Revenant

I just watched this movie on HBO. It's a definite must buy for those who love campy horror movies. I gave it 5 stars because it'll go down as a cult classic like The Return of the Living Dead, Shaun of the Dead [Blu-ray] and Zombieland [Blu-ray]. This movie is gory and really hilarious! I suggest it to anybody who loves funny horror movies. It's a brilliant film. I also recommend Army of Darkness, The Evil Dead, Evil Dead 2, and Bubba Ho-Tep if you haven't seen them.

"The Revenant" capitalizes on the current popularity of the zombie with a blend of horror and comedy. American soldier Bart Gregory (David Anders) is ambushed and killed while serving in Iraq. His body is shipped home and buried, but he soon rises from the grave and seeks the company of his best friend, Joey (Chris Wylde), a slacker with a ready wisecrack for every occasion. The two buddies conclude that Bart is now a "revenant," a combination vampire/zombie who's undead and has an insatiable thirst for blood. At first, they try to satisfy Bart's urges by stealing blood from a hospital, but when they stumble on a convenience store robbery and kill the assailant, another solution comes to mind. They'll roam Los Angeles' streets by night and do away with bad guys, thereby providing Bart with a steady supply of fresh blood and easing the city's crime epidemic in the process.

"The Revenant" borrows elements from "An American Werewolf in London," "Death Wish," "My Best Friend Is a Vampire," and "Once Bitten." It's a blending of plot points in both vampire and zombie lore. To satisfy horror purists, there is plenty of gore, and the writing is quite clever. The rapport between Anders and Gregory illustrates that it takes more than death to break up a solid friendship.

DVD bonus extras include a making-of featurette, director commentary, deleted scenes, and photo gallery.

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How the West Was Won (2011)

A massive, sprawling epic shot in the three camera Cinerama Process popular during the early 60's, "How the West Was Won" spans from 1830 to 1880 covering the history of the westward expansion. Directed by three directors (John Ford, Henry Hathaway and George Marshall with a fourth Richard Thorpe providing uncredited linking pieces)"How the West Was Won" was produced during the twilight of the western as the most popular type genre.

Warner has done a painstaking job of restoring this classic film and although it isn't perfect, it's an exceptional job that deserves kudos. The film has never looked this good with colors that pop and accurate fleshtones. More important the seams that one could see for the separate cameras aren't quite as glaring as before. The image quality is exceptionally crisp with terrific detail. Audio sounds extremely good with a nice 5.1 mix.

The film is spread over two discs with the original Overture and Alfred Newman's marvelous score included as part of the package. We get a terrific feature length commentary track from "West" stuntman Loren James who provides plenty of background details about the physical shooting of the film, filmmaker David Strohmaier, film scholar Rudy Behlmer, Cierama's John Sittig and music historian Jon Burlingame. My only complaint is that Burlingame will make a comment about listening to Newman's marvelous score and then whomever edited his comments continues to play them right over the music cue we should be listening to without interruption.

The only other complaint that I have is that while the dirt and grit has been removed making the film look marvelous, there's one sequence that has always bugged me--there is a bit of dirt right in the middle of the frame of the opening fly over sequence that I wish they could have figured out how to remove. Other than that, it's pretty smooth looking throughout the presentation despite an occasiona bit of image unsteadiness as characters move across the screen and span of the three cameras lenses.

We also get a terrific hour and a half documentary on the Cinerama process on the third disc.

There are three different versions of the film in re-release: the first is a three disc DVD edition with just the film; the second is the three disc set postcards, a reproduction of the original press book, souvenir book and photos as part of the package;there is no equivalent for this SCE in the Blu-ray edition although it does have a booklet as part of that package.

The image and sound quality in this restored edition improves on the original single disc edition of the film with a terrific commentary track and documentary to round out the set. With a stunning casts (James Stewart, Gregory Peck, Carolyn Jones, Debbie Reynolds, Carol Baker, Lee J. Cobb, George Peppard, John Wayne, Lee Van Cleef, Karl Malden, Agnes Moorehead and others)this was truly one of the last epic, lyrical westerns to be produced in Hollywood. Highly recommended.

If you've never seen the original Cinerama big screen release, or only know the previous video versions of HTWWW, you are in for a big treat. The fully restored classic American film, the top box office hit of 1962, is stunning.

And the Blu-ray hi-def transfer is truly breathtaking. I literally gasped when I saw it. And so have special preview audiences of the hi-def DVD.

Warner -which owns the pre 1986 MGM library -has spent a ton of dough getting this right. Six years, hundreds of people, thousands of hours and millions of dollars have been invested in creating and applying new technology that has virtually erased the "join lines" that marred the earlier -rather hideous -video transfers. Not only that, but every frame has been restored. That's the equivalent of restoring three 35 MM films -the original was exposed using three alligned cameras. The final aspect ratio is 2.89:1 (that's nearly three times as wide as it is high). And it is a wondrous sight to behold.

Seeing this new version is like experiencing the film for the first time. The familiar story -based on a series in Life magazine -follows three generations of a typical pioneer Ohio Valley family from 1839 to 1889. A myriad of stars shine in this great American adventure -John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Jimmy Stewart, Debbie Reynolds, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb and Carrol Baker are among the many recognizable faces.

Three accomplished directors (including John Ford) helmed this rousing epic that does not degrade the Native American experience even as it allows for the conflicts the westward movement created.

The absolutely stunning Blu-ray version inlcudes a "smilebox" transfer that mimics the original Cinerama experience of a giant curved screen. On a large video display -especially if projected on a big pull down screen -this version is jaw-dropping.

The extras include Rudy Strohmaier's much acclaimed documentary "Cinerama Adventure." And there's a wonderful commentary by filmmaker Strohmaier, John Sittig (director of Cinerama, Inc.), film historian Rudy Behlmer, music historian Jon Burlingame and stuntman Loren James. But why no Debbie Reynolds?

The only other narrative three camera Cinerama film is "The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" and the stored negative has suffered water damage so there are no plans for a full restoration at this time.

As a kid I saw this film at the Cinerama Dome in Hollywood. The impact of the big sound and images swept me away and I remember the experience vividly. The rousing music, the involving heartland American story still works. And thanks to cutting edge technology, it's better than ever.

This is one for the digital library.

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This is the first (and only) CINERAMA film I ever saw, without doubt the most thrilling aspect of the movie is the grand scale of the Cinerama process and the multichannel soundtrack. The transfer to DVD is an insult. In this era of digital technology it is easily possible to correct the color balance errors evident in the "seams" of this otherwise remarkable motion picture. I agree with other reviewers, lose the Turner promo. The color balance, saturation, and picture

resolution are very average, and fall well below of what the DVD process is capable. One redeeming feature is the soundtrack. Finally, after viewing the VHS tape, and Laserdisc of this movie, the DVD release incorporates the correct rear channel information of the original release. Finally, and most regrettably, this DVD release has been cropped. Don't we buy widescreen movies to see how they were originally shot? HELLO HOLLYWOOD!

Read Best Reviews of How the West Was Won (2011) Here

I keep running into negative reviews for a DVD film or set that hasn't been released yet. I am not sure why Amazon feels in necessay to move reviews over to a DVD that has yet to be released but it's a bit like shooting yourself in the foot. Everyone waiting for a decent release of this film without the lines on film should be aware they need to wait for reviews of the set AFTER it has been released and ignore the negative reviews of previous versions.

Everyone knows this film, it is the reviews of the DVD and not the film that is important to most of us. Wake up, Jeff. This is very frustrating. Quit posting reviews of DVDs that have yet to be released.

Richard

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[I wrote this DVD review of "How the West Was Won" a while ago, but I have added this paragraph to account for a third DVD, released 22 May 2007, as part of a set called "The John Wayne Collection." This third DVD by Warner is the same as MGM's 1998 release. There has been no DVD re-mastering effort. All three DVDs have precisely the same content, and so all the information within my following review about the 2000 Warner release can be applied to "The John Wayne Collection" DVD of Warner in 2007. Of special importance is how it wrongly states the disc is an anamorphic DVD. It is not anamorphic.]

There are two [three] DVDs of "How the West Was Won" (1962) available in the U.S.

MGM Video's earlier disc (released on 28 July 1998) and Warner Video's second disc (released 12 Sept. 2000) [and Warner's third disc of 22 May 2007] have EXACTLY THE SAME DISC CONTENT! Even the menus are the same! They both contain the film's theatrical trailer and contain the same "Making Of" documentary with a run time of 15:30. The only difference is the earlier MGM release also includes an 8-page booklet with large essays filling all but the cover pages, including a section about the "800 pounds" of Cinerama camera equipment used for this spectacle; that plus a plastic DVD box. The later Warner release uses the cardboard case, but even its cover art does not match the disc menu screens as does the earlier MGM release.

This movie with its Cinerama glory deserves a place on the shelf of video collectors involved with American cinema culture. If one wants to buy this movie on DVD, opt for the earlier edition with the booklet. I noticed the DVDs (having the same exact imagery) have four negatives: the extremely wide screen image is only letterboxed and not anamorphic DVD, the theatrical 7-track audio has been degraded to 4-channel matrix-encoded Dolby audio, the DVD picture image suffers from film scratches and dirt, and Ted Turner's logo appears BETWEEN the prologue overture and the beginning of the film. Nevertheless, the great music is worth the price, alone. I was never a fan of the movie, but it was one of the single most ambitious film projects ever and cost a fortune! This film is a crucial landmark of a cultural evolution in American cinema and any collector serious about American film culture needs this DVD. Of course, the great John Ford directed one segment, but also the famous Henry Hathaway and George Marshall directed their segments of this film.

