The Sixth Sense (1999)

Have you ever watched a scary movie in the dark, and almost swore you saw someone moving out of the corener of your eye? I have, and after seeing this movie it happened a lot more.

"The Sixth Sense" has great performances from Bruce Willis (who plays Malcolm, an emotionally wounded psychologist)and Haley Joel Osment (who plays Cole, a little boy with a remarkable gift:he sees dead people) The screenplay is wonderful.

"They don't know they're dead," laments Cole."They think they're alive.They see what they want to see." Malcolm is determined to help him. His marriage has been failing ever since an old case that showed almost the same symtoms shot him in the side and then killed himself.Malcolm is determined not to let that happen to Cole.

This is a remarkable movie with a Hitchcokian twist at the end.Watch it, and you'll be doing double takes next time you feel that strange presence behind your back.

Writer/director M. Night Shymalan's "The Sixth Sense" is that rarest of breeds: an intelligent, well-made film that conquered the box office. Equal parts mystery, drama and bone-chilling horror, "Sense" deals with a weary, wounded child psychologist (Bruce Willis) whose latest patient (the remarkable Haley Joel Osment) has a mysterious and terrible gift: he sees ghosts.

Shymalan, ably assisted by Tak Fujimoto's brilliantly icy cinematography, wrings suspense and terror out of empty doorways, split-second glimpses of figures in the background, and unknown things lurking in the dark. But this is hardly a cheap slasher film: perhaps the most wonderful aspect of this film is its message, that fear can be conquered through understanding and compassion.

Cleverly plotted, bolstered by fine performances from Olivia Williams as Willis's melancholy wife and Toni Colette as Osment's worried mom, and graced with a twist ending worthy of Hitchcock, "The Sixth Sense" is a magnificently creepy film that will have you jumping at shadows long after it's over.

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There has never been a type of movie with more allure than the thriller series. Many have scared the socks off of their poor audience, with a paticular tip of the hat to "The Blair Witch Project," but this movie is different. The movie tells you with its story, its tone, and its color that something will happen, but you can not put your finger on it until the end. The movie supports no "cheap scares" present in movies like Scream in which a scene is not scary, just sudden and startling. This movie, "The Sixth Sense," Will make you afraid. Afraid of the dark, and afraid of being alone. The genuine surprise ending added closure to a genuine 21st century scary movie. And, with added footage, you will not want to miss "The Sixth Sense." Note: This movie is only for those who are not afraid to be truly afraid.

Read Best Reviews of The Sixth Sense (1999) Here

Having seen and *loved* this film during its theatrical run, I pre-ordered this DVD nearly two months in advance of its earliest availability. When the disc arrived, I immediately canceled all other plans and set aside that evening's hours to watch it.

Imagine then my profound sense of disappointment when I saw the first preview come on. Instantly, I reached for the DVD remote and pressed the Menu button only to find it had been disabled.

When the second preview followed and still the Menu button was dead, I started to feel annoyed. By the time the fourth one began, I was thoroughly and completely angry and pledged never to watch any of the four movies that had been forced on me.

Yes, I will admit that once The Sixth Sense began, the experience was every bit as satisfying as I had hoped. And the extra features are a very nice bonus. I don't doubt that this disc will be played many many times before I tire of it.

However, in the end, the forced previews ruin this disc. I would have been happy to watch any previews the disc producers wanted me to watch ... so long as they gave me the freedom to choose when to watch them.

A fatal mistake. Simply brutal. This disc should be recalled and replaced with one that does not force the experience. At this point, this studio is in my doghouse. If they pull this stunt again, I will never buy another disc from them.

This is one Collector's Edition that may become a Trash Collector's edition.

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Wow what can I say? A very intelligently scripted and amazingly acted film in which Bruce Willis proves that the action stereotype is just a misconception of him while he plays a child psychologist with a real sense of character. The supporting cast offer a uniformly high standard also, and with an amazingly scripted plot, make this the best film I have seen in a long, long time. If it's action you want then stay away, whereas if it is suspense, drama and plot you want order it now!

Fantastic all round. Bet it makes you jump.....

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Bottle Rocket (The Criterion Collection) (1996)

Released in 1996, this is Wes Anderson's first feature movie and the beginning of a great career that has also included the fantastic quirky comedy-dramas "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums." "Bottle Rocket" isn't the equal of those films, but it is a great start to Anderson's career, and a fine little comedy. It also marked the beginning of the stardom of Owen Wilson, who co-wrote the script with Anderson and plays the most noticeable and memorable part. The film was shot in Texas, Anderson and Wilson's home state, based on a short film they had made two years earlier.

The movie has the type of laid-back and character-driven humor that won't appeal to everyone. This is comedy that doesn't target laughs or build up elaborate set-ups as most comedies do. Instead, the humor is continuously slow-pitched to you in the form of weird but likeable characters, off-center attitudes, and situations that seem familiar to us but are played in unreal ways and thus become extremely funny. All together, it's an extraordinarily enjoyable and pleasant movie that strolls through its story with no particular rush.

Owen's brother Luke Wilson, who had so far appeared in every Wes Anderson film, plays Anthony Adams, who gets out of a voluntary mental hospital after recuperating from a breakdown. His friend Dignan (Owen Wilson) has big plans for both of them -a life of easy and enjoyable crime! Dignan doesn't have any good ideas, but tries to make up for it with endless enthusiasm and an outrageously optimistic view of life. Unfortunately, when things inevitably don't go well for him and his friends start criticizing him, he can fall into pretty bitter depressions. Owen Wilson has the character nailed down, and Dignan sets the tone for most of Wilson's other characters: the enthusiastic but misguided nut. Dignan gets his friend Bob (Robert Musgrave) in on his plan to pull a 'job' (and all of Dignan's 'jobs' are minor-league suburban affairs) that will attract the attention of the local crime boss/landscaper, Mr. Henry (James Caan in a brief but darned funny performance). Dignan get obsessed with his planning and attempts at damage control, while Anthony and Bob are more busy with the really important things in their lives: Anthony falls for a housekeeper at a motel (Lumi Cavazos, from "Like Water for Chocolate"), and Bob tries to deal with his bully of a brother, Future Man (Andrew Wilson -yep, another Wilson).

The film has some sad and serious moments -after all, these are characters who are really going NOWHERE in a very boring suburban landscape -but with Dignan around it never stays down for long. There are plenty of chuckles and some real moments of howling laughter, especially during the climatic 'take down' (and I'm really using that term pretty loosely). Another Wes Anderson favorite actor, Kumar Pallana, who appeared as Pagoda in "The Royal Tenenbaums," is on-hand to add comedy as a safe-cracker (and again, I'm really using that term loosely).

If you like quirky, odd, but realistic comedy, and if you've enjoyed Owen Wilson in many of his later performances, "Bottle Rocket" is really worth a look.

(This DVD is, unfortunately, nothing special. The picture and sound are good, but it hasn't a single extra on it, not even a trailer.)

The Criterion 2-disc Bottle Rocket is outstanding, but don't toss your original disc just yet... the new edition is a slightly different edit that loses one laugh and adds another. I couldn't find any reference to these changes in the supplementary material at all.

MISSING: Originally, during the book store robbery, Anthony grabs a random book off the shelf and opens it, revealing the title page "Job Opportunities in Government 1995" which always gave me a little chuckle. Now for some reason the book opens to a black and white photograph of a military plane (it goes by so fast you'd have to freeze frame to make it out.)

ADDED: Originally, when Bob hands his earnings over to Future Man to cover his attorney fees, he asks if he can keep a few bucks for gas, and the scene ends. Now the scene plays a few seconds longer, and we hear Future Man's reply: "No, you can't."

In addition to these minor (and somewhat baffling) changes, I was also unable to find any images of the one-sheet art or logo anywhere on this set (as appears on the menu page and sleeve of the original release).

So if you're a hardcore Bottle Rocket fan or completist, hang onto your old disc and buy this set as well. In addition to a beautiful transfer, commentary track, documentary, the original short film, and other extras, the booklet insert is a miniature replica of Dignan's 75-Year Plan notebook, along with reproductions of Anthony's drawing of Inez on horseback, the book store heist plan schematics, etc.

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This movie grabbed my attention the first time I rented it at my local videostore for it's low key atmosphere and entertaining storyline. The highly persistent (if not entirely insane) Dignan, played by Owen Wilson has got to be one of the most memorable character portrayals in any movie I've ever seen. The slow pace of the movie makes everything just right (you won't be blown away by special effects, unless you consider an altogether cerebral script pyrotechnic) but you will come away from this movie with a sense of adventure and a deep desire for one yourself. The fact that this movie is practically a remake of an earlier project adds even more to its appeal. The caper scenes are hilarious, the dialogue will make you think as well as laugh, and you will come away from this movie with a new appreciation for film making in general. It's not all about explosions after all. And you will find yourself scaring the hell out of your friends when for no reason at all you start screaming "Ka-Caw, Ka-Caw!". If you like this movie check out Rushmore, also directed by Wes Anderson.

