harris), an excellent sniper and the head of the German Army Sniper School.

While Vassili and other snipers are out on a mission, Major Konig takes out two of the snipers that accompanied Vassili. Immediately, Vassili knows that Kong's precision and his way of hunting is excellent and feels that he may not be up to the job to take him on.

Danilov knowing that his friend is feeling a bit down about the situation, brings in Koulikov (Ron Perlman), a sniper who trained under Konig before the war. Koulikov then trains Vassili on the ways Major Konig thinks and behaves.

Thus begins the cat-and-mouse game between Vassili and Major Konig and who has the skills and experience to take each other out. Meanwhile, the relationship intensifies for Tania and Vassili but what will happen when Commissar Danilov who also has fallen for Tania finds out his friend Vassili (who knows that Danilov is smitten with her) is also going for her behind his back?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"ENEMY AT THE GATES" receives its 1080p High Definition transfer (2:35:1 aspect ratio) which looks absolutely wonderful when watching the war unfold. Just watching the war in the first half hour as chaos erupts during a cold, cloudy day with this bluish tinge showing bleakness was well captured by Director of Photography (Robert Fraisse).

With that being said, the majority of the shots during days of overcast and conditions were not colorful and vibrant. Indoor scenes showcase a yellowness as natural lighting and places where there are no electricity shows the amber effects with blacks all around the characters.

"ENEMY AT THE GATES" is not a film to expect color vibrancy, its a film depicting war with many lives lost, times when the Russian forces feel they don't know themselves if they will live another day. I didn't notice any compression artifacts and even in times of darkness, I think I saw may a little speckle but overall, the transfer to HD was well done.

As for audio, the 5.1 Dolby TrueHD transfer (also featured are French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital tracks) was great but not excellent. There is very good use of direction of sound from the ongoing bombings throughout the city which utilizes the low frequency of the subwoofer, then during scenes where there are many Russians around, you can hear those people talk in the fronts while dialogue is coming straight from the center speaker. Sniper shots and rifle shots are also done well as you can hear the bullets zipping and hitting its target on impact. But if there was one weakness that I found, I did not notice any usage of the rear surrounds.

This was surprising because you hear the front channel and subwoofer being utilized but I was putting my ear right next to my rear surrounds during several scenes and I didn't hear anything. Made sure to switch to another film to make sure that things were working correctly and surround utilization was fine, switched back to "ENEMY AT THE GATES" and no rear surround usage. Overall, audio use was very good but it would have been even better if the rears were utilized effectively.

Subtitles are featured in English, English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"ENEMY AT THE GATES" features several informative special features which include:

* Through the Crosshairs (19:35) Interviews with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud, producers and talent. How they wanted the right people to accomplish their goal for this film. How they looked at different spots in Europe to film the battle sequences and settled in Germany and for the river scenes right near the Polish border. And then dissecting several scenes such as the many lead changes between the Russians and Germans during the Battle of Stalingrad. How the talents had to train with a rifle and how 600 extras were used, 250,000 pounds of smoke oil and the challenges they had since the extras spoke different languages and they had to time the explosions and the extras correctly. A very informative special feature.

* Inside Enemy at the Gates (15:01) Interviews with Director Jean-Jacques Annaud and the four major talent. How the cast studied a little about World War II and the involvement of the Russians, being trained with a rifle and their impression of their characters and working witch each other. Then each discussing their favorite scenes from the film and also how difficult it was for Jude Law to have the love scene with Rachel Weisz knowing that many people were around them.

* Deleted Scenes (10:13) A total of nine deleted scenes. Two key deleted scenes showing the closeness of Tania Chernova and Mother Filipov when discussing her parent's death and also Vassili talking about sleep deprivation and Koulikov telling him that its the worst thing for a sniper. But also a key scene which shows what happens with Danilov's final report about Vassili.

* Theatrical Trailer HD (2:27) The original theatrical trailer in High Definition.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"ENEMY AT THE GATES" is a very impressive war film. Around the time this film came out, I was impressed by the amount of extras utilized for the film but to see body parts and blood spatters (in one scene it gets on the camera). This was filmed wonderfully!

I was also impressed with the performances with all four major talents. Jude Law did a great job as Vassili, and on one side we know he is the great sniper of Russia but when not on the battlefield, he was a man in love. Ed Harris who plays the antagonist is just a wonderful actor and did a great job playing Major Konig. And the performances by Rachel Weisz and Joseph Fiennes are absolutely fabulous.

If you take the film on its own as a fictionalized story, then you can probably enjoy the screenplay as it shows the bleakness of war but how, during war, love is found and how love was lost. It's a powerful film... But its a powerful film that can be marred by the fact that certain scenes are embellished for the sake of the story. This is not a factual story.

There were protests in Russia of how Russian soldiers and officers were being depicted. For example, soldiers who were forced by their officers to attack Nazi machine guns in a suicide attempt and if they retreated, the officers shot and killed their own. For Russians who honor their war heroes and those who lost their lives at "The Battle of Stalingrad", they have every right to have been upset with how the soldiers were depicted.

But this is a fictional film inspired from three pages of the original book by William Craig. It's indeed a powerful film with strong images of war and a film featuring wonderful performances from the talent. The Blu-ray HD transfer is well-done and fans of the film may want to double dip if they have own the original DVD release solely for picture quality and lossless audio.

I enjoyed "ENEMY AT THE GATES" and I definitely recommend it on Blu-ray!

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I had high hopes for this film, and perhaps that's why I was so let down by it. A movie based on a very dramatic true life showdown between snipers during World War II featuring the amazingly talented actors Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love) and Ed Harris (Pollock) can't miss, right? Unlike the sharpshooters in the story, this flick misses badly. Mostly I blame the director, although the writer gets a big chunk of blame as well. The director, Jean-Jacques Annaud, seems concerned only with the visual effectiveness of the backdrops of this film and with nothing else. Joseph Fiennes is a terrific actor but the director allows his British mannerisms to show even though he's playing a Russian. Every time Fiennes pronounced Tonya as "Tonyer" it made the movie a little less real, which is the last thing a viewer wants from a historical drama.

What I'll never understand is why the writer didn't stay true to history. The historical facts are much more dramatic than the story told here. Gone is the three day standoff between the Russian and German. Remember in Saving Private Ryan when the German sniper was killed by the bullet passing through his scope and hitting him in the head? That's how the real story in Stalingrad ended, but not in this film. The reason for this change is one of the snipers wants to go back to being a regular soldier. No reason is really given for his wishes. This is especially bad since he was pretty keen on becoming a sniper in the first place. The ending is anticlimactic, mainly because for most of the film we see the two snipers playing a game of cat and mouse. When one finally kills the other, it has nothing to do with sniping, and is only marginally connected to the game they were previously playing.

The German sniper (Ed Harris) is woefully two dimensional, though Ed Harris manages to make him interesting even if we are never presented with the character's motivation beyond a single mention that his son was killed at Stalingrad when the Germans first attacked. The Russian's motivation is based in Hollywood clichés. This introduces a love interest and a spunky kid spy, as though simply staying alive isn't motivation enough. Despite some good acting (Bob Hoskins is wonderful as Kruschev), the movie descends into nothing more than a bland Hollywood war story.

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