An interesting part of the documentary focuses on the ideas and investments behind the three-camera Cinerama format and three-screen Super Cinerama theater used for this film. Despite the success, only two fictional films used the three-, angled-screen Cinerama format: this movie and "the Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" (1962), the George Pal stop-motion extravaganza. Cinerama was next re-formulated into a single camera process for a curved screen using a 65mm image on Ultra Panavision 70 film, and these newer camera processes weighed a lot less than the original Cinerama cameras. The first film made in the latter process was a comedy, "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963) and, according to that DVD, the carpet had been laid in the first of the new single curved-screen Super Cinerama theaters only three days before this comedy's release. The re-formulated Cinerama/Ultra Panavision 70 cameras were so light, Director John Frankenheimer had them mounted onto Formula Three racecars (dressed as Formula One cars) for his 1966 film, "Grand Prix."

The most critically acclaimed and remembered film made for Cinerama three-screen OR curved-screen theaters was "2001: a Space Odyssey" (1968). Read Roger Ebert's website reviews of this movie. Both, Ebert's original review from 1968 and the review from its re-release of 1997 appear on his website.

Movies made before 1952 were predominantly black and white. Because studios blamed theater ticket sale diminishment on television, film studios either invented new technologies or reinvented existing ones such as Cinerama, which at least appears very similar to Abel Gance's use of three camera images during the battle scenes of his 1927 silent epic, "Napoleon." Some of the fads blossoming during the `50s and `60s and remaining today are the use of Cinemascope anamorphic lenses, wide-screen panoramic films, color photography, epic plots, large-budget movies, multi-track stereophonic audio, and other artistic special effects. Some of the fads not quite permanent were stop motion animation like the works of Ray Harryhausen, loud musicals, "3-D" movies, and Cinerama.

However, some ideological remnants of the Super Cinerama remain with another distant format: IMAX. Both processes use curved screens about 110-feet wide although an IMAX screen is dome-shaped because it is twice as high, they both use at least 6 discrete tracks of audio, and they both use theaters specifically designed for exhibitions using their processes.

One of Cinerama and IMAX's fundamental differences is that IMAX's fictional movies are usually transferred from pre-existing wide-screen movies into the IMAX format whereas, unlike IMAX, the fictional movies in Cinerama were made FOR their Super Cinerama theaters. For instance, the IMAX production of "Apollo 13" cropped the original Super 35 film images having a length-to-width ratio of 2.39:1 down into a ratio of 1.66:1 enlarged, according to Ebert's website. Although "How the West Was Won" was mostly shot in its system of three images, some of it was actually shot in Ultra Panavision 70, the second Cinerama format, and optically converted into three-image Cinerama, according to Widescreen Review's website. This means that, even when Cinerama originally meant three screens, it still utilized Ultra Panavision 70 photography for part of "How the West Was Won," the first of the two fictional films using three-screen Super Cinerama Theaters.

The studio had researched volumes for "How the West Was Won" and the Cinerama process, which was one of the many efforts to re-invent the cinema during the 1950s and '60s. In 1963, when "How the West Was Won" released into Cinerama theaters, it was a huge hit and played for nearly two years.

Today, no three-screen Super Cinerama theater remains, and almost all (if not yet all) single-, curved-screen Super Cinerama theaters have vanished. For the sake of American culture, the government should do something to protect at least one of these theaters. America needs some history of culture to protect and a Super Cinerama theater seems worth saving since the cinema provides the largest venue of American entertainment today. The Super Cinerama theater is a landmark of American culture.

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Scream (1996)

Please note: I'm rating the release, not the movie (which is a favorite of mine).

Save your money and wait for a complete, uncensored release, preferably with some new bonus material.

***SPOILER WARNING***

I broke down and picked this up because Amazon had it on sale for $6. Though not perfect, the picture quality is good/very good. The sound, on the other hand, is fantastic one of the best DTS-MA tracks I've heard on blu-ray. However, despite all the audio and visual goodness on display, the admittedly small edits to achieve the "R" rating are annoying. The tone of the film changes subtly as a result.

The slow-mo zoom at the end of the opening scene is far more effective than when sped up. A snipped second here and there in a number of other death scenes make them seem cartoonish and sanitized. Two characters appear to repeatedly stab each other with little consequence.

If Scream were released today, it would surely receive an "R" in its uncut form. Compared to the likes of Saw and Hostel, the on-screen violence is positively restrained. Lionsgate dropped the ball on this one. Please don't wait another 15 years to fix it.

Finally we get all the SCREAM films on blu ray and here we have the first and best that was hugely original and put a much needed original kick in the horror movie genre. We all know the story and we also know that when an older classic film comes out on a blu ray transfer it is really important to find out the quality and if the transfer succeeded. I was thrilled when I popped this movie into my blu ray player and was itching to see the infamous opening scene with Drew Barrymore. Sadly it was a huge disappointment. The audio was great but the video totally lacked clarity and seemed blury and overly grainy. For me the full effect of the scene was lost. Luckily when we get to the next scene with Neve Campbell at her computer the video had hugely improved. The picture was pretty crisp, colors were vibrant, flesh tones realistic and I was then impressed. Throughout the rest of the movie the video quality gets about a B. The dark scenes work well. Black and white ratio is clean and the colors do blend in well. The graininess after the opening scene is there on purpose and looks fine. When the villian dashes in and out of the picture the black and white of the costume looks great. But the part of the movie that is a truly huge improvement over the dvd is the audio. The DTS HD Master 5.1 audio track uses all surround speakers to full effect. Dialogue is crisp and you will be jumping out of your seat in all the right moments. The track is perfect for this classic horror movie and shines. The soundtrack blends in with all the films sounds perfectly.

But the video is where opinions will clash. For me the upgrade to blu ray is much better than my dvd version. I never liked the dvd presentations and the blu ray is in a 1080p enhanced widescreen which makes viewing the film better. There is some fine detail but the picture overall just does not POP like a quality blu ray does. I think when most people watch a blu ray they want that crispness and clarity that just makes it far surpass the dvd. It can become almost like you are in the movie. I think people forget the film is 15 years old and overall the picture is acceptable but the poor quality of the opening scene just leaves it lacking for me. When the movie is offered on blu ray at a steal price which Amazon seems to be doing now it is definitely worth a buy but if you are pretty satisfied with a dvd version you own I would think before purchasing it at full price.

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The writing behind the film is excellent, the idea of teens imitating the movies with more twists than twister. An action packed slasher movie with mystery behind it all no imortal killer just messed up teenagers. It was impossible to guess who done the murders from the begining, you may think you know who is doing the killings then somthing happens and turns your eye to someone else. Overall a fantastic beginning to the best horror trilogy around. The DVD has a few interesting special features, go for this special edition rather than the standard DVD.

Read Best Reviews of Scream (1996) Here

The town of Woodsboro is being haunted by a series of brutal murders. But the focus seems to be Sidney Prescott (Never Campbell). But this isn't your normal serial killer. Instead, the killer has been influenced by the horror movies he or she has watched over the years. Disguised with a Ghostface mask, the killer calls and daunts the victim before arriving to slice and dice.

While most of the high school takes it as a joke, Sidney is taking it seriously. But who around her might be the killer. Maybe it's reporter Gail Weathers (Courtney Cox) looking for her next story. What about film geek Randy (Jamie Kennedy). Boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) is a suspect, so that makes him innocent, right? Then again, any of these people might become the next victim. Will knowing the rules of the horror genre help them make it out alive?

Okay, so this is so NOT my normal genre of film. And yes, it definitely earns its R rating with brutal violence and horrid language. But I have always had a fascination with the genre, so when this movie became a surprise hit, I wound up checking it out. And the mystery fan in me loved it. The clues and red herrings are everywhere. However, the jump factor had me going from the start as well. Yes, I jump quite easily. My roommate used to laugh at me watching this film, in fact.

The thing that sets this apart from other slasher films is that we actually do get to know some of the victims before they die. These aren't just the stock characters you'd normally find, but real people.

Okay, so the other thing that set it apart is the humor. These characters know they are in a horror fan and talk about how to make it out alive. Of course, convention is thrown on its head (at times). But that wink at the audience as it attempts to scare us silly adds to the fun.

While most slasher movies still don't entertain me, I keep coming back and watching this franchise. If you want your scares with a post modern edge, this is the place to turn.

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I'm sure in this day and age it's appropriate to give "Scream" less than 5 stars. Plenty of folks will say how "unoriginal" the movie is, or how it's just a rip-off of a bunch of 80's flicks......and I say Bull***t.

"Scream" jump started the horror movie genre in the 1990's. Without "Scream" we woudn't have flicks like "I Know Whay You Did Last Summer" or "Urban Legend". Without "Scream" we might not have "Inside" or "Martyrs". Sure "Scream" ushered in the 90's version of slasher flickes, but it also ushered in an era of self referential horror films. Wes Craven was able to poke fun of the genre he helped create....and the "Scream" audience was in on the joke.

So many horror films since "Scream" have come to rely on the horror converntions set forth in "Scream" that it actually feels original.

"Scream" is meant to be fun, the cast, and the soundtrack both indicate that this is a fun film, not to be taken too seriously. If you've seen "Terror Train" or "Prom Night" or "Hell Night" than you are the target audience for "Scream", as an homage to 80's horror, you won't find a better film. It plays on the viewer's recollection of Jamie Lee Curtis' early film work, and updating the horror genre beyond what is found in the latest "Halloween". If you are a fan of 80's horror this is a must see.

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Nicholas and Alexandra (1971)

One of the most beautifully crafted and moody epics to come out of Hollywood (or, to be accurate, Britain), "Nicholas and Alexandra" has never acquired the reputation it deserves. Released at a time when big budget spectaculars were considered passé, hostile contemporary reviews have shaped the film's reputation. While hardly perfect, the film nonetheless provides a reasonably accurate, if politically conservative overview of pre-revolutionary Russia and does an excellent job of individualizing the two monarchs.