Read Best Reviews of Bottle Rocket (The Criterion Collection) (1996) Here

Taking a trip into Wes Anderson's head is like going into a parallel universe where most things are the same, but the nature of reality is just slightly warped. And that formula holds true for "Bottle Rocket," his first collaboration with actor Owen Wilson (who also stars), an absurdist crime caper.

Anthony (Luke Wilson) has just been released from a mental hospital after being treated for exhaustion ("You haven't worked a day in your life. How could you be exhausted?"). He hangs out with his idealistically weird pal Dignan (Owen Wilson), who has mapped out his life over the next 75 years. Dignan, having seen a TV special, has decided to become a master criminal.

First they recruitt the timid Bob (Bob Musgrave) as the getaway driver, as he is the only one who has a car. They practice for a while on smaller-time burglaries, such as robbing a bookstore -then hiding out at a motel, where Anthony falls in love with the pretty South-American maid (Lumi Cavazos). However, the guys find themselves in hot water when they bump into a REAL crime boss (James Caan).

Wes Anderson's touch is a little rough in his movie debut, but it's that slightly unpolished touch that makes his offbeat style a delight here. For example, Anthony "escapes" from a hospital that he can leave anytime he wants. That unnecessarily complex opener sets the tone of the rest of the movie, of thrillseeking young men who are just a little out of sync with the rest of us.

Don't expect stupid puns, toilet humor and bad sex jokes. "Bottle Rocket" shares the dry, funny, erratic humor of Anderson's later movies. Not to mention a thousand funny little lines ("Bob stole his car!"). Anderson and Wilson avoid being self-consciously cool, in favor of being earnestly quirky. No banter, just wit.

The Wilson brothers are in fine form here, especially when interacting with one another. Anthony is calmer and thinks a lot; Dignan is idealistic and wacky almost to the point of mental illness. They have a certain innocence despite their illegal ambitions, and it's fun just to see them ramble around. They, Inez and Bob are sort of misfits, but not the kind you laugh at.

It's a little erratic, but "Bottle Rocket" comes across as fresh, weird, and extremely well-done. Funny, zany and charming crime comedy with a twist of Wes Anderson.

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"BOTTLE ROCKET" is most definitely a hilarious but yet an insanely awkward film that just sticks in your head because of how wild and crazy it is.

Released in 1996, the film would be the directorial debut for Wes Anderson ("RUSHMORE", "THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS", "Life Aquatic with Steve Zizzou") and the debut of the Wilson brothers: Owen Wilson (Co-writer) and Luke Wilson (plus brother Andrew) and Robert Musgrave who all grew up together in Texas.

Back in 1992, the first initial concept of "BOTTLE ROCKET" was shot in 16mm film on B&W after the group was able to raise about $4,000 and raise more money and eventually have the 13 minutes extra to have a short film and submit it to the Sundance Film Festival in 1994.

After being screened for the festival, the film was able to attract a few producers who were willing to invest in making "BOTTLE ROCKET" to a full-length film and thus, Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson had their first major opportunity.

As the story goes, the film did terrible in its first test screening which shocked everyone. The film then had its final released cut which then was released in theaters in 1996 and the film bombed. In fact, to everyone's surprie, the film couldn't even get screened at Sundance (where the short film version was able to be screened years prior).

But there were many people who loved the film and for critics, it was a critically acclaimed film that some critics were quite passionate about such as the LA Times (blasting Sundance Film Festival for not screening it) and then followed by director Martin Scorsese calling it one of his favorite films in the 1990's, the film reached cult-status.

Flash forward 12 years later and with three of Wes Anderson's films released on THE CRITERION COLLECTION on DVD, what an awesome way to kick off THE CRITERION COLLECTION's entry to Blu-ray in Dec. 2008 with the release of "BOTTLE ROCKET", Anderson's first film.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

THE CRITERION COLLECTION is all about gathering the greatest films around the world and publish them in the highest technical quality but the focus is to present the film the way the original director intended. For film fans, THE CRITERION COLLECTION is known for its quality and rarely do fans question the releases, the releases are embraced as fans are introduced to important classics or contemporary films.

For "BOTTLE ROCKET", the film is presented in its original aspect ration of 1:85:1. The film's presentation was supervised and approved by Wes Anderson and the Director of Photography Robert Yeoman. The high definition transfer was scanned on a Spirit 2K Datacine from a 35mm interpositive and thousands of instances of dirt, debris and scratches were removed using the MTI Digital Resotration System and Pixel Farm's PFClean.

The video quality of this film looks great especially for a film created in the early to mid-90's. Typically films released on Blu-ray during these years have been clean but have this softness effect where the vibrancy of the colors are not as beautiful as I would like it to be. With "BOTTLE ROCKET", the film had many outdoor scenes and literally from the red's to the blues and greens and the yellow jumpsuit that the guys wear, these colors are vibrant in Blu-ray HD.

As for audio, audio was mastered at 24-bit from the original magnetic tracks and audio restoration tools were used to reduce clicks, pops, hiss and crackle. The film is primarily a dialogue based film, thus a lot of the audio is coming from your front channel speakers. There are scenes with gunshots and music that come out quite live on your home theater channels but the film is primarily a dialogue-based film.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

For the special features, the following are included:

* AUDIO COMMENTARY A commentary featuring Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson. The commentary is not more on the filmmaking perspective but more of nostalgia as the guys talk about memories of people they worked with, areas they shot and how some of the people on the crew have moved on to bigger things.

* THE MAKING OF "BOTTLE ROCKET" A featurette with interviews with Wes Anderson, the Owens brothers, James Caan, Kumar Pallana, the producers and more. You learn a lot about the behind-the-scenes of the film from creating the short film, Sundance, how the test screening was a bomb, how the film was not a commercial success but became a cult hit and much more. Great insight on the actors about being part of the job, how they were able to get James Caan for the film and how the producers felt about the talent at the time. A fun and informative documentary by filmmaker Barry Braverman.

* The Bottle Rocket Shorts The actual 13-minute B&W short film that was created back in 1992.

* Storyboards Wes Anderson's original storyboards and sketches for the film.

* Anamorphic Test Anamorphic test shots of several scenes from the film and how Anderson originally planned to shoot the film in widescreen Panavision. Test shots.

* "The Shafrazi Lectures, No. 1 Bottle Rocket" A guy who is reviewing the film and talking about why he loved it.

* "Murita Cycles" A Short film created Barry Braverman (friend and collaborator for Anderson and the Wilson family) about his father, a Staten Island bicycle shop owner which inspired the guys to create "BOTTLE ROCKET".

* Behind-the-Scenes Photograps by Laura Wilson The Wilson brothers also had a talented mother who is a photographer that took pictures of Wes, Owen and Luke during the planning stages of the film and also at Sundance.

* Deleted Scenes There were a quite a number of scenes that were cut and eleven featured on the disc. Scenes that would have explained how "Futureman" got his name, what Dignan and Applejack were up to when they went to by Bob's place, another scene of how the pot was found in Bob's home and much, much more.

Also included is a booklet that features an appreciation by director Martin Scorsese (which is a tribute that appeared in the March 2000 issue of ESQUIRE Magazine), an essay book by executive producer James L. Brooks (written as an introduction to the "RUSHMORE" screenplay published in 1999) which really goes into detail of how "BOTTLE ROCKET" was created and things that happened behind-the-scenes not mentioned on the special features and artwork by Ian Dingman.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"BOTTLE ROCKET" is just an amazing, awkward and hilarious film. Forget about the "Oceans #" type of films that try to bring comedy to heist films, BOTTLE ROCKET" was special because it came from these young people who were not known at the time but their vision of filmmaking and storytelling just sticks into your mind.

You know that feeling about pulling a prank that got a lot of laughs during your younger years and you remember it to this day. This is how I felt about certain scenes from "BOTTLE ROCKET". There were a lot of humor that was not meant to be taken in as a joke but for these characters of Dignan, Anthony and Bob, you can't help but be entertained and laugh.

From memorable scenes of the group putting tape on top of their noses before their heist, to how rob the bookstore but at the same time, those being held hostage just look at them as non-dangerous and almost humorous (despite Dignan carrying a gun).

And then scenes of love as Anthony falls for this woman who can't speak any English and goes where she goes as she cleans each hotel room and just falls in love. And his far out drawings of his love for Inez.

And also the team assembled by Dignan for their major heist. One would think, why he would select really old men (especially one who had some major memory loss issues) to bring with him for a major robbery? But you realize it's Dignan and you just accept his approach to pulling of a heist and enjoy the ride.

There are many of these moments in the film that you just think back and just be amazed of how much of those type of scenes were included. Wes Anderson and Owen Williams are just an amazing duo and although at the time, they were not known in the industry, it just showed you how much potential these guys had when they first emerged and eventually they would go on to have successful careers making many more films together.

As for the Blu-ray disc, again, THE CRITERION COLLECTION manages to pull of another wonderful release. Wonderful picture quality that is vibrant in colors and again, I've reviewed many major films released in the early and mid-90's and although cleaned up, never have the vibrancy or sharpness but this softness that always bugged me. This was not the case of "BOTTLE ROCKET", the film looks great!

And the amount of special features and also the booklet that really help enhance one's appreciation for the film. You wouldn't expect anything less from CRITERION and sure enough, they delivered.