The two central, completely convincing performances are by relative unknowns Michael Jayston and Janet Suzman. Several first-rate actors (Laurence Olivier, Eric Porter, Ian Holm, Alan Webb, Harry Andrews, Irene Worth, Jack Hawkins, Michael Redgrave, John McEnery, Curt Jurgens and others) support them in small parts and manage to make us forget their familiar presences to concentrate on their characters. The actors are cushioned by Yvonne Blake and Antonio Castillo's lush costumes and Richard Rodney Bennett's symphonic score in an elegant jewelry box crafted by designer John Box, cinematographer Freddie Young and director Franklin Schaffner.

The film has two major failings. First, it is just a touch *too* sympathetic to the monarchs. Quite apart from the lack of any evaluation of their short-comings as leaders, there are too many scenes calculated, presumably (and questionably), to demonstrate Nicholas "learning" from his mistakes. Second, in the effort to dramatize a complex historical moment, there is simply too much of it. We jump from the Russo-Japanese War to the 1905 Russian Revolution to Stolypin's reforms, to Rasputin's influence, to the First World War, the Februrary Revolution, the October Revolution, and on and on. In this rush to include everything, little other than the monarchs' lives is dealt with in any depth and the efforts to depict the revolutionaries are particularly awkward.

One of the most notorious scenes in the film, commented upon by more than one contemporary review, is a brief early moment when Lenin says to a journalist, "Pay attention, you're about to see the birth of the Bolshevik party." That's about the level of the political evaluation, and one can understand why the scene, along with about ten minutes elsewhere, was cut in subsequent theatrical and video release. (On the other hand, the characterization of Lenin as an intolerant prig, however uncomprehending of his political ideas, does ring remarkably true.) The DVD restores these excisions. The transfer is considerably warmer than Columbia's previous video releases, and is 16:9 enhanced.

I recommend the disc to anyone interested in the subject or the capacity of films to make history live for audiences. Apparently like several other reviewers here, I first saw "Nicholas and Alexandra" in its initial theatrical release and loved it. I immediately read Massie's book after seeing it, which was the first step in what has proven a life-long interest in the period. Despite its failings, it is a testament to the film's power that it can exercise this level of fascination over viewers' imaginations.

The unadulturated history of the Russian monarchy has produced more compelling drama than anything Hollywood could produce in its wildest flights: Ivan the Terrible's descent into madness; Peter the Great's violent childhood and adult retributions (including the murder of his son) as the backdrop for supreme political accomplishments; Catherine the Great's seizure of a throne from a madman and her emergence as the dominant monarch of her age; Alexander I's possible complicity in the assasination of his father, his defeat of Napoleon, and likely faking of his death to live out his life as a religious hermit; Alexander II's death at the hands of terrorists. And the curtain drops on the Russian monarchy much as the play ran -in pools of blood. The main difference in the Nicholas and Alexandra saga is that their predecessors created their own dramas, whereas Nicholas and Alexandra succumbed to the drama of events swirling around them.

This movie is inaccurate in many details. For instance, the real Dowager Empress visited her son on his train only after his abdication, not in the weeks before the monarchy fell. Anna Vyrobuva, a signficant and unwittingly sinister player in the Rasputin debacle, is missing. And the loyalty to the Tsar professed by the other Romanovs in the movie glosses over the fact that there were serious family discussions about a coup to send Alexandra into exile and maybe even to remove Nicholas himself.

But these are nits. In a larger sense the movie compellingly captures the essence of the two fundamental issues that combined to bring the Romanov dynasty crashing down. The first had to do with Nicholas. He was a kind, gentle family man much more suited to the life of a country gentleman. When called upon to exercise real power to influence complex events, he fell into a pattern of posturing, denial, and a passive belief that he could just go with his reactionary biases instead of with disciplined examination of reality. After all, God had made him emperor, and therefore it must be God's will that he felt and decided as he did.

The other issue had to do with Alexandra. A shy, high-strung woman who was equipped neither by temperament, intellect, nor upbringing to ride herd on a decadent court or fractious nest of in-laws, she inclined to a mystical view of religion and monarchy that could rise almost to hysteria. It would have been a volatile situation in the best of circumstances. But Alexandra got dealt a very bad hand. Russia was opening up culturally and intellectually and looking to unshackle itself from unthinking political and religious orthodoxy. And she was failing in her principle purpose -to produce a male heir to the greatest throne on earth. Nearing menopause after bearing four daughters, she finally bore a son, only to find him cursed by the hoemophila that ran through her relations. She had offended God, and she had to know why.

Alexandra responded with a downward spiral into an increasingly bizarre mysticism that further clouded her husband's foggy view of his world and his role -and that ultimately opened the door to perhaps the most bizarre case of malign political influence in the annals of government: Rasputin.

While botching a detail here and there, the movie does a marvelous job of accurately portraying the salient aspects of how these things ate away at Nicholas' real power to replace it with a mushrooming fantasy of power as he, and Alexandra even moreso, perceived it. Although ruling one-sixth of the world's land surface, the couple's world view finally came to extend no further than the small circle of their tight-knit immediate family and their gilded enclave at Tsarskoye Selo.

When the revolution came -as Nicholas's fatalism and the insane yielding to Rasputin's interference in government made inevitable -Nicholas actually entered a few months of calm that on some level were the most peaceful of his life. Power scared and exhausted him. The shackles of jailers were light compared to those of a throne.

The fact that the revolution that deepened his country's enslavement actually freed Nicholas from those things he most abhorred illustrate just how far the Romanov dynasty had come to odds with the very purpose of its existence. In the end, Nicholas and Alexandra showed a grace and sanguinity in captivity and extermination that was utterly absent when they ruled the world's largest country. No scriptwriter could improve on this script, and the great art of this movie is that none tried.

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My beef about the film is that they took liberties in telling and condensing the story when it wasn't necessary. In Tobolsk the family lived in the Governor's Mansion not a log cabin in the woods. Yekaterinburg looked like some Spanish town rather a city in the Urals. None of the movie was filmed in Russia or Finland (for obvious reasons). The execution involved eleven people in the movie they cut down the number. Other scenes were outright inventions.

None of the church or religious scenes came off right. They seem more Catholic or Anglican than Orthodox.

Nicholas was taught English from the age of 8 by a Scottish teacher, Mr. Heath. He had an accent in English, but it wasn't identifiable as "Russian". They all would have sounded 'upper crust' so the accents were fine for me.

Suzmann and Jayston were superb. Suzmann was a little too glamorous and Hollywood looking for the role, but she pulled off the characterisation well.

I don't know if it's well known, but the Romanov family walked out on the premier because of the changes made to the story.

Read Best Reviews of Nicholas and Alexandra (1971) Here

I love "Nicholas and Alexandra." I read the book when I was a teenager and it helped start me on my lifelong interest in Russian history and history in general. I saw the movie when it first came out in 1971-72 and have seen it many times since. The VHS version is OK but suffers by being too obviously edited down and shortened. The DVD version is much preferable because we now get all of the original film. The parts which were edited from the VHS version were not crucial to the story, but they add so much to it. We see Nicholas and Alexandra in a tender moment with their newborn son, before they learn of his hemophilia, Lenin with his wife helping to start the Bolshevik Party, the Tsar's daughters in a moment of light hearted play, a sweet family discussion between the Tsar, Empress, and their children, and a tense encounter between one of the daughters and a prison guard in Siberia, plus several more scenes. Furthermore, the DVD version has a "featurette" narrated by the actress who played Tatiana. This gives us some interesting behind the scenes looks at the movie's filming. So, even if you already have the VHS version, by all means buy the DVD too!

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NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA is an epic and lavish production, deliberatly paced (almost to the point of boredom), rarely seen nowadays. The performances, particularly the leads, are excellent. The detail in costuming and settings are remarkable. The story of the last years of Russia's Tsar and family is depressing, somewhat like peering down a sprialing drain to an inevitable tragic end. A great deal of historical material is touched upon in this movie, making it difficult to keep the story on track withen 3 hours running time. The movie leads the viewer to want to read the Robert K Massie book, which is even better (and highly readable). The DVD is the best edition of NICHOLAS AND ALEXANDRA available to home audiences. The wide screen picture and sound (possibly mono)are excellent.The DVD restores aprox 15 minutes of footage not seen sinnce the movie's early roadshow presentations. Also included for the first time is composer Richard Rodney Bennett's great intermssion music. More chapter stops should have been included. A trailer and a bland "making of" featurette are included. Definitly worth watching, true fans of epic movie productions may consider purchasing this DVD.

Elite Squad (2010)

On my short list of must-see film titles for 2011, Jose Padilha's "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" was certainly at the top of the roster. I first became aware of Padilha with the 2002 documentary feature "Bus 174," an unforgettable true life story of a bus hijacking that played out very publicly in the Brazilian media. It was a harrowing picture that had as much to say about contemporary journalism, rampant crime, local corruption, political maneuvering, and the state of the police as it did about the actual event it portrayed. I think that it is fair to say that some of these same themes have remained a constant in all of the writer/director's future film endeavors as well. That said, I do want to point out that "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" is actually a sequel to the 2007 project entitled (you guessed it) "Elite Squad." While the two films are certainly better served as companion pieces, this does have a self contained story that can be enjoyed on its own merits. If you choose to see this without having seen the first picture, you might miss out on some of the character back story--but the screenplay brings you up to speed rather quickly and efficiently.

The movie centers around the returning character of Captain Nascimento, effectively played by Wagner Moura. Moura is in charge of a special crime unit and when a prison riot goes awry, the squad's tactics and decisions are called into question by human rights activists (led spectacularly by his ex-wife's new husband). Public opinion, however, sides with the fast acting and uncompromising Moura and thrusts him into a position of even more power. Making it a mission to eliminate Rio's rampant drug crisis, he targets the lower class slums where the problem has its strongest foothold. But in eliminating the obvious enemy, he may make way for a more unexpected nemesis. As dirty cops and unscrupulous politicians jockey for new power, Moura starts to realize that he has cut off the head of one monster to see another (more nefarious) one take its place. Unable to trust those in power, he sees new allies in the media and the activists that had once been critical of Moura's methods. The turn-around is compelling and believable and undeniably frightening.

The film is shot in a gritty documentary style that makes the unpleasantness all the more tangible. While perhaps the narrative relies a little too heavily on voice-over analysis, it does keep Moura's viewpoint in perspective as the large story leaves him on the sidelines for large chunks of the action. In essence, this is a morality play disguised as a ruthless crime saga--but in that vein, it is surprisingly understated. The character shifts are subtle and the action is unrelentingly real. It's hard to imagine that the film can have a happy or satisfying conclusion, but what we're left with certainly seems appropriate even if it doesn't wrap everything up in a neat little bow. In the end, the characters distinguish this piece (Moura is fantastic) that has universal topicality in its themes of corruption and those who would combat it. "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" is a rare picture that will make you think while it entertains. About 4 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 2/12.

Only my second review on here IIrc, but this film was worthy I thought of a 5 star review. I took the chance on this rental based on the previous reviewer's high marks, and great overall review, and this film certainly was worth the time and money.

Very intelligent plot, lots of gritty action scenes, and awesome realistic gun play.

This film feels incredibly authentic for a fictional movie.

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I wasn't even aware there was an original Elite Squad until after I had heard about and had access to Elite Squad: The Enemy Within. The Enemy Within has been receiving rave reviews from pretty much everyone who has seen it. This is the type of movie that sucker punches you in the gut and you never see it coming, but all you can do is smile because that rush is unlike anything else you've ever experienced. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within makes full use of the term, "thriller" before turning it upside down and inside out and doing it all over again in a two hour time period.

Some rather interesting camera work is utilized throughout the film. You take notice of it in the very first scene as the camera catches every crack and break in a pane of glass as a car is riddled with bullets. Slow motion is also used in a refreshing kind of way mostly because slow motion has looked the same way since 2006 when Leonidas kicked the messenger into the pit in 300. While this was probably done in a cheaper way since the budget wasn't nearly as big as it was in a film like 300, the fact that it was done differently is what makes it noteworthy. This feels more raw and less polished. The "size of a tangerine" scene is fairly awesome, as well. The scene is frozen at one point, but you see that scene from two different perspectives.

Taken, Man on Fire, and The Man From Nowhere; these are a few of the films the action scenes in Elite Squad: The Enemy Within may remind you of. Those scenes when everything hits the fan are the main reason to see this film, but everything in between is so tense that you find yourself easily getting absorbed into all of the events that are going on. Corruption is fascinating in a very disturbing kind of way. This is Nascimento's (Wagner Moura) story, so he's pretty much your guide through this journey as he's removed from BOPE (the Special Police Operations Battalion of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police) and struggles to survive in Rio, but the way his story ties in with the stories of Matias (André Ramiro) and Fraga (Irandhir Santos) is rather brilliant as they're both involved with Nascimento in more ways than one. The bloody brutality of the film seems to be lurking around every corner even when things may appear calm.

In The Boondock Saints, Paul Smecker (played by Willem Dafoe) yells, "There was a firefight!" during one the most extravagant shootout of the film. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within almost seems to redefine that term. While there isn't a lot of property damage in the film, people get wasted left and right and blood sprays into the air whenever a gun is drawn. People get the hell beaten out of them before being lit on fire and dead bodies are burned as their teeth are pulled to hide their identities. There's a grittiness to Elite Squad: The Enemy Within that many films have barely scratched the surface of.

Remember when you first saw The Empire Strikes Back where you had this fairly awesome movie on your hands that left you with this rather huge cliffhanger ending? Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is similar in that aspect. Elite Squad is obviously going to be at least a trilogy, but it'll be one of those things that will be less of an issue when you don't have a long wait between films. In the meantime though, it feels a little cheap.

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is a lot like City of God if it was on steroids; there's more action, more intensity, and bigger payoffs. Its biggest flaw is that it doesn't end and is obviously just building toward the next sequel. With an excellent cast and eye-catching cinematography, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within is a compelling look at the underbelly of society that's a must-see.

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Unless you've got your eye on South American cinema, you may not have heard of the 2007 action thriller The Elite Squad, but it was a hit in its native Brazil, and last year, its sequel, Elite Squad: The Enemy Within became the biggest box office seller in the country. One of the few movies to be cut from the Best Foreign Film Oscar short list, The Enemy Within picks up the story from the first installment after 13 years have passed, and its central protagonist, military police officer Robert Nascimento, has been promoted as head of Rio de Janeiro's branch of BOPE. When a prison riot massacre finds him favor with the general public, he's promoted yet again to Sub-Secretary of Intelligence, only to discover that new evil, separate and entirely different from the drug gangs he's put down for years, lurks within the halls of politics. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within isn't one of those "eat your veggies" foreign films; it's a bleak, unflinching look at Brazil's underbelly, told with raw, unstoppable kinetic force.

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We know from our experience that a sequel is rarely as good as its original. But of course there are exceptions to the rule, and "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" ("Tropa de Elite 2 O Inimigo Agora É Outro") is one of them. In fact, the 2010 Brazilian movie is better than the first feature "Elite Squad" ("Tropa de Elite") that was made three years before, with faster and more effective storytelling.

To suppress a violent conflict between prison inmates, Lieutenant Colonel Nascimento (Wagner Moura) and BOPE, a military police elite squad of Rio de Janeiro State, are sent out. The mission ends up with blood and death, sparking controversy among the citizens and media, which results in the demotion of André Matias (André Ramiro), Nascimento's successor, and promotion of Nascimento, who is now in charge of BOPE's operations.

Nascimento dedicates himself to improving BOPE so that he can fight the "system" involving drug dealers and bribe-taking police officers, but things are not so simple. Director José Padilha weaves an intricate web of characters including corrupt police officers and opportunistic politicians, skillfully keeping us interested in what happens next. The main story itself might be a little familiar, but the film remains interesting throughout, with a slick and suspenseful narrative and documentary-like action sequences.

To me the conclusion was a slight letdown, but that is perhaps because I had expected something similar to the original's ending. But you can enjoy "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" as a stand-alone film, without watching the original. "Elite Squad: The Enemy Within" is a first rate crime drama.

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Dances with Wolves (Two-Disc 20th Anniversary Edition) (1990)

Kevin Costner directed, produced and starred in the 1990 western epic "Dances with Wolves", which was based upon the novel of the same name by author Michael Blake, who also wrote the film's screenplay. Costner plays U.S. Army Lieutenant John G. Dunbar during and shortly after the U.S. Civil War. Following a victory with Union troops under his command, he requests an assignment to the western frontier and is assigned to an isolated military outpost in the Dakota Territory. John waits patiently for other troops to arrive at the outpost, but they never do. With no means to communicate with his superiors, John bides his time by taking care of the outpost and himself, as well as writing in his journal. A nearby wolf begins to take an interest in John. At first, he tries to chase the wolf away, but eventually, the wolf becomes John's unwitting companion. Later, John realizes that there is a nearby Native American Sioux tribe. Members of the tribe meet John, but since they do not have a common language to speak with one another, they are somewhat suspicious of him. Later, they invite John to visit their encampment where he sees a Caucasian woman (Mary McDonnell) living with them. She remembers a little English is able to talk with him and tells him that her name is Stands With A Fist. Eventually, John learns how to speak Sioux and is adopted by the tribe after he helps them.

Originally released at 183 minutes (three hours), the film may seem long; but the characters, story and cinematography keep most viewers fully engaged. The extended director's version is even longer at 236 minutes (four hours). The primary Sioux characters are Kicking Bird (Graham Greene, whose career in film was boosted greatly by this film), Wind in His Hair (Rodney A. Grant), the elder Ten Bears (Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman) and Black Shawl (Tantoo Cardinal). The film won seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Kevin Costner), Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Music, Best Sound and Best Writing--Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Michael Blake). Kevin Costner received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, Graham Greene was nominated for Best Supporting Actor and Mary McDonnell was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Overall, I rate "Dances with Wolves" with 5 out of 5 stars not only for being a very engaging film, but also for its very positive portrayal of Native American life in the former western frontier. Some people may find the film too long, some may be offended by the negative portrayal of U.S. Army soldiers and some may be offended by the negative portrayal of Pawnee tribespeople. Unfortuneately, none of Costner's works following "Dances with Wolves" have been as good. Films that Costner only starred in such as "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" (1991), "A Perfect World" (1993) and "Wyatt Earp" (1994) were entertaining; but films that he both starred in and directed were box office disasters: "Waterworld" (1995) and "The Postman" (1997). Perhaps his next directorial work (that he also stars in) will be better: "Open Range", slated for release in May, 2003.

When Dances With Wolves first came out, I had some doubts about seeing it. All of my life I had seen movies that either presented my tribe (the "Sioux" or more accurately the "Lakota") as a bunch of savages, or used non-Native American actors to portray "Indian" roles. The book, Dances with Wolves was dumb (they were Comanches???). The movie surprised me. If it hadn't been for Kevin Costner's acting, I would give this five stars. He did a great job of directing the movie, but he came across as a total idiot in the movie ( in my opinion). What I liked most about the film was the accuracy, and use of the language (which was my first tongue), as well as the Native American cast. The extended version is even better, filling in a few gaps, and expanding on a few scenes that needed it. Overall, a very good movie; I can't count how many times I have seen it.

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I wont bother going into details about the film itself. If by chance you haven't already seen Dances With Wolves or haven't at least heard about it then there are already hundreds, if not thousands, of reviews already written that go into detail about the film itself. At this point I really dont think I can significantly add to whats already been said about this film. Ill simply say that it was, and still is, one of my all time favorite films.

I am writing this review urging people to buy the 20th Anniversary Blu-Ray Edition for one reason and one reason only, the soundtrack. This is not to say that the soundtrack is the only worthy upgrade in this version, quite the contrary as I think this version is outstanding in every possible way (unlike the previous releases). Its simply because its worth upgrading to just for the soundtrack alone. Its hands down one of the best soundtracks I have ever heard and until you have heard it in all its glory on Blu_Ray....well your really missing out as this is one of those rare films where the soundtrack takes the film to a completely new level and this Blu-Ray version is so superior to the previous releases that its really like hearing it again for the very first time.