"BOTTLE ROCKET" is a fun, hilarious and well-written film that is so different from any film that has come out. It's not a moronic film, nor is it a serious heist film. It's just a film that is just all-out fun and one can understand why it has become a popular cult film.

Highly recommended!

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D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln (1930)

This film crackles with age, but is still worthy viewing, and is historical for more reasons than just because it is about our 16th president. It was D.W. Griffith's first "talkie", and has a resplendent performance by Walter Huston. It also boasts a script by poet and novelist Stephen Vincent Benet, and beautiful cinematography by Karl Struss, of placid pastoral scenes, exquisitely lit interiors, and depictions of the Civil War.

Huston's marvelous portrayal of Lincoln is broad and strong, with angular body language and a "gentle giant" feeling.

The film starts at Lincoln's birth, through the struggles of his youth and love for Ann Rutledge (Una Merkel), marriage to the eccentric Mary Todd (Kay Hammond), whose mental fragility is subtly demonstrated in how she tries to get out a spot in some fabric, his persistence in keeping the Union together through the war at all costs, and his assassination.

A wonderful "biography" film, and a good example of early filmmaking, the main attraction in this for me is Huston's Lincoln. The old quality of this 1930 film almost enhances the feeling that "this was the man".

Accused of fostering racism in America after his Masterpiece, "The Birth of a Nation", David "D.W" Griffith takes a shot at making sound (talky) films with Abraham Lincoln (1930). Griffith was heavily influenced by the still photography of Matthew Brady and that influence can be seen in the almost "Newsreel" like feel of this movie. Many have criticized the performance of Hollywood legend Una Merkel (Ann Rutledge). However, a lot of her performance can be attributed to the dialogue and the fact that this was D.W. Griffith's first of only two talking movies. Walter Huston gives an award winning performance as Abraham Lincoln even though he was somewhat handicapped as an actor with the slow pace of the film. You can see that there is an amount of unease with Griffith and the new technology. All told, this is the greatest telling of the life of Abraham Lincoln from a true film master.

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this movie was done very well and walter huston did a very good job as Lincoln but the price for the idem is to much

Read Best Reviews of D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln (1930) Here

A D.W. Griffith epic about Abraham Lincoln's life, "Abraham Lincoln" was the film that would show many that silent filmmaker D.W. Griffith had what it takes to make movies in the talkies era.

Griffith's 1930 film "Abraham Lincoln" now receives the HD treatment courtesy of Kino Lorber and thanks to the restoration work of The Museum of Modern Art for the Blu-ray release.

D.W. Griffith is one of America's pioneering filmmakers. Known for creating large-scale silent films such as "The Birth of a Nation", "Intolerance", "Broken Blossoms", "Orphans of the Storm", D.W. Griffith was the big budget super-director during the silent era.

And in 1919, D.W. Griffith along with Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, wanted to control their own interests rather than depending on powerful studios of the time and created United Artists.

But when talkies came and literally ended the life of silent cinema, the once wealthy and powerful D.W. Griffith now became a vulnerable director, an alcoholic, an older director at 53-years-old and because of his work in the silent era, many were not sure if D.W. Griffith can transition into the talkies.

His relationship with producer Joseph M. Schenck was now being tested as films from D.W. Griffith were not earning enough profit for the producer despite doing well compared to others who came from the silent era. And communication between both men was deteriorating.

So, in 1930, D.W. Griffith, a fan of Carl Sandburg's written work on Abraham Lincoln, but also a fan of Lincoln's stories, would go on to work on "Abraham Lincoln". But as the relationship with Schenck soured, Schenck was no longer interested in giving Griffith the money to make big films, in fact, Schenck resorted to D.W. Griffith taking a pay cut. After months of back-and-forth between the two men, both side agreed to work on the film, with no salary reductions but also to eliminate Griffith's consulting fee if he goes beyond 19 weeks to create the film.

Knowing that the relationship between he and Schenck would be tested, depending on the box office returns of "Abraham Lincoln", D.W. Griffith knew that in order to stay in the business, to stay profitable in the business, he would have to deliver. In this case, also prove that he can create a talkie.

And in the process, D.W. Griffith was able to bring in Walter Huston and also was able to tap into poet Stephen Vincent Benet into writing for the film. But even then, as there was still resentment that Schenck had towards D.W. Griffith, story writer John W. Considine Jr. would make things hard on Griffith and Benet for the adaptation.

Countless rewrites were done on "Abraham Lincoln" to the point that even Benet was starting to show frustration because his screenplay was being changed to the point that he felt each screenplay was starting to become worse and worse and that the rewrites were starting to make him lose his mind.

It was more a battle of ego's between Considine Jr. (a writer in the industry) vs. Benet (a Pulitzer Prize winning poet), in which Considine wanted to make sure that Benet has much to learn about the industry and despite nearly being sued by Benet for libel, the two managed to work together and makes a final screenplay was done.

As Griffith promoted the film, reviews of the film around the country were positive. The publication, "The Morning World" wrote, "Mr. Griffith was in every way at his best.", actor Walter Huston would also earn positive marks for his portrayal of Abraham Lincoln. A film critic, Watts wrote of Huston's performance,"Beautiful, tender, humorous and entirely touching".

VIDEO:

"Abraham Lincoln" is presented in 1080p High Definition (1:20:1 aspect ratio) and was mastered in HD from the 35 mm restoration by the Museum of Modern Art. Picture quality for this film is actually very good. Really good clarity when it comes to closeups and I didn't notice any major damage to the video. For a film that is over 80-years-old, "Abraham Lincoln" was a wonderful restoration that proved to look great on Blu-ray!

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Abraham Lincoln" is presented in monaural. There are some issues that are shown at the beginning that some of the audio of the film was lost. So, after the opening credits, the film is silent for a few minutes, before you can hear sound again. Dialogue for the most part is clear and understandable. I chose to listen to the monaural soundtrack with it playing throughout all my speaker channels but noticed no hissing, pops or crackle during my viewing of the film.

Once again, for a film created in the beginning of the talkies era, "Abraham Lincoln" not only looks good, the film also sounds very good as well!

There are no subtitles included on this Blu-ray release.

SPECIAL FEATURES

"Abraham Lincoln" comes with the following special features:

Introductions Part 1 (5:51) Walter Huston interviews D.W. Griffith about the film and presents him with something special.

Introductions Part 2(1:53) Walter Huston questions Griffith about the film's historical accuracy.

EXTRAS:

"Abraham Lincoln" comes with a slipcase.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Abraham Lincoln" could be seen as one of the most accessible and entertaining D.W. Griffith epics in the filmmaker's oeuvre. But if you are also a D.W. Griffith fan of his work, you can't help be a bit saddened that "Abraham Lincoln" was the filmmakers last well-received film by film critics nationwide.

While the film is well-regarded as a wonderful Abraham Lincoln adaptation, unfortunately due to the Great Depression which hurt America for several years, the film did not make as much in the box office. While the film does try its best to be accurate, there are some historical inaccuracies that relate to Lincoln's presidential run including an inaccurate portrayal of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

It is important to note that for accuracy, Griffith was trying to get access to writer Carl Sandburg's books, pictures and notes of Abraham Lincoln but Sandburg's asking price at the time was $30,000 (which was a lot in 1930) and it was a price that Schenck would be unwilling to pay as he wanted to keep costs down.

And while the film did receive rave reviews all around the country, due to his relationship with his producer at the time, what matter about the film was not about how well-loved the film received by audiences but about the box office returns. For Schenck, the businessman and producer cared for one thing and that is how much the film would make. And for what explanation could D.W. Griffith have for Schenck for not making a lot of money, he could talk about rewriting and not accurately depicting a relationship to benefit certain viewers. But he also made it know that because of the interference by writer Considine and by Schenck, "it was not possible to get good results from a director when he has to please two or three factions" (source: "D.W. Griffith: An American Life" by Richard Schickel).

And unfortunately, for the great silent filmmaker, his next talkie, "The Struggle" , created in 1931 would receive the worst reviews he had ever had in his lifetime and would eventually put him into major debt and end his career as a filmmaker.

And while in 2012, a new film about Abraham Lincoln has been made twice (one which included the president as a vampire hunter), there have been other films that also did amazingly well including John Ford's 1939 film "Young Mr. Lincoln" and also John Cromwell's "Abe Lincoln in Illinois", but unlike Griffith's experience, the two films were not released during the Great Depression, nor did they have to contend with many factors of getting a film made.

What I enjoyed about Griffith's "Abraham Lincoln" was the fact that the characters were human. While it is debated about how much of an affect Ann Rutledge had on Abraham Lincoln, Griffith's film painted the two as deeply in love and that Ann was his true love at a young age.

The film also shows Abraham Lincoln as a man of patience and also as a caring man. Where in the film, he prevents one young soldier from being executed for desertion, he gives the lad a chance. Griffith also tries to show Abraham Lincoln as a man who wanted to unite the states and with writer Benet, trying to meet halfway when it comes to historical accuracy but also trying to tell a political story that would not be too cerebral for its viewers that even historical accuracy would have to be a sacrificed a little.