I have been a HUGE fan of this score since I first heard it. In fact, its pretty much the only thing I listen to when I go storm chasing every year. I just play it again and again and again and again and I have been doing this since I first started chasing over 10 years ago. I just never get sick of it and its really become one of the staples to my entire trip. The people I chase with actually make jokes over the radio. Statements like "Oh no, he is playing it again" followed by laughter are extremely common.

Anyways this release certainly doesn't disappoint in this regard. The 7.1 DTS-HD master, running roughly over 4600kbs, is absolutely breathtaking. Actually breathtaking doesn't even properly describe just how stunning it is. Its really futile even trying to put it into words. I purchased a new audio system from ADA last year and I have never heard my set-up sound this good. I literally sat in awe for the first 30 minutes of the film. It really must be heard to be believed.

Bottom line There are a lot of reasons to buy this Blu-Ray but for me one reason stuck out far above the others, the score. If your a fan of this film and even remotely enjoyed the score then you should be ordering this as soon as humanely possible. If you haven't seen this film and are a fan of quality scores then your missing out on one of the most iconic American scores ever produced and its never sounded better than it does on the 20th Anniversary Blu-Ray edition. Its like your standing right in the middle of the orchestra. This is really what hi-def is all about.

5 stars

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No movie before or since has gotten to me the way "Dances With Wolves" has (it would have been even better if some guy in the theater hadn't blurted out the climax: "Hey, this is the part where..." UGH!). Though not without its flaws (the idea of a white cavalry officer deserting to join a Sioux Indian tribe--and then actually succeeding--is a bit of a stretch in the historical context) the movie is so good that you don't care! This is what movie magic is all about, the suspension of disbelief, and Costner is a master here. The photography is breathtaking, the acting outstanding, and the musical score...well, I think it speaks for itself (BRILLIANT!).

A truly remarkable picture, and when one considers this as Costner's directorial debut...WOW! Is it any wonder everything he has made since, regardless of its quality, has seemed anti-climactic? If you love epic tales that don't put you to sleep, this is the one. Also, if you haven't seen the Expanded Edition at 237 minutes you are truly missing out. I hope it is released on DVD soon.

If this movie doesn't bring a tear to your eye then you need your heart examined! Five stars.

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First off, let me say that this is a "five-star" film for me. My rating is based on Amazon's incorrect information on the product page.

The product being offered here by Amazon.com is the UK Region-free Blu-ray. It is NOT the long version as stated, but rather the theatrical release at 181 minutes' running time. I verified this by ordering the Blu-ray, then actually seeing the correct information on the back of the case.

The back of the case also says "letterbox," whereas on the Amazon.com product page the aspect ratio is given as "1.78:1". However, 1.78:1 fills a 16x9 widescreen TV's screen completely, so it cannot be "letterbox," i.e. with the black bars on the top and bottom of the picture. I returned the Blu-ray without opening it, so I don't know which it actually is.

Even after I called Amazon Customer Service and pointed out their mistakes on the product page, they have yet to correct the errors after a weeks' time! Shame on them!

If you want the full-length, i.e. 4-hour extended cut, on Blu-ray, you need to get the French version (region-free, with French nonforced subtitles only), or the German version, which is locked to Region B and thus will most likely not play on standard U.S. Blu-ray players.

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Under Siege (2006)

I would say 90% of the whole movie was cleaned and sharpened for HD. Other 10% of random scenes exhibited alot of grain and snow. Still a major improvement over the DVD release that I have viewed multiple times. Only wished they cleaned the whole movie. You won't miss the untreated scenes, extremely grainy. Otherwise, still a great movie in my opinion.

Steven Seagal is finally coming to Scotland, Edinburgh specifically, to play with his band Thunderbox. Although he has a few more chins than he used to, my boyfriend is thinking of going to see him in concert, so what better way to celebrate the fact a major star is coming to Edinburgh, than to watch a movie?

I'm normally not that fussed about Mr Seagal. I own one of his movies (Marked For Death), but I've discovered, since watching this, that I have so much more respect for him when he doesn't have that ponytail. Which just looks silly on a guy that big anyway. I knew I was going to be watching this, as it was "reserved" for watching on the brand new, HD DVD player that now resides in my boyfriend's sitting room. It was my first viewing of a HD DVD and overall, I was very impressed.

Shock horror, you do actually get to see Steven SMILE in this film, which made me start to like him even more. Normally, he's all serious. It did look like he was going to start dancing at one point, which would have left me cringing, but thankfully, he didn't. Gary Busey and Tommy Lee Jones join him in this movie, including some female nudity from Erika Eleniak, who proves she can handle a gun that looks bigger than her. This is a very stereotypical action movie of the nineties, where terrorists take over whatever it is. In this case, it's a very big naval battleship. Tommy Lee Jones looks like he came straight from the sixties to this point in time. There's not much to the story, but Seagal saves the day, leading everybody along in the process to believe that he's nothing but a lowly cook.

The HD is very impressive, looks great on a 50 inch big screen (some guys have cars my boyfriend has all his TV stuff and DVDs), the picture has been remastered, and is brighter and sharper than you can possibly imagine. There's no extras on this unfortunately, just a trailer, but some other HDs boast of in movie experiences etc. Shame they couldn't have brought back Steven for a "look back on..." or a commentary, I'm sure it would have been worthwhile.

Definitely the best Seagal movie in my eyes. Get it, watch it!

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This review, and the rating that I gave it, is for the transfer to Blu-ray ... not on the movie itself.

For the many fans of Steven Seagal who are thinking about buying this movie, you probably have already seen this movie before and while it's your typical action movie, it still is, and remains, very entertaining. Under Siege was one of Steven Seagal's earlier movies, before he started doing direct-to-video movies which have been described as nothing more but water-logged with poor script-writing and the attempt by Hollywood to turn rap-stars into movie stars.

When I decided to purchase Under Siege, I was expecting a seamless transition to the High Def format. However, most of the movie doesn't seem to transfer very well to the Blu-ray format. While the close up scenes appear to transfer well, when the camera pans out, the rest of the movie seems to have a gritty image to it which results in "artifacts" (or defects" in the image quality. While I don't know if this was intentional, it does seem to be distracting.

While I did watch this Blu-ray release on a 32" Samsung, and the overall review of the Blu-ray transfer isn't that great, the Blu-ray version of this movie is still very watchable.

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They say the villain makes or breaks an action-adventure flick. But in UNDER SIEGE, it's Navy-cook-turned-hero Steven Seagal, not villains Tommy Lee Jones and Gary Busey, who carries the film. Seagal's quiet demeanor is the calm before the storm of karate chops for Jones, Busey, and the rest of the antagonists who pick the wrong ship to hijack. The martial-arts actor even proves funny in UNDER SIEGE, in his non-verbal way. When he's not out-fighting them, he out-thinks them. The film ends on a weird note with the passionless kiss Seagal gives actress Erika Eleniak. See UNDER SIEGE Steven Seagal mops the deck with those creeps, so who needs kissing, anyway?

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This is an engrossing tale taken from the mold of DIE HARD but it stands on its own thanks to a great performance by Seagal. This is probably his best film. It has great production values and an incredibly good cast. Most importantly, it entertains resoundingly.

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Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled (10-Disc Limited Edition Six-Movie Collec

The Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase I Boxed set is the big promotional release containing all of the (current) canonical movies leading up to the release of Avengers that was captained by Joss Whedon. These are: Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Marvel's The Avengers. This series sets up the first half of Whedon's vision for the Marvel cinematic future, with the Thanos (the purple-skinned bad guy that was finally revealed at the end of the Avengers) being the series' primary antagonist in coming features. (Whedon seems to be leading things up to Marvel's classic Infinity Gauntlet cross-over in the second half.) I'm going to be reviewing the special edition packaging (Each of the individual movies already has a number of great reviews if you haven't seen any of the individual productions).

You'll probably note some sour reviews about this particular set being cancelled (which is finally not true). The set was originally slated to release in in 2012 (with an original preorder of summer 2012). Long story short (as far as I can tell) is that the company that designed the original case did so believing that it was intended to be a one-time promotional piece rather than a mass-produced limited edition item. Rather than get caught up in legal troubles over this, Marvel decided to redesign the case and rerelease it. The new case finally delivered in April 2013.

The redesigned case is pretty neat with a look that resembles brushed aluminum (its plastic), with a shield decal (that lights up when you hit a button on the top) and a recessed handle. I've seen some complaints about how durable the case seems to be, but I don't have a problem with it. It is light as you would expect, however I never planned to use it as a checked bag in an airport. It feels like it will last perfectly fine as a shelf-piece in your collection if that is what you intend.

When you open the case you get a plastic replica tesseract set inside a plastic mount that looks sort of like the one in the movie. The opened case lights up the shield logo and a glow behind the tesseract. The tesseract also comes out and lights up on its own (if you didn't find the card you have to give it a firm smack with the palm of your hand before it lights up).

The movies are in simple cardboard sleeves with cool art-deco renditions of the characters involved. There are a total of 7 packages including the following 10 discs:

Avengers Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray

Thor Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray

Captain America Blu-ray, 3D Blu-ray

Iron Man Blu-ray

Iron Man 2 Blu-ray

Incredible Hulk Blu-ray

S.H.I.E.L.D. Avengers Initiative bonus disc

I didn't have all of the movies (I held off when I saw this set was coming out), but if you have the single versions I did you're only going to be missing the digital copies and DVD copies (neither of which I have any need for). If you really like special features, they are at least missing the second (bonus) disc from the Iron Man 2 disc Blu-ray set (one of the few that I did already have).

The case also comes with a series of folders filled with fictional bios, and some trinkets from the movies (some of which are fairly detailed replicas from the film--newspaper clippings, sketches, blu-prints, ID-cards, etc.).

My personal verdict:

You probably already know if you are the intended audience of the briefcase Phase I set. I've got a couple of limited edition movie collectables and in terms of quality I would rank this as being on par with most of them. If you don't have the movies and currently want them, it's honestly not a huge splurge from your entertainment budget. Even if you aren't considering the case, included extras, 3D copies, and special features disc the cost at the time of this writing is $150/6 blu-ray movies = $25 per movie.

If you are thinking of purchasing the set for young children I would rethink the expense; I think the durability of the case is just fine, but it most likely wouldn't hold up long to the punishment of young children.

Note: (If you're confused by some of the comments to this review) When Marvel withdrew the first version of the set the Amazon page went blank. In order to thank those who had already pre-ordered Amazon offered a free copy of Marvel's The Avengers (Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo in Blu-ray Packaging) as a "thank you" to many of the earliest preorders (roughly summer of 2012). I think it was handled as well as could be expected by Amazon, so I've got no real complaints there.

"In August 2012, luggage company Rimowa GmbH, who developed the briefcase for The Avengers, filed suit against Marvel Studios and Buena Vista Home Entertainment in U.S. federal court, complaining that "Marvel did not obtain any license or authorization from Rimowa to make replica copies of the cases for any purpose". The set has since been delayed."

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Can't take the time to respond to all those negative 1-star complaints, especially with all the misinformation down there.

The retail price of this didn't change. Those who pre-ordered early got discounted pricing. Deep discounted pricing. If you weren't able to pre-order early or read the retail listing to determine your purchase date, don't complain through a review.

Amazon and Marvel did not screw us with a delay. Those who ordered before the lawsuit got the blu-ray of Avengers FOR FREE. That was fantastic service on their part. It shows that they weren't interested in ripping money from us. We didn't have to buy Avengers twice while waiting. Thank you!

You're not paying a lot per movie. If you want the movies, go buy them separately. I'm sure there's plenty good sales on them this month. If you want a COLLECTOR'S SET, buy this. Your money is paying for useless, fun, fanboy crap. And for fanboys, it's awesome.

As for the new stuff they added; you already were going to pay for the other stuff. Now, you're getting a bit extra. Between that and the free blu-ray, we are not getting screwed and there's no way you can rate the quality of that material without seeing it.

If you love the movies and are a fanboy with some extra cash, I can't see the downside. Whatever happened between the parties of the lawsuit doesn't matter at this point. I feel that Amazon and Marvel are offering a great collector's set aimed at the right audience and are making good with us fans for the delay. Can't wait for the Marvel marathon in April. Whoooo!

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To preface this review, let me state that it is in no way a comment about the films themselves. They are all wonderful. The two stars are for the packaging and content of the Collector's Set, which arrived at my door about half an hour ago.

I've had this on pre-order since it first appeared back in July of 2012. I never canceled my pre-order, so I ended up getting it for $139.99 (plus tax, now that Amazon has to comply with tax code). Would I buy it again for this price? Well, probably, because purchasing each of the film versions included individually would cost almost $200, so you're getting a great price cut on the whole set. With a savings of nearly $60, why would I only "probably" buy it again? Each of the discs is packaged in a glossy cardboard sleeve, and on delivery, some of my discs were already scratched from sliding. All of the disc sleeves are inserted with the sleeve openings angled towards the back of the case, resulting in sliding during shipment and storage. You can save money with this set, compared to buying each film individually, but you may end up spending more money by having to replace scratched discs. If you look at the product image, the two gaps on either side of the cosmic cube are where the film inserts slide in for storage (again, at an angle).

That brings me to the cosmic cube itself. Again, if you look at the product image, you see a very bright, solid light coming from a semi-transparent cosmic cube. The cosmic cube itself is very cheap plastic, and is heavily frosted, to the point that it looks like a solid white cube. As for the light, it emits nothing close to what is pictured. While mounted in the case, the cube is lit from below by two blue LED lights when the case is open, or when the button near the case handle is pressed (which is only useful when the case is closed, to backlight the SHIELD frosted logo on the case front, and the button must remain pressed for the backlight to activate rather than acting as an on/off switch for sustained illumination). Being backlit when mounted provides a very dim, almost imperceptible blue hue to the cube itself. When removed, the cube can be activated by "tapping the cube firmly once against your palm" for the first stage, and "tapping the cube firmly a few times against your palm" for the second stage. The first stage is never activated by a single tap, and the second stage is never activated by a few taps. Quite a few hard slaps will result in the first stage activating, which is simply a blue strobe from within the cube. The second stage is also a blue strobe, but with a faster pattern. Activation of either stage will result in a sore palm and severe disappointment.

The case itself seems sturdy, but if you're expecting it to be metallic in any way, you will be disappointed (which is a common theme with this collector's set). The case is a strong plastic, but does not have the shine and heft of a metallic case. As I said earlier, you do have a frosted SHIELD logo window on the front of the case that can be illuminated by pressing a button located near the case handle (the "Avengers" button seen in the product image), but it is again only illuminated when pressure on the button is maintained. It can not be turned on and set on a shelf for display purposes. The clasps have no hinge, but are simply hard plastic that must be pulled on to release. This will inevitably result in snapped clasps, as hard plastic can only be manipulated for so long before weakening. Last for the case itself, the panel that mounts the cosmic cube and the discs is a very cheap plastic. The buttons on the keypad have absolutely no give to them, as they are hard cast. There is also not as much of a color difference between the buttons and the pad itself as can be seen in the product image.

Finally for the product as a whole comes the dossiers. The dossiers are stored in the top of the case, against the frosted SHIELD window, held in place by the black panel with the "A" logo. This set of documents includes a "Confidential" sealed envelope (not pictured) that contains a "Field Agent Access Code" on a hard card, the size of a gift card, and a 4x6-ish holo-card with some blanked out information. I have not yet solved this puzzle, but I assume it directs you to a website where your access code can be used for additional content. The first dossier folder contains pictures and a info sheet on the cosmic cube (or the Tesseract as they call it in all of the documentation), personnel files for Hawkeye and Black Widow, and Agent Phillip Coulson's SHIELD business card. The following dossiers contain information on Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and the Hulk, in that order. The dossiers vary by character, with references and items from each film. For example: Steve Rogers' dossier includes his 4F stamped application, physical exam sheet, some Captain America trading cards, and his drawing of Captain America as a performing monkey; Tony Stark's dossier includes a newspaper clipping, his original schematics for the Iron Man suit, a large folded schematic for the original arc reactor designed by Anton Vanko and Howard Stark, a ticket stub and guide to the Stark World Expo, and a bar napkin announcement to Stark Industries regarding the end of weapons development; Thor's dossier includes his medical bracelet, the drawing he did of the realms, Jane Foster's work badge, Thor's fake driver's license (Dr. Donald Blake), and a torn page from a children's book about Bifrost; Bruce Banner's dossier includes newspaper clippings and various other items (it's the weakest of the bunch). A certificate of authenticity is also included. Honestly, the dossiers are the most well developed and presented part of the entire collector's set.

So, back to the top: would I buy this again? Now that I've really gone through it all, I might not. I could buy the Avengers Six Disc Blu-ray Collection for $109 and save myself $30+ dollars. 3D Blu-Rays are not something I particularly need, so I wouldn't even notice the Six Disc's lack of them. I'd appreciate the protected mounting of the discs more than the scratch-prone cardboard sleeves. I'd miss the dossiers, and perhaps some of the extra material included in the set (that I haven't yet delved into), but I wouldn't miss re-purchasing films that become unwatchable due to damage. I also wouldn't miss the absolute disappointment that this Collector's Set has given me with the case and, most of all, the cosmic cube.

I can't tell you if you should buy it or not, because different people have different priorities and opinions. I can only tell you what I would do, and at this point, I have a feeling I'd do things differently, given the opportunity.

Want Marvel Cinematic Universe: Phase One - Avengers Assembled (10-Disc Limited Edition Six-Movie Collec Discount?

Having waited over eight months to finally receive my set, I was pleased when it arrived a day earlier than the scheduled release date. I immediately went through everything in detail.

First, the packaging. It's plastic. It's a solid plastic and while I've seen other people talk about how "cheap" it looks, I feel that for something that's going to sit on a Blu-Ray shelf, it does the job and looks rather impressive. On the outside there's a button that says "Avengers" that allows you to press it and light up the SHIELD logo in the center of the briefcase. When you open it up, everything immediately lights up and stays lit up while the case is open. I would have liked to have an option to turn this off, but really, who is keeping this open for extended periods of time? (Me.) Anyway, the case runs on a couple of AAA batteries, which are included. Inside, a layer of molded plastic covers the briefcase that holds the discs in place as well as resemble the way the case looked in the movie, including "keypad", and "wires". It's all part of one large molded plastic piece, so it's only for show but it's a decent enough construction.

The discs themselves are in little slip sleeves with some fantastic art that wrap around the entire sleeve along with a synopsis of each movie next to the disc. Captain America, Thor, and Avengers are two disc sleeves housed on the left side of the case that include the movie and its 3D counterpart. Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk and the SHIELD files are in one disc sleeves and are on the right side of the case. The movie discs are the same ones that have been available for months and years and contain the exact same special features, save for the special editions of both Iron Man movies, whose second discs are both missing here. If you're a special feature completist, you'll want to make sure you acquire those discs.

The memorabilia in this set is very well done. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and The Hulk all have their own file that includes things such as newspaper clippings, SHIELD files, drawings the characters did in the movie, and various other fun pieces. There's a "Donald Blake" drivers license in Thor, as well as his hospital bracelet. In Iron Man's file, there are the four see-through pieces of paper he put together to form the Mark I armor in the cave as well as stuff like a brochure for the Stark Expo '64 and his press release napkin saying he's done making weapons, among other things. Captain America's file has a few trading cards, a newspaper picture cut out of Peggy Carter, and the drawing he did of himself as a monkey Captain America, just to name a few of the best pieces. Hulk's file is kind of sparse as there's an article about the Culver University explosion and an article about Betty Ross as the most interesting things.