But possibly the highlight of this film is its performance by Walter Huston. The film was dependent on Huston's acting of Lincoln through the years and Huston had to show that he can be a young man involved in brawls, a sensitive man who would cry on the grave of his girlfriend but also a witty and observing lawyer who would go on to become the 16th President of the United States.

So, despite the challenges that "Abraham Lincoln" had to go through during pre-production and of course, after its release in theaters, one could look at the film today as D.W. Griffith's final, great film.

And for this historical epic, its made even better thanks to the restoration by the Museum of Modern Art for its Blu-ray release courtesy of Kino. The picture quality of the film looks amazing and while there are some portions of the film without sound and is lost, it's not too much of a distraction and I was quite pleased with how the film looked and sounded on Blu-ray. No video problems, nor were there any audio problems or hissing or pops during my viewing of the film. If there is only one thing that I was surprised to see is the addition of the "Introduction" special features that were included in "The Birth of a Nation" Blu-ray release. But I can understand why it was included as it was created during the production of "Abraham Lincoln" and features both D.W. Griffith and Walter Huston.

Abraham Lincoln" was the final film showing us D.W. Griffith at his best and proving that he can make a talkie film. Featuring a wonderful performance by actor Walter Huston, portraying Abraham Lincoln of various ages, the film that was able to show the many sides of Lincoln's personality in a film. Featuring a wonderful restoration by the Museum of Modern Art, "Abraham Lincoln" is another wonderful D.W. Griffith Kino Classics release on Blu-ray!

Recommended!

Want D.W. Griffith's Abraham Lincoln (1930) Discount?

This is a very informative video on the great Emancipator. Distributed by Simitar Entertainment, Inc. this video is an excellent introduction to one of our nations greatest presidents. Using stills and what looks to be clips from older movies this video does a good job covering the main events of Abraham Lincoln's life. The movie gives good biographical information about Lincoln's childhood. It touches on his famous debates with Stephen Douglass, the tragic death of several of his close loved ones (mother, sister, two children), his entrance into politics, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, an overview of the civil war, and his assasination. I have seen or read about some things that were NOT in this video such as rumors of an assasination plot prior to his taking the oath of office, his invention of a flat river boat, what happened to his wife and son Robert, his dream of his own death, and also the many parallels of his assasination with that of John F. Kennedy. For those seeking accounts about his sincere but introverted faith in Christ, accounts of prayer, his Thanksgiving Proclamation, his love for and usage of the bible in his speeches, his meeting with Frederick Douglass, his incredibly small staff, his desire to put "In God We Trust" on our currency this is not really a video that explores these areas. On a purely secular level this video is a good review of Lincoln's childhood and Presidency.The life of Lincoln contains so many rich lessons of honesty, charity, and endurance that I would reccommend this video and others like it. In a world where honest servant leaders are so seldom found Lincoln's legacy stands like a giant straddling the ages. Aesthetically, in a few places on the video certain shots are used repeatedly and some of the footage looks rather old. On the positive side there are some good stills and the music is the type and variety that you'd expect from the civil war era.

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Weekend (The Criterion Collection) (2011)

I always appreciate when a big label like Criterion courts smaller noteworthy offerings that might not ordinarily receive a big distribution. Taking on Andrew Haigh's "Weekend" is certainly one of their more interesting offerings. Some might consider it a niche choice with its homosexual themes and same sex coupling, but "Weekend" has a lot to say about how people (of any gender or orientation) connect or don't connect in the modern world. It is a small film, to be sure, that is graced with both a minimalism and a naturalism that might remind you of Mike Leigh's most organic projects. The narrative takes place over the course of one weekend largely within the confines of an apartment. It is a piece that is bolstered by a thoughtful screenplay and two great performances. If you're looking for a big story, this micro-budgeted indie is NOT the picture for you. But if you enjoy realistic dialogue about the human condition, about life, about love and relationships--there is plenty to be admired here.

Basically, "Weekend" is structured as a brief encounter, a fleeting moment. A relationship in microcosm is played out over a couple of days. The film is completely understated and its quiet effectiveness might sneak up on you. It's a typical enough story, I suppose. Russell (Tom Cullen) heads out to a club looking for some action and as the evening comes to a close, he ends up going home with Glen (Chris New). Neither is under the illusion that this is anything other than a hook-up. In fact, it doesn't appear that the two men share much common ground. What follows is an encounter fueled by drinking, drugs, and sex. But unexpectedly, they also let down their guards and really start to connect. In many ways, "Weekend" is about that moment where two people fall in love. It's not a big or dramatic moment, but a subtle shift of how you view someone else--how you seem to fit. While the film does touch on some issues specific to the homosexual community, its underlying themes are much more universal than you might imagine.

The film played very well on the festival circuit, even picking up two British Independent Film Awards, one for Best Achievement In Production and one for Most Promising Newcomer Tom Cullen. Cullen is quite exceptional. His Russell is more aloof, more introspective, but as he starts to share more of himself--the openness and vulnerability are etched across his face. Chris New is believable and outspoken, cynical and frank, but with a need to connect maybe he doesn't even fully understand. If the thought of two men having sex or sharing intimacy bothers you, this might not be your first choice. But both actors really make this work, giving of themselves both physically and emotionally. In the end, it's bittersweet, real, natural, and unassuming. What it achieves, it does so quietly, unexpectedly and with surprising subtlety. Perhaps this tiny little movie is not for everyone, but for those that appreciate realistic adult drama--this is a weekend trip worth taking. About 4 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 5/12.

The Director approved Hi-Def Criterion Disc extras:

Interviews with the director, producer, and principle cast.

Interview with Haigh on the film's sex scenes

On-set video footage shot by New and others

Cullen and New audition footage

Video essay on the film's set photographers

Two short films by Haigh: Cahuenga Blvd from 2003 and Five Miles Out from 2009

Trailer

Criterion booklet essay from film critic Daniel Lim

This beautiful, understated film captures reality in a way few films ever do. As far as I am concerned, it is one of the best "love stories" ever portrayed on film: the actors are superb and the chemistry between them is true and believable. It takes an artist to produce such a simple, yet effective film. If you haven't viewed it yet, I recommend you do so today, you will not regret it.

Buy Weekend (The Criterion Collection) (2011) Now

My partner and I saw this movie in NYC at the IFC Theatre a few months ago, and it really moved us. We're not young, not into drug culture, and weren't seeing it hoping for a glimpse of some eye candy. We had read a review in The New York Times, checked it on Rotten Tomatoes and seen what a high rating both critics AND audiences alike had given it, and that was the draw for us. What a raw and beautiful film...!!

The two lead characters in the movie have very little in common, at least in my estimation, except for the fact that they're both gay, young, attractive, and affected by the slings and arrows of surviving in a predominantly straight world. They're very opposite, and therein lies the attraction. Yes, they use recreational drugs like a lot of gay youth. I think the movie does a good job of exploring the demons that cause them to have the kind of low self-worth that drives many gay people to abuse substances. Yet, there is a beauty in the love that develops very quickly between them--despite their self-destructive tendencies. Much bubbles to the surface in their drug fueled time together that might otherwise lie dormant if substances weren't being used, and the crashing down of walls that is the result.

Seldom have I seen a film of such gritty honesty. It is uncomfortable seeing the story unfold. But somehow it manages to crawl under the skin with the precision of a microscope of acuity, revealing so much about what drives us gay humans to the extremes that a marginalized existence sometimes does. I thought it said more about how societal pressures, whether real or imagined, get in the way of gay people being able to just live and love. A must see!

Read Best Reviews of Weekend (The Criterion Collection) (2011) Here

Weekend is a film that can be blatantly described as a Gay/ lesbian film. But the irony of handing it that title is that Weekend itself is a terrific analyzation of the boundaries often placed between the gay community and the straight community. In this film we follow two gay men who have just met: Russell (Tom Cullen): A life Guard who is still a tad insecure about his sexuality, and Glen (Chris New) an outed artist who plans to go to America to flee the boundaries that hold him back in England. The film follows the two over the course of one weekend, the majority spent in Russell's small apartment, where the two men learn about each other, have sex, and have fascinating conversations pertaining to the stigmas placed on homosexuals in a "Straight" world. It is somewhat cliché now to describe a film as having a "documentary feel", but what other way is there to describe Weekend? Here is a film that is so intimate, so realistically acted and full of moments so private that it is impossible to look away. The performances are magnetic and unforgettable while the script is one of immense intelligence.

At its core the film deals with homosexual issues yes, but does that mean it is only for gays and lesbians? Only if you're one of those people who also think Spike Lee films and Roots are only for black people. If anything this is a film that should be viewed more so by straight people. It is a superb document on the humanization of homosexuals. It shows us that we all are pining for the same existential things: Acceptance and love. Those two things might be wrapped in different looking packages between different people, but beneath the exterior the same kind of love is there. For that insightful revelation alone I would recommend Andrew Haigh's Weekend, but there is so much more to it. It is an exceptional film that follows in the footsteps of such great films as Before Sunrise. and like that film it haunts you for days afterward. One of the best films of 2011 no doubt.

Pros: Very well acted, Great script, Kudos to putting John Grant in the Soundtrack.

Cons: None

Want Weekend (The Criterion Collection) (2011) Discount?