There's a fifth, black file that includes some stuff about SHIELD that includes dossiers on Hawkeye and Black Widow, information about Item 47, and some various other SHIELD related material. In this file, you will also find a page that is meant to be used with the decoder that's packaged in a small envelope. That message leads you to a website where you type in a code that's found on a tag within the envelope. Once you enter that code, you are shown a five minute video that advertises Phase Two. A couple interviews with the cast and crew with Iron Man 3 are included, followed by some short looks at some behind the scenes from Thor: The Dark World. No footage is shown from any other movies, but each subsequent director (Joe and Anthony Russo from Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Edgar Wright for Ant-Man, and Joss Whedon for Avengers 2) gives a short little update about what their movie is going to be about.

The biggest downside to this set is the 10th disc. The vast majority of these special features consist of Pre-Viz and Animatics stuff, which I honestly don't find all that interesting. There are a few deleted scenes and some very small featurettes, but I was hoping that there was going to be a bit more solid information that gave true insight into the making of Phase One as a whole. I'm sure that Kevin Feige and the directors of Phase One all would have had something to say about what it was like to steer this massive ship to the success that was Avengers, but apparently they thought that we wouldn't care. Well, we do. That's why this set lost a star for me because if there were some better special features on that disc, this easily would have been a five star collection.

So should you get this? That depends. If you are interested in the aesthetic value of the set, then yes, absolutely. I don't see something getting any more comprehensive packaging other than this briefcase. But if that stuff is just fluff for you, and you already own most of these movies, then probably not. There's not much included here that isn't on any other set, and you're actually losing special features from the Iron Man sets. Unless you're a HUGE fan of pre-viz. Then you'll be in heaven.

But if this is your first time buying these movies, then I'd say go for it. It's a fantastic, well constructed set that offers superfans the opportunity to feel like they are looking through top secret files of SHIELD. The special features on most discs are pretty solid (which you can determine by reading the reviews of the individual discs) and it's awesome to be able to own these in one large collection. I only hope that I can wait to see what they come up with for Phase Two.

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The City of Your Final Destination (2009)

Peter Cameron's elegant, wistful novel THE CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION has been well transitioned to the screen by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and director James Ivory: in so many ways this film brings a host of fond memories of all of the films made by the members of Merchant Ivory films. It has the same sense of grace of transporting one culture into another, of examining interpersonal relationships as they are tied to etiquette and tradition and family, and the chances we take in the name of self-fulfillment and love. It is a mood piece and a delectable offering for the brain.

Omar Razaghi (Omar Metwally) is a postgraduate student and instructor at a Colorado College, living in a tenuous relationship with Deirdre (Alexandra Maria Lara), and delaying his desire to write his PhD thesis -a proposed biography of deceased novelist Jules Gund. He is unhappy with his life, frustrated that his thesis committee will not approve of his dissertation unless he has the family of Jules Gund's permission to write the biography. After a little nudge from a colleague he decides to travel to Uruguay without Deirdre to gain permission from the Gund family to proceed. Deirdre, hurt because Omar wants to go without her, insists that Omar travel to Uruguay: this may his only chance to step out of the life whose rut he is in and move on to higher means.

Omar journeys to Uruguay where he meets the Gund 'family' Gund's gay brother, Adam (Anthony Hopkins) and his lover of 25 years Pete (Hiroyuki Sanada); former wife Caroline (Laura Linney); and Arden (Charlotte Gainsbourg), Gund's mistress and mother of Gund's daughter, Portia. Though greeted with hospitality it is clear that the family, as executors of Gund's estate, refuse to give Omar permission. Omar is invited to live with the Gund's until he can make arrangements to return to the US, but the visit is extended, allowing for changes to insert in the family unity as each one slowly agrees to allow Omar to write the biography. Omar has a fall, is recovered by Arden (Deirdre flies to Uruguay for support but senses the change in Omar's feelings with Arden), and during his recovery Omar awakens to what he really wants in life love, beauty, and the freedom to express himself in all matters.

In the manner of fine story telling, there are excellent moments of passion, and comedy, and a fine dissection of family life in all its permutations. The cast is uniformly excellent, composed of such a stellar group of actors. This is a quiet adagio of a film, filled with charm, elegant cinematography by Javier Aguirresarobe, and fine music both from the classics and from contemporary writing by Jorge Drexler. This film retains the 'Merchant Ivory': and that says enough! Grady Harp, August 10

There have been some truly great films created under the Merchant/Ivory banner. More than 20 years later, I can still enthuse rapturously about sequences from "A Room With A View," "Howards End," and "The Remains of the Day." Well "The City of Your Final Destination" is the first major release by director James Ivory since his long time producing partner Ismail Merchant died in 2005, so --in my book--its arrival was quite an event. In adapting Peter Cameron's novel, screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (a frequent Merchant/Ivory collaborator who won Oscars for "Room" and "Howards End") has created a high-minded and stylish literary adaptation. Ivory has assembled a terrific cast including Laura Linney, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Norma Aleandro, and Anthony Hopkins--so, all in all, sounds like a recipe for triumph! Well, here's my rave...."I liked it." Stately and elegant, there was much that I admired about "The City of Your Final Destination"--but ultimately, the film is a little bloodless, a little inert.

When doctoral student Omar embarks on writing a biography of recently deceased author Jules Gund, he initially receives a refusal to participate from Gund's family. Pushed by his aggressive girlfriend, he decides to challenge their denial and travels to Uruguay to visit the estate they all share. The three people standing in his way are Gund's brother (Hopkins), his widow (Linney) and his mistress (Gainsbourg). Omar is soon enchanted by Gainsbourg and befriended by Hopkins, and the book deal starts to seem secondary as he is accepted into this new lifestyle. Linney, his last obstacle, holds steadfast for reasons of her own. All the actors are nice--but while Omar is affable, he is also a bit vacant. Gainsbourg and Hopkins are pleasant and Linney, as always, is lovely and strong.

My disappointments with "The City of Your Final Destination" comes from its lack of real passion or emotion. Having released only one book, Gund's legacy is treated as if he were Hemingway--and the film doesn't make a case for his literary significance. He seems to have been a unconventional sort who lived with vigor what with an at-home mistress and an unexpected suicide, but we never see anything remotely hinting at his tempestuous nature. Heck, his suicide is barely spoken of and is of little dramatic consequence--anyone looking for ANY motivation about Gund will be left hanging. The characters, especially Linney, remark that a biography would be obtrusive because it would expose the family to judgement and potential criticism. The general mantra is something akin to "No one would understand us, we don't understand ourselves." But aside from the living arrangement being slightly unusual, there is nothing about this family that is particularly scandalous or intriguing. In the film, everyone is so pleasant and polite, their dark secrets and revelations don't seem especially noteworthy.

I liked " "The City of Your Final Destination." It's gorgeous to look at, for sure, and the actors do well. But the dramatic elements fell short. It just fails to bring anything of real emotional consequence to the forefront. I never really knew or cared about Gund and the vitality of his clan was so muted as to be inconsequential. It's sophisticated and lovely, but a little empty. I doubt that I will be thinking about "City" much next month--much less in 20 years. KGHarris, 11/10.

Buy The City of Your Final Destination (2009) Now

I won't go into the plot and the faithfulness with which it treats with the details of the book from which it is derived. I have not read the book.

James Ivory does not disappoint. This is a movie which struck so many chords with me. Having visited Buenos Aires and other parts of Argentina a few years ago, I identified with the sense of elegance which the film telegraphed both in terms of the gorgeous scenery and the people that it depicted. I recall walking in Recoleta and seeing middle aged very well kept women sporting their furs with a casualness which had long been abandoned in cities like New York years ago, in response to the vociferous anti-fur lobby. But then and there I thought Buenos Aires seemed stuck in a time warp slightly out of touch with a reality that the rest of the world had long since embraced. So too in this movie. Here was a group of people tolerating each other and existing in a world not sustainable anywhere else or in any other context. The author seeking his approval for execution of his precious biography of a deceased author, had a girl friend, Deirdre, who was almost literally disparaged for being too much of the real world and out of sync with the artifice of the gracious but dated Ocho Rios estate and its well-heeled inhabitants. But it was the navigation of that world with language and costuming that was so elegant and measured, that sets this film and its great cast led by Sir Anthony Hopkins, Laura Linney, Omar Metwally, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Hiroyuki Sanada, apart from the ordinary and the mundane.

This film despite being an ode to an upper class existence that most of us will never experience, confers credibility on it and makes us ordinary folk very much interested in how this all turns out for these sorry bunch of misfits bent on validating each other's existence in this finely wrought but fragile world.

Read Best Reviews of The City of Your Final Destination (2009) Here

This movie was only released in 10 or so cities so no one saw it.

It is a must have for Anthony Hopkins fans.

The BluRay quality is great and we have a cheap BluRay player!

Enjoy the rich colors of the South American scenery.

Edwina

Want The City of Your Final Destination (2009) Discount?

I stumbled upon this film while browsing amazon; I had not heard anything about it. I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I connected to the characters and the gorgeous setting. The film really drew me in. The script was engaging and the characters were three dimensional. I would highly recommend this film.