This is one of the best films of 2011, but only a few critics (writing in The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, etc.) got it. So it is something of a confirmation that Criterion will be releasing WEEKEND as part of its esteemed blu-ray collection. Highly recommended.

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The Godfather Part II (Coppola Restoration) (1974)

Although not quite as powerful or as unified as the original, THE GODFATHER II lays claim to possibly being the greatest sequel ever made. The film focuses on the twin stories of Michael Corleone's attempt to consolidate his power as Godfather of the Corleone family by, as he puts it, killing all his enemies. The latter primarily include a Jewish gangster who was a former associate of his father as a young man, a former associate who turns government witness, and his brother Fredo, who betrays Michael because he felt passed over and because in betraying Michael there would be "something in it for me." The other story told is that of the youth and young manhood of Vito Corleone, magnificently portrayed by Robert De Niro in one of his greatest performances, performing his role in Italian and doing a masterful job of mimicking Marlon Brando's intonations from the previous film. The story takes him from his earlier childhood, with the death of all the members of his family in Sicily, to his immigration to the United States, and eventual involvement in a life of organized crime.

Much of the power of the second film comes from the contrast between the two stories. As Vito Corleone grows in power, he also grows as a family man, in both the sense of a father with children and a wife and in the extended sense in his role as Godfather. He becomes the center of a community, drawing others around him. But the other story, of the decay of all that Vito had built up through the leadership of Michael, betrays all the realities undergirding the delusions riddling Vito Corleone's Family. The rot and decay that characterizes Michael's reign are shown as the natural and inescapable result of the greed that drove the lives of those in the crime organization. Nonetheless, the contrast between Vito, surrounded by friends and family and associates, and Michael, killing friends and associates and even family members, alienating even his most loyal friends, sitting inside his armed compound alone couldn't be starker. There is a reverse symmetry between the two stories: Vito starts off alone and ends surrounded by family and friends, while Michael starts off surrounded with family and friends, and ends up alone. This is symbolized perfectly in the final scene in the film, in a flashback to December 7, 1941, when Michael reveals to his brothers that he has enlisted in the Army. They hear their father arrive elsewhere in the house and rush off to meet him, only Michael sitting at the table alone as the film ends.

As with the first film, the acting is beyond reproach. As great as Al Pacino has been in his career, Michael Corleone has been his greatest achievement. He and Robert De Niro excel in the two key roles in the film. Lee Strasberg came out of retirement to play Hyman Roth, and he was extraordinarily effective in the role. The late, great John Cazale was marvelously timid as the dim, confused, and indecisive Fredo, who both adored and resented his brother Michael. Michael Gazzo is unforgettable as Frank Pentangeli, who thinks he has been betrayed by Michael and turns government witness, and received a well-deserved Oscar nomination for his performance (he was beaten out by Robert De Niro), as was Lee Strasberg. Robert Duvall returns as Tom Hagen, who is more loyal to Michael than anyone else but who Michael distrusts nonetheless. Bizarrely, Al Pacino lost out to Art Carney, who was excellent in the rather minor film HARRY AND TONTO. It is hard today to understand how Pacino failed to win.

Director Francis Ford Coppola continues his Shakespearean prose opera of the Will to Power in 1974's THE GODFATHER, PART II. Universally considered one of the greatest films ever crafted along with its twin, the original THE GODFATHER (1972), THE GODFATHER, PART II continues the tragic tale of kingship and kinship begun in the earlier film.

Coppola creates a fascinating film study of Father and Son, as he compares and contrasts the middle-aged Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and the young Vito Corleone (Robert DeNiro) as the former falls from authority into corruption and decline and the latter rises from obscurity to strength and power.

In two brilliantly crafted parallel period tales spanning the twentieth century, we watch the Father create a self-contained universe centered around Family, while the Son slowly destroys what his Father hath wrought.

DeNiro's Vito Corleone begins life as a frightened immigrant child fleeing a vendetta in Sicily; at his apotheosis, in an act of filial piety he kills Don Ciccio, the man responsible for his own father's, mother's and brother's deaths. Pacino's Michael Corleone begins the film at the height of his powers, then falls deeper and deeper into his own internal darkness. At his nadir, in an act of complete abnegation, he kills his own misguided brother, Fredo (John Cazale).

The difference between them is manifest in that while Don Vito kills only two men (the aforementioned Don Ciccio, and Don Fanucci, a neighborhood predator who takes away Vito's job as a grocery clerk, leaving him unable to feed his Family and driving him into a life of crime), Don Michael is drenched in the blood of other men. Where Don Vito uses his own inherent self-respect and the finespun fear others' feel to serve the essentially unselfish ends of protecting the defenseless in his world, Michael uses the brute force of his personality and unrestrained violence to maintain his own personal wealth and power, ultimately squandering both, and in the end, sacrificing both respect and Family.

The organized crime elements of this film are a dramatic backdrop to the biographical elements. They propel the story but are not the core of it.

Robert DeNiro's Oscar-winning performance as Don Vito Corleone marked the only time that two actors won Academy Awards for the same role (along with Marlon Brando as Don Vito in THE GODFATHER). Pacino's parallel performance as Don Michael is a bleak study in genius, well-deserving its own Oscar.

A gifted film, THE GODFATHER, PART II remains one of the few sequels to match or outmatch it's predecessor film.

Buy The Godfather Part II (Coppola Restoration) (1974) Now

There are few films in cinematic history that are as revered as "The Godfather". There are so many memorable performances and so many memorable scenes that there's no dispute over it sitting in the #1 All-Time position on the Internet Movie Database's (IMDB) Top 250 list. Normally, trying to follow up such a cinematic masterpiece with a sequel is a foolhardy endeavor. The performances and brilliant storytelling tend to falter in the next movie. Seldom does a drama produce a worthy sequel. In the case of "The Godfather", it easily produced the 'sequel that is equal' with "...Part II".

Listed in the #3 slot in the IMDB Top 250 All-Time, "The Godfather, Part II" is an even more ambitious film than the original. So ambitious, in fact, that many fans of the "Godfather" films feel it may actually be superior to the original. I do not share that opinion. At best, I feel it is just as good as the original. At worst, it is just a tiny bit less of a film than "...Part I". I feel that, while "...Part II" is more ambitious, it lacks the grand scale of the original, especially in the scenes involving Michael Corleone's (Al Pacino) control of the family 'business' in the late 1950's. This is hardly a criticism, though. In fact, the lack of grand scale of this 'family' is symbolic of how Michael's chilling rule has wrecked was the family once was, instead of being indicative of lackluster filmmaking.

Director Francis Ford Coppola took a risky, but ultimately reward, approach to the story of "The Godfather, Part II". He wanted to tell the story of a young Vito Corleone's (played by Robert DeNiro here) rise to power simultaneously with his son Michael's fall from grace some 40 years apart. The two parallel stories have a marvelous interplay with one another. At no point, when film shifts from one time period to the other, does it feel forced or jarring. There is always some sort of connection, however subtle, between the end of a scene in one time period and the beginning of one in the other. The story of the young Vito Corleone begins in 1901 in Sicily at the funeral for his father who murdered for an insult to local Mafia chieftain. His mother, who lost her other son when he was killed trying to avenge his father, visits the chieftain, Don Ciccio, in an attempt to spare the life of her youngest, 'dumb-witted' son, Vito. When Ciccio refuses, she attempts to murder him and winds up being killed herself. Vito runs away and, with the help of friends of the family, avoids capture by Ciccio's men and is placed on a ship to America. A leap forward to 1958 shows Vito's grandson, Anthony receiving his first Communion and the subsequent reception afterwards at Michael Corleone's Lake Tahoe compound, where Michael receives visitors and requests for favors much the same way Vito did on his daughter's wedding at the beginning of the original "Godfather".

Each story, on it's own, is quite fascinating. Weaved together, they are magnificent. The tale of Vito Corleone shows his rise from being just another Italian immigrant to becoming one of the most powerful underworld figures in New York and the strengthening of the Corleone family. In contrast, the tale of Michael Corleone shows the disintegration of his family and his 'family' as a result of his cold, iron-fisted leadership and paranoia over any betrayals, either real or perceived. The very end of Michael Corleone story shows the depressingly haunting image of Michael sitting amongst the fallen leaves of fall with only the 'button' men around him in the compound, as he has pushed away every single person who was close to him. It's a tragic ending of Shakespearean proportions in direct contrast to the seemingly boundless future that seems to await the Corleone's at the end of the Vito Corleone story.

As with the original "Godfather", the performances in "...Part II" are nothing short of spectacular. Pacino chillingly portrays Michael Corleone's continued decent into evil. The progression of his character from the war hero who wanted nothing to do with the family business (in "...Part I") to the most ruthless of mafia leaders (in "...Part II") is truly disturbing. Pacino makes Michael the embodiment of pure evil. Not even his wife or his children (or even his brother) are safe from his wrath. The fact that he didn't win a Best Actor Oscar for this performance is almost as criminal as the Corleone family business. Robert DeNiro gives an equally accomplished performance as a young Vito Corleone (who was played by Marlon Brando in the original movie). The mannerisms and demeanor that DeNiro brings to his portrayal of a young Vito leave the audience completely convinced that this is how Vito looked and acted at this age. Unlike Pacino, though, DeNiro was not overlooked for his performance and won an Oscar for Best Support Actor. There are other remarkable performances throughout the film. Among them are Robert Duvall reprising his role as the loyal, but wary, 'adopted brother' Tom Hagen; Lee Strasberg (the creator of "method acting") as Michael's nefarious business partner, Hyman Roth (and target of Michael's famous phrase, "Keep your friends close, but your enemies even closer"); and John Cazale as the weak, easily-manipulated Fredo Corleone who gets himself into trouble way over his head.

Few sequels are able to match the acclaim and accomplishment of their predecessor, but "The Godfather, Part II" manages to achieve this in epic fashion. While I still hold to my claim that the original "Godfather" was the better of the two films, there is no doubt in my mind that this exists as one of the 10 best films of all-time.

Read Best Reviews of The Godfather Part II (Coppola Restoration) (1974) Here

The Godfather, Part II is arguably the greatest film of all time. It is the only sequel to win Best Picture and, in my opinion, is better than the first movie. Al Pacino gives an unforgettable performance in this movie as does Robert De Niro. Francis Ford Coppola's use of the two story lines going at the same time is wonderful.

The Robert De Niro (Young Vito Corleone) story line is the only part of the Godfather novel that was left out of the first film and it shows the rise of the Godfather. The Al Pacino (Michael Corleone) story line shows how Michael continues the family business after the first film. Both story lines are incredible and when they are put together it makes one of the greatest films of all time.

There is some very powerful cinematography in this film. The scenes are wonderfully shot on location in Nevada, New York, Sicily, and Cuba. I praise Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola for the best sequel ever!!

Want The Godfather Part II (Coppola Restoration) (1974) Discount?

Even better than the original because it probes deeper into the personalities, especially of Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and his obsession with family and loyalty and snubbing out his enemies. He is quiet, educated, and coldly calculating. The movie traces his dealings in the 1950s-60s, set mainly in Nevada. Interspersed with these developments is the story of the rise of his father Don Vito Corleone in Little Italy in NYC in the 1920s, with Robert De Niro doing a brilliant job in that role. Both stories are excellently told. Despite my never quite understanding America's obsession with the mafia and its ilk, it's not hard to conclude that this is a major movie achievement.

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The Penalty: Kino Classics Special Edition (1920)

Kino on Video has carved a niche for themselves with their fine digital transfers of art, foreign and classic silent films. Four of the towering icons of early cinema were Lon Chaney, John Barrymore, Douglas Fairbanks and Rudolph Valentino. Now, each of these stars has a seminal film freshly available for a new generation to discover and enjoy on DVD (along with a generous sampling of choice supplemental material).

A few years before his death, I got to know Allan Dwan, the legendary film pioneer and director of over 400 features films, who by then was well into his 90s. After a special screening of a his 1922 "Robin Hood," a spectacular comic epic adventure starring Douglas Fairbanks, Dwan told me how he discovered Lon Chaney. "I was at Universal and picked up a new prop man," he said. "Suddenly, every day after work, I noticed a stranger leaving the set where we were shooting. A stranger with a missing leg, or eye, or odd nose, hair or teeth. It turned out to be Chaney in his home-made makeup effects. I said, 'You wanna be in front of the camera?' and began putting him in small parts where he was immediately noticed -not so much for his makeup, but rather his personality. So I took the tip and featured him. He had that mysterious hidden thing that certain people have. He was a star from the very beginning."

When I saw "PENALTY" I understood what Dwan meant about Chaney's sheer force of personalty. Shot in 1920, this Wallace Worsley ("Hunchback of Notre Dame") directed thriller features Chaney as Blizzard, an embittered double amputee and criminal mastermind out to avenge the incompetent doctor who cut off his legs when he was a boy. Blizzard befriends the surgeon's artist daughter and serves as model for her sculpture of Satan. All the while biding his time to enact his demonic revenge. Chaney is electrifying. The disc is loaded with essays, photos, clips, shorts, trailers, a video tour of Chaney's makeup case and a look at the double amputee rig and costume. The atmospheric music score is by Michael Polher. A DVD for the digital library. Trust me.

Like many other movie fans, my only view of Lon Chaney was in The Phantom of the Opera. I enjoyed it a lot and decided to try some of his other work. The Penalty sounded the most interesting since Chaney's legendary makeup skills are used not on his face but on his legs. He is nothing short of amazing in his role as a double amputee/crime lord. Indeed, this is one of those movies that is carried by an actor's charisma.

Unfortunately, the supporting cast is not nearly as fascinating as Blizzard. With the exception of Rose, they are just the standard gangster film characters. (The eager young man, the innocent young girl, the dogged investigater) Whenever Blizzard is onscreen, the movie really works and the viewer misses him when he is not there. Chaney takes a completely horrid character and makes him almost likable. It's no wonder this was the movie that made Chaney a real star.

The plot involves Chaney's character, Blizzard, seeking revenge on the imcompetant doctor who amputated Blizzard's legs at the beginning of the movie. Meanwhile, the police are investigating Blizzard, hoping to bring down his entire gang.

The print is nice enough, quite watchable. The soundtrack is another matter. It consists of NIN sounding loops and drumbeats. Some silent movie fans are purists when it comes to music and some are not. I am in the middle. I would have preferred a more traditional soundtrack (the clangs and bangs are distracting sometimes) but it did not wholly hamper my enjoyment of the film. I just want to give a warning to any traditionalists.

The DVD boasts a suprising amount of extras for a silent film. A 1914 western short starring Chaney. I enjoyed seeing how little a western changed between the teens and the fifties! Also,and a brief but well-done tour of Chaney's makeup case. There is a book-to-movie comparison that explains why the ending was changed. (I think the movie would have been stronger if they had kept the original ending.) I won't spoil it of course but I didn't think it was in keeping with the mood of the rest of the movie.

All in all, check it out for Chaney. It is an entertaining film and a great piece of film history.

Buy The Penalty: Kino Classics Special Edition (1920) Now

Other than "The Phantom of The Opera" this is Chaneys' best work. I have viewed most Lon Chaney films (All that are in print). I must admit, some of his films are corny, one hour melodramas,that I would only recommend to dedicated fans. However, this story, the acting, and the "Kino" soundtrack, will make this one to remember. Better than "The Hunchback" (and that's saying a lot)

Read Best Reviews of The Penalty: Kino Classics Special Edition (1920) Here

The Penalty is a superb Lon Chaney film. It has a really sinister, creepy atmosphere and a central performance from `The Man of a Thousand Faces' which is amongst his best. Chaney, in the role of Blizzard, does not use elaborate face makeup, although his face still takes on an incredible number of varied expressions. What makes his performance so memorable is that he is able to convincingly play the part of someone who has had both legs amputated above the knee. Chaney is totally believable as he moves around on crutches. He shows an incredible strength in using only his arms to climb ladders and ropes. Chaney's performance is not merely a physical tour-de-force. His portrayal of the bitter criminal mastermind does not descend into caricature. The viewer sympathises with him even as his violent actions make him repellent.

The story of The Penalty is lurid to say the least and at times rather far fetched. It is basically a story of Blizzard seeking revenge for the unnecessary amputation of his legs as a child. This revenge involves an elaborate plot to trap the doctor responsible for his plight. Alongside this revenge plot Blizzard plans to take over the city of San Francisco using `Reds' to fight the police while his gang robs the banks and jewellery stores. The story is far from plausible, but stories of criminal masterminds rarely are. It is however hugely enjoyable, exciting and also at times quite shockingly violent for a silent movie.

The print used for the Kino DVD is very good. It is nicely colour tinted and is clear and sharp. The score, composed by Michael Polher, is modern in style and takes a bit of getting used to. It has a thumping beat for large parts of the film, which can be a bit annoying, but on the whole the score fits in quite well with the mood of the film. This DVD has a lot of extras. The best of these is Chaney's one-reel 1914 Western, By the Sun's Rays, which shows the younger Chaney already playing the villain. There is also an interesting video tour showing Chaney's makeup case and the costume he wore in The Penalty. Other extras include a photo gallery a good essay on The Penalty. This is a fine DVD with one of Chaney's best films. Silent film fans will not be disappointed.

Want The Penalty: Kino Classics Special Edition (1920) Discount?

This film and this DVD reissue have already received vy competent reviews from prior critics, so I cannot add much. This is one of the best restorations I've seen, superbly mastered and artisically tinted. The music is extraordinary, very well coordinated with the action. I liked it a lot. It reminded me of "Tubular Bells" in Friedkin's "The Exorcist." Chaney is simply astounding in this film. He is known as the Man of a Thousand Faces and most people meet him in his heavily made-up roles as the Hunchback of Notre Dame and the Phantom of the Opera. Here he is himself, just his own face, his own acting skill against the camera lense, and he is astounding. This is one of the great, great silent films and I was reminded of Gloria Swanson's immortal line in "Sunset Boulevard." "Back then we didn't need sound. We had FACES." Chaney's gymnastics as a legless cripple are tremendous -he climbs stairs on crutches and twice lifts himself by sheer arm-strength up a series of pegs driven in a wall, like a giant spider -but in some way they are the least part of the film. It's his face, his acting, his sheer power that carries the film along. It's all expressions, all shoulders and arms and hands. It's an astounding performance. The only drawback is that he just blows everybody else away, every other actor in the film seems made out of cardboard, compared to Chaney. I agree with a prior reviewer: "WHAT ABOUT THE HATS?" That part of the film doesn't make much sense, though it does afford Chaney one of the most terrific and scary moments in his career, when he threatens a hatmaker, wobbling and towering above her like a huge monster on a table. The ending is silly, but one is left with the disturbing and unforgettable sense of having seen something truly demonic briefly released on film. An astounding and powerful film, a real tour-de-force, handsomely restored and presented with many fascinating extras. Even the subtitles are curiously horrific.