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The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)

Gordon Liu (also known as Lau Kar Fai) stars as a young man who's friends and family have been killed by the new government. He wakes up at the Shaolin Temple, a place he has only heard about a couple of times. When he realizes he is at the best place possible to learn kung fu, he begs and begs to learn so that he can revenge his family. He does finally get taught, but has to start with the basics. Every part of his body must become stronger before he can learn how to fight. After he finishes the first stages of training in record time, he is now highly respected and moves onto learning actual fighting styles. He breezes through this and becomes a great fighter in only 5 years or so. This is not one of those movies that has 1 or 2 training sequences. Gordon is shown in at least 13 of the chambers and half of the movie is spent at Shaolin. So after he has become a master fighter, he is given a high honor and told that he can become second in charge of any of the 35 chambers. A senior monk played by the great Lee Hoi San objects to this and says that he can't have this honor unless Gordon defeats him in a weapons duel. Lee Hoi San does not play a villain, but he does not think that Gordon is a good enough fighter to receive so much praise. His plan works better than he could have ever imagined. He ends up helping Gordon improve as a fighter and as a person. Gordon is told he can leave Shaolin now, and he goes to take revenge on the evil General who killed his family.

One thing that sets this movie apart is that it tries to be a real movie, and it succeeds. Watching Gordon grow up into a man is remarkable to see. The commentators didn't notice, but a lot of the stuff in this movie is very real. When Gordon has to use the pole with the wieght on the end to hit the bell over and over again, that is a real weight on the end of the pole! Gordon talks in the interview (included on this disc) about how the sabres that Lo Lieh uses in the final fight are real, and it just makes the movie that much better. Dont expect your average tale of revenge. I was touched deeply when I first saw this and there are not many kung fu movies that have as much meaning and feeling.

Rating5/5

Picture quality is remastered very well. It does get a bit darker and lighter in some scenes, but other than slight print damage once or twice, the picture quality is perfect. The Mandarin, Cantonese and English tracks all sound excellent. In fact, I have never heard the English dub sound this good. The subtitles should have been written better, and the English dub is actually a better translation. They are not horribly written, but could have been a lot better. I am not complaining though since this is the only fault on the DVD.

Special features include a great commentary from The RZA and this Andy Klein guy who does not know very much about the genre. Luckily RZA is there to help him point out actors like Lau Kar Wing, Wilson Tong and Hsiao Hou. I found the commmentary enjoyable. RZA talks about his experiences with this movie, and he is definitely a 36th Chamber expert. And I found it pretty funny that he seems to think Gordon Liu is a monk in real life.

The 17 minute interview with Gordon Liu is very interesting. He talks about many things such as training day and night and how great of an honor it was to work with a megastar like Lo Lieh. Gordon skips over the years like people should know what he is talking about, but just in case you don't, I will fill you in. In 1974 Lau Kar Leung was Chang Cheh's top action director and Gordon Liu was cast as a villain alongside Johnny Wang Lung Wei and Leung Kar Yan in movies like '7 Man Army'. When Lau Kar Leung split up with Chang Cheh he started directing his own movies for the Shaw Brothers, starting with 'Spiritual Boxer'. In his next movie 'Challenge of the Masters', Lau Kar Leung cast his younger adopted brother Gordon Liu as the lead. This is what led to Gordon becoming the star of 'The 36th Chamber of Shaolin', the greatest Shaolin Temple movie ever made.

There is a 17 minute documentary on Shaolin that is basically another 17 minutes of awesome info from Gordon Liu.

The 8 minute interview with film critic/scholars Andy Klein and David Shute is a very good description of how great of a movie this is.

The RZA gets a 10 minute interview where he talks about where he first started watching these movies and also gives his thoughts on the Shaw Brothers and explains why the Master Killer in his rap group took that name.

The trailers are the best special feature. The trailer for 'Shaolin Mantis' is very unique. Instead of showing clips from the movie, the actors introduce what kind of kung fu styles are going to be used (be sure to look for Lily Li!). Lau Kar Leung is the director of 'Shaolin Mantis' and doesn't even have a role in the movie, but he gets to show off his ultra awesome kung fu skills quite a bit in the trailer. I think I have watched this trailer about 50 times, and I will eventually master that Shadow style!

Also included are ORIGINAL trailers for 'The 36th Chamber', 'Return to the 36th Chamber', 'Disciples of the 36th Chamber', '8 Diagram Pole Fighter', 'My Young Auntie', 'One Armed Swordsman', 'Infernal Affairs 3' and the original Master Killer US TV commercial.

The last special feature is a gallery of original movie posters and movie stills.

Considered one of the finest martial arts films ever made, Shaolin Master Killer stars popular old school kung fu badass Chia Hui (Gordon) Liu as San Te, a young man who becomes involved in the struggle against the malevolent Manchus, seditious anti-Ching patriots. Steered by Ho Kuang-han, the Manchus have surreptitiously set up a headquarters in Canton. When his family is murdered for being linked with rebels, San Tse narrowly escapes and eventually makes his way to the Shaolin monastery. Here he requests to stay and learn the fighting techniques of the Shaolin, and after brief discussion among the elders, he is allowed to remain.

The better part of the film is dedicated to the painstaking and exhaustive training San Te undergoes. San Te hones his skills over several years, and the tasks he must complete are within an arduous, and sometimes torturous, series of thirty-five distinct chambers (or phases) of instruction ordeals intended to develop strength and agility. San Te?s initial failures are amusing (such as attempting in vain to balance on bound wooden logs in the water while also trying to eat lunch from a bowl), but when he finally begins to grasp the Shaolin techniques, he progresses past the other pupils and becomes the greatest student the temple has ever seen. Though there are only thirty-five chambers, Liu's character argues for the creation of a new one. This "36th chamber" in the temple would teach Shaolin kung fu to the general population so that they might effectively fight the Manchus. This idea doesn?t go over at all, and San Te is sent back into the world as a beggar monk. However, San Te has already learned what he needs in order to whip some severe amounts of Manchu ass.

Shaolin Master Killer is the epitome of the classic post-Bruce Lee kung fu flick. While background story concerns revenge, the true focus of the film is San Te?s training at the Shaolin temple. These sequences were under the direction of Lau Kar Leung (who also directed Jackie Chan in Drunken Master 2), and their scope and perfection take martial arts filmmaking to new heights. The training scenes not only serve the purpose of furthering the story, but also allow the viewer to learn about and care for the protagonist before the climactic showdown. There aren't as many fights as one might expect from a Shaw Brothers film, but this does not detract from the overall story in the least. As a matter of fact, the occasionally languorous pace helps to enhance the mood of the film as a whole.

Gordon Liu was a mainstay for more than a decade at legendary Shaw Brothers studio in Hong Kong. His first major role was in director Chang Cheh's Shaolin Martial Arts. The success of Shaolin Master Killer (the original title was 36th Chamber of Shaolin) propelled him to stardom. Liu can be seen in the high-profile role of Pai Mei in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, and in Kill Bill: Vol. 1 as the gangster Johnny Mo dual roles in the same film showing the esteem Quentin Tarantino holds for this veteran actor.

Shaolin Master Killer is dubbed in that oft-maligned and mocked kung fu movie manner (the lips don?t match the mouth), but most of the translation seems to be precise. The choreography is superlative and demonstrates why Liu is inarguably one of cinema?s greatest martial arts stars. Better than Bruce Lee? Well, that?s a fan-boy debate for another time and place. Shaolin Master Killer is definitely not-to-be-missed by kung fu, cult film, and action flick aficionados for any reason.

Buy The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) Now

Dude, I was so stoked when I saw this was available on DVD! I remember staying up late in the mid-eighties to catch this flick on Kung-Fu Theater. The original title was "Master Killer". Why they decided to add "Shaolin" to the DVD release title is beyond me. I wasn't even sure it was the same movie when I ordered it, but when I saw the opening credits I knew I had struck gold! It was a stand out then and still is today. All of the fighting sequences are awesome, and the training sequences will probably never be matched. The acting, directing, cinematography, and fight choreography are all first rate. This Kung-Fu movie has it all! I don't understand why Gordon Liu is not widely recognized as one of the greats. His speed and skill are as impressive as anyone around today. I'm really looking forward to more of his movies being released on DVD. Don't expect high-flying Hong Kong action; this is strictly old school Shaolin ass-kicking action. The down side: I would have given this DVD 5 stars except for one thing: Damage to the original print used to make this DVD is pretty bad in some places; with dirt and "hair" on the frames, and some of the night scenes a little too dark because of the age of the print. It does not interfere with the action sequences, and was only really distracting two times throughout the entire film. The owner of the distribution rights to this movie needs do it justice and have it digitally remastered frame by frame. A classic like this should be cleaned up and released as beautiful as the day it graced the screen. The sound for the dailogue is a little too soft in a few places, but overall it's okey and the musical score is very good. The punching and kicking sounds don't suffer one bit. The "bonus feature" interview with an actual 34th generation Shaolin monk was boring and totally worthlessskip streight to the movie. I HIGHLY recomend this DVD for any Kung Fu movie lover. You won't be disappointed. With a running time of an hour and 55 minutes this Kung-Fu masterpiece is worth every penny.

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This is a great old school kung-fu flick. It's a little slow at the beginning (hence my 4 stars instead of 5) but by the halfway point you just can't take your eyes off the tv. Excellent training sequences, some of the best I've ever seen anywhere. And by the end of the movie, Gordon Liu is a solid fighter. His kung-fu is excellent and there is some good history in the shaolin training methods. There could have been a little more in the fight scene department, but definetly a classic for the training scenes alone. The fight scenes are great, it's just that they are a little short. Gordon Liu has become one of my favorite martial artists and if you really want to see him shine, pick up: "Fists of the White Lotus" and "Shaolin Challenges Ninja" 5 stars each and 2 of the best kung-fu movies ever. This one is a must have too for any real kung-fu fan.

Want The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) Discount?

What can I say about this movie that hasn't been said before? A classic. Yes. Influential? Absolutely. Entertaining? Most definitely. This movie is as good a place to start as any if you're interested in the Kung Fu cinema. And if you're already into Kung Fu, you've probably heard of this in the least, and I can't imagine why you haven't seen it. As to this release, really the best I've seen. The picture and sound are great, and the language option is nice. Most of the features are nice as well. Though I don't know how useful the Wu-tang clan video was. Still...a worthy DVD to a great movie.

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