A minor note: Rex Beach, who seems to have collaborated on the screenplay, went on to promote Coral Gables as a real estate development south of Miami, along with William Jennings Bryan. Everybody ends up in Florida, sooner or later!

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La Nuit De Varennes (1982) (1983)

All I can say is...FINALLY!!! I have waited for this film treasure to come out on DVD for 2 decades, as it is brilliant in every aspect. And having such a high interest of the French Revolution, this little chapter of the Royal's planned escape and the fictional coach ride sub-plot is pretty delicious....

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Red Desert (The Criterion Collection)

The usual cliche about Antonioni films is that they are studies of bored and alienated people, and are themselves vague and uninteresting. This line was started by Pauline Kael and is repeated by Leonard Maltin above, with not a second thought. But it is utterly wrong, and never more so than in the case of Red Desert. The main character Giuliana (Monica Vitti) is not bored she is if anything too sensitively engaged with the world. She suffers from it as an artist suffers, feeling it in every part of her. (Her point of view is represented by Antonioni's careful abstract compositions, his beautiful use of colour.) But she also feels the lack of her husband's and son's love and it is this that drives her into an to attraction to Corrado (Richard Harris). He in turn is attracted to her and pretends to a closeness that he doesn't fully feel. The dynamics of this seduction are beautifully observed and movingly real.

But it is the character of Giuliana that drives the film. She seems to possess an integrity in her suffering that sets her apart. Antonioni seems to be searching her soul as he allows the camera to dwell on her expressions of hurt and desperation (as Godard did with Anna Karina). And Monica Vitti is so beautiful that it is ultimately painful to watch her. But as for the standard opinion the only people who could be bored by this film are those who are bored with feeling itself. This is a masterpiece of observed sensitivity a study of the heart's war on consciousness. It must be seen.

In 1964, Michelangelo Antonioni (who has earned the nickname "the Master of Alienation") screened his film "Il deserto rosso" (Red Desert) at the 1964 Venice Film Festival and the director took home the highly coveted Golden Lion award as well as the FIPRESCI Prize.

The Italian modernist director was known for his radical new style, not following any convention of filmmaking and most of all, characters and events are disconnected. Known for his trilogy, beginning with "L'avventura" (1960), the film was an international success and would introduce the world to the actress Monica Vitti, a woman who would appear as the main character in several of his films. Antonioni returned with "La Notte" (1961) starring Jeanne Moreau, Marcello Mastroianni and Monica Vitti which focused on the slow death of a marriage and final of the trilogy "L'Eclisse" would focus on the alienation of man in the modern world.

"Red Desert" is the fourth and final film that Antonioni's muse Monica Vitti would be featured in a film of his (the director would move on to focus his film on a male character). The film would also feature the director filming in color for the first time.

VIDEO:

"Red Desert" is presented in 1080p (1:85:1 Aspect Ratio). According to Criterion, the new HD transfer for "Red Desert" was created on a Spirit HD 2K Datacine from the original 35mm camera negative. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system, while Digital Vision's DVNR system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

It's important to note that Antonioni wanted to capture a certain look. From Pastel colors, we see the grays in the sky, in fact trees and grass were painted gray to convey the solitude of the area. Colors are usually seen in paintings on walls or on cylinders and they standout amongst the grays but yet, it's a look that dreary and gives us a sense of what the industrialized scenery looks like or how we see things through Giuliana's eyes.

For the most part, the film looks very good in producing this industrial area that is lacking any vitality. I was told that the BFI Blu-ray release has a lighter greenish blue tint but I have not seen the BFI release to compare. I did notice a brown line (possibly a few seconds of film damage) around an hr. and five minutes into the film but it's not long at all. That was probably the only blemish I have seen while watching the film.

The film contains a good amount of grain and for the most part, this 1964 film definitely looks very good on Blu-ray.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"Red Desert" is presented in LPCM Italian monaural. According to Criterion, the monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35mm optical soundtrack print. Clicks, thumps, hiss and hum were manually removed using Pro Tools HD, crackle was attenuated using Audiocube's integrated audio workstation.

Dialogue is clear through the center channel but I chose to have my audio set to stereo on all channels for a more immersive sound. There are no scenes that utilize any sound effects, it's pretty much a dialogue driven film that utilizes Giovanni Fusco's music score to initiate the mood. Overall, I didn't notice any audio problems whatsoever.

Subtitles are presented in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Red Desert THE CRITERION COLLECTION #522' comes with the following special features:

* Audio commentary by Italian film scholar David Forgacs An informative commentary in which film scholar David Forgacs talks about Antonioni's film technique but also evaluating various parts of the film and more.

* Archival interviews with director Michelangelo Antonioni (12:03) An interview from 1965 with Antonioni for the TV series "Les ecrans de la ville" and comparisons of Vitti's performance in "Red Desert" and "L'Eclisse".

* Archival interviews with Monica Vitti (9:18) An interview from 1990 with actress Monica Vitti for the TV series "Cinema Cinemas".

* Dailies from the original production (27:58) Uncut and unfinished dailies presented in black and white and color without audio.

* Gente del Po (11:00) A non-fiction documentary made between 1943 and 1947 looking at the relationship between individuals and their environment.

* N.U. (11:40) A 1948 non-fiction documentary about the lives of street cleaners in Rome. N.U. stands for Nettezza Urbana, an Italian municipal cleaning service.

* Theatrical trailer (3:52) The original theatrical trailer.

EXTRAS:

* 28-Page BookletFeaturing an essay by film writer Mark Le Fanu, a reprinted interview with Antonioni conducted by Jean-Luc Godard, and writings by Antonioni on Gente del Po and N.U., also included is an essay "Landcapes of Memory" by Paul Ryan.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Red Desert" is possibly one of those films in which many people will have different things that come into mind after watching it.

My feeling is that we are seeing a woman who is depressed, suicidal and there is something that is explored in this film that probably had no name for it back in 1964 and probably was not diagnosed. But the term given within recent times in the US to what Giuliana is going through is "Seasonal Affective Disorder". A state of depression that people go through during the winter and it can lead to major depression.

Giuliana is unstable, her surrounding is all gray. She wants to get out but this is her husband's job, his livelihood, his life. And her son, wants to be like dad.

The industrial area with its cold area, not a place for a young woman who wants to enjoy life. All that is around is grayness. The trees, the grass, the polluted ground and lakes, and it's important to note that this film was in 1964. Viewing this then, people were not mindful of the implications of pollution and its effects on people and the environment.

For us watching this film today, the first thing that comes to our minds are, look at the poisonous gas in the air from the industry. The fact that Ugo is joking around of how someone caught a fish in the lake that tasted like petroleum. It may seem like a joke then but we look at this today and we see it with a different mindset of how humanity literally took nature for granted.

So, we have to remove ourselves from the visual of industry and pollution and put ourselves in the mindset of the viewer back in 1964 and focus on the surroundings but mostly on Giuliana and her world crashing down on her.

When she tells the story of a woman in the sea to her son, we get a different visual than the life that Giuliana is living. In this dream story that she tells, the water is blue, the sand is white and the skies are of a vibrant blue. Almost like paradise, untouched by pollution or industrial or chemical plants. We get a sense that this is where Giuliana wants to be and wants to escape.

But she can't.

In many ways, "Red Desert" is like tragedy but with no fatality. It's a tragedy in the sense that we see a person slowly dying inside in which no one can help her. One can watch this film today and say, "why doesn't she just move out of the area?" but people must realize that in 1964, the women stuck close to their husbands and any suffering, many hid their painful emotions. She is tethered and feels confined in dreary place where there is no sunlight, the sounds of the area even drive her mad. She can tell her husband but his pragmatic way of dealing with her is nearly uncaring.

But Giuliana, she tries her best but we know its difficult. Everyone has a sense that something is wrong but no one has an answer for it. Nor does she, nor does her doctors.

The Blu-ray of "Red Desert" was a long time coming, many have wanted this release in the US and the fact that we get it on Blu-ray is fantastic. The special features gives us a really solid featurette on Antonioni's vision of the film but also through Vitti's featurette, their relationship. Also, we get two non-fiction short films from the director and also dailies showing us how things were behind-the-scenes of the filming of "Il Deserto Rosso".

Although, many people will always hold his trilogy films or "Blow Up" as his most memorable, I felt that with "Red Desert", director Michelangelo Antonioni has created a unique film.

In his words that he was trying to paint the industrial area as beautiful and that Giuliana must show how one must adapt to their new surroundings. There are some who can and some who can't.

Nearly 50 years later, we now see how Antonioni's "Red Desert", is a film that was possibly ahead of its time. It has given viewers a different meaning and a different perspective that goes beyond adapting to a new surrounding. We see a woman with a mental disease that is eating her up inside and no one knows how to deal with it but hope that time makes her better. That her time in the area makes her better.

For today's viewer, "Red Desert" may have a different meaning than what was intended in 1964 but for many of us, we can easily sympathize with Giuliana because many people if put in her position can easily go into depression and madness.

Overall, director Michelangelo Antonioni's "Il deserto rosso" (Red Desert) is a film that may not define his career but his efficacy in the life lived around an industrial world and a woman who feels as if she is submerging to nothingness due to the industrial world around her. The final collaboration between Antonioni and his muse Monica Vitti is magnificent!

Buy Red Desert (The Criterion Collection) Now

5 stars to the film itself! Here's a painful study of a woman's descent to lunacy amidst a desolate, uncaring and eventually foreboding backdrop of industrial waste. The character study is not unlike claustrophobic Polanski's Repulsion but dwells on Vitti's being consumed by her external surroundings as opposed to Deneuve's intensive plunge to schizophrenia. The pace and landscape is virtual Antonioni so it may not appeal to viewers who are not familiar with the director's works. One of his greatest works (L'Avventura remains his best to me). The only problem is the DVD transfer. I've seen the VHS and it has a consistent hue of orange. The DVD, although sharper and clearer, fluctuates in hues from blues in medium shots to reds and oranges in long shots. For a film that essentially deals with color (it was Antonioni's first color feature), the transfer was rather clumsy and careless. The sound is average but leaves a lot of room for improvement. Why didn't Criterion handle the transfer of this gorgeous film?

Read Best Reviews of Red Desert (The Criterion Collection) Here

It is good to have this film, one of Antonioni's finest and his first in color, available in a format that begins to do justice to its visual subtleties. It should really be seen in a theater, but a Criterion version is the next best thing. The last time I checked the critical consensus, Antonioni was still out of favor with the "with it" cognoscenti, but time will surely correct that oversight and give us good versions of all his films. We've had to put up with bad videos for so long. Those who are not familiar with Antonioni's work and need a clear story line should not waste their time, as Antonioni's films are all about character, mood, and that undefinable something extra which Monica Vitti captured so well in this film and the L'Avventura/La Notte/L'Eclisse trilogy.

The special features on this issue are unusually valuable: an interview with Antonioni, shortly after the film's release; an interview with Monica Vitti about her work and her relationship with him, which was supposedly first shown on French television in 1991, but which surely must have been done earlier, because there is no mention of his tragically debilitating stroke; good prints of Antonioni's two early neo-realist documentaries, which already show his care of visual composition; and some black and white dailies, which highlight Antonion's care in composition and the light and shadow substrate of his brilliant use of color. These features have added immeasurably to my understanding of a film, which only improves with time. Thank you Criterion!

Want Red Desert (The Criterion Collection) Discount?

"Red Desert" (1964) is Antonioni's first venture into color film. The film is about a neurotic woman (Monica Vitti) who has been in a car accident and is having trouble adjusting to the new industrial world that is the post-war Italy. The film beautifully photographs the industrial world with its architectural monoliths and poisonous pools of water and yellow clouds of smoke. The Russian director Tarkovsky would take some of his cues from this movie when he went on to film "Stalker". Antonioni was influenced by the abstract American artists like Mark Rothko and Jackson Pollock, and Antonioni often employs various techniques to flatten the visual space using the telephoto lens, and atmospheric effects, like fog. In this way the environments are made to be just as important as the characters who inhabit them. Antonioni would even spray paint the ground and the trees in order to color the landscape to fit his vision. At times the realism portrayed appears surreal, and electronic music adds to the alien quality of the industrial environments that the people find themselves surrounded by which sometimes gives the film an almost sci-fi quality. This is an often bleak, but thoughtful film, that portrays a humanity learning to live in a new order surrounded by technology and industry.

This Criterion release is has been beautifully remastered in 1080p, and is in its original monaural in Italian with English subtitles. The aspect ratio is 1.85:1. There is an informative commentary by Italian scholar David Forgacs, as well as archival interviews with Antonioni and Monica Vitti. There are also two short documentaries by Antonioni: Gente del Po, and N.U., plus a booklet with an essay by film writer Mark Le Fanu, as well as an interview conducted by Jean-Luc Godard, and writings by Antonioni on Gente del Po and N.U.

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Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982)

I give the movie 4 stars; the soundtrack 5 stars; and the DVD 2 stars. I wish I had read the Amazon reviews before I picked this DVD up last night--but then, why would I have expected that anything had changed? I've been a fan of TIMERIDER since its theatrical release, so I was very happy to have it on DVD finally, and pleased with the transfer, but the TV/airline-version ending completely BITES. "Okay, here comes the tail rotor...and I can hear Reese screaming...and all those squishy sound effects...but...but...YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME!!" (Good thing I was home alone.)

The original sequence was a brilliant and memorable piece of film-making that worked by suggestion: it showed everything it needed to without showing...well, everything. But most importantly, it was where the bad guy got his well-deserved comeuppance. How satisfying would the ending of "Die Hard" have been if John McClane had just left Hans Gruber cowering on the floor? Or if, after Luke Skywalker torpedoed the Death Star, the lights just flickered out?

Distributor Anchor Bay claims that the DVD was made from the "only usable negative available." Uh...sure. I find it impossible to believe that Michael "Mr. Video" Nesmith couldn't find a single viable source in his files for THREE WHOLE SECONDS of film. Laserdisc? How about digitally cleaning up a VHS tape? Unfreakinbelievable.*

Am I upset? You're darn tootin' I am. Sometimes "little" things matter A LOT.

UPDATE 7/16/09: I just purchased a copy of TIMERIDER on laserdisc, and guess what: the missing footage (no pun intended) is there. Granted, it's a washed-out pan-and-scan transfer, but the footage exists in digital form. Guess I'll have to restore it myself. (You can see it on that popular video website.)

*In retrospect, I realize that it likely wasn't up to Nesmith or director William Dear, but to the legal owners of the movie, who probably didn't care what version they released and/or didn't want to spend money to restore the original footage. I mean, who cares what the audience wants, right? From what I've read lately, that's pretty much the Anchor Bay attitude.

Interesting movie, but I was disappointed that a scene at the end got cut short. This is your basic fish out of water story with a motocross racer, Lyle Swan (played by Fred Ward) gets unknowingly caught in a time travel experiment and launched about 100 years in the past. The general reaction, due to his attire and motorized horse is that he is some kind of devil, but one person he comes across, Porter Reese, a criminal outlaw played by Peter Coyote, sees the potential in owning this amazing contraption for himself. All of this takes place in the southern California desert, and Lyle is unaware of what has happened to him. He thinks he just got lost during a race, and tries to find his way back home. I thought it was interesting that he never really gets clued into the fact that he is 100 years out of time. As I said in the beginning, and I think another reviewer mentions this, that a few critical seconds were cut out of a scene at the end. These few seconds of missing footage include a helicopter, its rear rotor blade, and the main antagonist. I think this part was edited out for a television release and never put back in for the DVD release, which is a real shame. You wouldn't think 3 to 5 seconds of footage could impact a movie as much as it does, but it does here. This is the reason why I am giving the release 3 stars instead of four. Other than that, this was a fun sci-fi/western/action movie.

Buy Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) Now

Very disappointed! This video has been edited to qualify for a PG rating. I noticed at least 2 incidents of bad dubbing for language, plus a key sequence at the end was completely omitted. After watching this version, did you wonder why Peter Coyote's character quit shooting at the helicopter??? Well, that's because in the ORIGINAL version, he came to a bloody end. This version has that sequence edited out completely, leaving you wondering what happened to his character. I REALLY hate edited movies Ted Turner, are you listening?

Read Best Reviews of Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) Here

I've had the internet for almost 4 years and I've been searching for this movie on V.H.S. or D.V.D. and here it is, finally !!! Fred Ward is a good actor and I wish he was more known then he is. He plays the part of a dirt bike racer. On his racing circuit, he gets lost somewhere in the desert and accidentally gets transported back in time, to the late 1800's. A research group was conducting a time travel experiment and for reasons of safety and secrecy, they set up the time travel machine out in the middle of the desert, hundreds of miles from the nearest person. Not knowing what it is, Fred Ward goes over to it on his dirt bike and the moment he pulls up to it, the research group activates it and he gets thrown back in time, about 100 years. I won't tell you the rest, but it's pretty cool and there are some funny moments during the movie as well. Thank God it's being transferred to D.V.D. !!!

Want Timerider: The Adventure of Lyle Swann (1982) Discount?

Not only is Michael Nesmith the producer, but he wrote the music. If time travel, Yamaha 500cc singles, and many humorous moments are your cup of tea, then check this movie out. I own the VHS, and like all of the other reviewers, would buy the DVD if it came out, in less than one rev of a big thumper (about one-tenth of a second)!

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