It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (1963)

Stanley Kramer's IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963, UA) is my favorite comedy of the sound era and the most fondly remembered movie of my 1960's childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has a sunny and airy mood, the comedy cast of a lifetime, sharp and hilarious dialogue, an irrestible greed plot, a melodic music score by Ernest Gold, and furious pacing for almost, or just over, three hours (depending on what version you are watching). The more I watch it on DVD at 161 minutes or at 182 minutes on Turner Classic Movies, the more I love it and want to see the long-lost 192 minute Cinerama world premiere version.

MAD WORLD does something right that every other movie of its type gets wrong--it starts a chase plot in reel one, then develops character outward as we go along. It does not spend 45 minutes setting up the story, as similar movies do. In the opening scene, a dying millionaire (Jimmy Durante) tells a group of people in the Southern California desert that a large sum of money is buried "under a big W" in a park south of San Diego. Mickey Rooney and Buddy Hackett are gag writers headed for Las Vegas. Milton Berle is headed for a vacation with wife Dorothy Provine and Ethel Herman as the mother-in-law to beat all mothers-in-law. Sid Caesar and Edie Adams are a dentist and his wife. And Jonathan Winters is driving a van of furniture. Monitoring all of them, as they race after the money, is Spencer Tracy as the coastal city (a compilation of Long Beach and Santa Monica) police captain with a wall map.

So we have a slapstick chase movie to end all slapstick chase movies. (WARNING: PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!) Heading a golden age of television cast are Caesar and Adams, who get to fly in a makeshift plane, then get locked in a hardware store basement. In a career performance, Winters hilariously gets to completely demolish a desert gas station. Berle has a running battle with the mother-in-law from Hell, Merman, who in turn has been given some gloriously acidic dialogue by superb sreenwriters William and Tania Rose. The Roses have never been given enough credit here. All of the sublime dialogue is on the printed page. Along the way, Winters meets up with Phil Silvers, who in turn mixes up with miner Mike Mazurki. Silvers is staggeringly funny with a car at the bottom of a canyon, then later drowning in a river. Rooney and Hackett are in another plane that flies through a Coke billboard after pilot Jim Backus knocks himself unconscious. There is also Dick Shawn as Merman's lifeguard son at Silver Strand Beach. And a phone running battle in his inner police office with Tracy and his wife and daughter that escalates over a simple vacation. And this is only part one, before the film's intermission! Part two has some of the funniest dialogue and greatest car chases in all of movie history for me. And the grand climax has never been topped for me--not even by silent era clowns.

MAD WORLD got mixed reviews when it opened city by city in late 1963, right before President Kennedy's tragic death in Dallas. The positive ones praised a wonderful cast and hilarious chase plot. The negative reviews said it was too long and repetitious at 193 minutes. So producer/director Kramer and his editors carefully cut the Cinerama world premiere version, two months into its run, to 162 minutes. It played in 70mm Cinerama engaggements at 162 minutes until 35mm engagements in Spring 1965. It was further cut then to 154 minutes with roadshow music and intermission removed. All 35mm prints today--and since 1965--run 154 minutes. The DVD, which may or may not still be for sale, restores roadshow music and runs 161 minutes. At an aspect ratio of 2.55, it also blessedly comes close to restoring the ultra-wide widescreen images of the original film. Maddeningly, though, this 161 minute DVD print is curiously missing the Oscar-nominated title song overture.

But there is also a 182 minute print of MAD WORLD (!), restored by my dear filmmaker friend Paul Scrabo, MGM executives, and a dying Kramer in 1991. That is the version that hit VHS and laserdisc in 1991 with a splendid hour-long documentary that I wish could be seen nowadays. It briefly surfaced on one DVD edition, then removed from another that has no bonus material. (So we have two different 161 minute DVD prints that may both be on moratorium! One with a lot of bonuses and one with none. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world!) Anyway, the 1991 documentary combines behind-the-scenes filmmaking with cast/crew reminiscences. Almost everyone recalls a lot of hard work in desert heat, but also a heck of a lot of slapstick fun. One other thing I love about the movie is that the Southern California desert landscapes are deserted for miles--no other cars and no homes, just an occasional truck and gas station.

For 22 years, Paul and I and others have been on a futile quest to restore IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD back to its original 192 minute Cinerama world premiere length. The closest we have come is the 182 minute reconstruction on home video and cable TV, and it includes preview material. So we are still missing at least ten minutes of crucial visual material and as much as fifteen minutes. Included in the still lost material (I have the complete script--I think) are Shawn stealing his married girlfriend's (!) convertible, more of Buster Keaton's cameo as a crook, getting Jim Backus INTO a shower he subsequently is removed from, the identity of a strange man in the police station (he is a police reporter told to sit on the story for now), Tracy learning who Silvers is (an unemployed piano player and gambler), and the beginning of almost all the police office scenes. Current prints, including the 182, join them in progress.

There are easy-to-find Internet articles on Stanley Kramer's immortal masterpiece that claim the great Robert Harris and James Katz, who restored VERTIGO and MY FAIR LADY among others, want to reconstruct MAD WORLD. My Internet sources claim Harris has in his possession "188 minutes of bona fide world premiere footage." Only four minutes missing off the original 192 minute print--close enough for me! The Internet claims further that Harris just is waiting for a $2 million purchase order--lunch money in today's Hollywood--to do the work that needs to be done to restore this wonderful movie back to the length it ran when it opened in Los Angeles on November 7, 1963; the version that early in 1964 got six Oscar nominations.

We owe it to the memory of a great filmmaker and a magnificent cast, many still very much alive, to reconstruct and restore IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD from 154 or 161 minutes to 192 minutes for theatrical re-release (it has always been an audience favorite) and letterboxed 2.76 ratio home video sales. It is a precious part of our cinematic and cultural heritage. THIS REVIEW IS BASED ON THE 161 MINUTE DVD and 182 MINUTE CABLE TV PRINTS.

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World is a classic comedy. Combining big name talent, it tells the story of what happen when a group of strangers finds out where $50,000 is buried. Soon, these normally law-abiding citizens are speeding, stealing, and destroying property. What they don't know is the police are observing them the entire time. As the situations get more out of hand, the movie gets funnier.

I wasn't that impressed the first time I saw this movie. But on repeated viewings with friends, I've come to enjoy it more. The actors are phenomenal and the material has a timelessly funny quality to it. I'm young enough that I don't recognize all the stars, but that doesn't diminish my enjoyment at all.

I was excited when I found out that the movie was coming to DVD, but I've got to say the final product disappointed me. I have only seen the "restored" VHS version that's been out for years. This DVD goes back to the original theatrical release and cuts out some of my favorite scenes. They are included in the deleted scenes section, but it's a very poorly thought out section that makes it hard to find what you want to see. The DVD does include good picture and sound, and I have always enjoyed the documentary included from the videos.

This is a classic movie that everyone should see. However, if you're a fan of the recent videos, be forewarned that this is not the entire movie you are used to seeing. Hopefully, this movie will be reissued on DVD with this footage added back.

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I really wanted to like this DVD. I have the movie on VHS and enjoy it a lot. My reason for rating it so low was that it had almost 23 minutes missing from what was on the restored DVD version, including several memorable Phil Sivers moments. I see no reason why a DVD should offer less than the VHS. Shame on the producers of the DVD. What could they possibly have been thinking?

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As the first film I ever paid to see as a child (I was 11, and so proud of saving up the money!) I loved "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World". It was slapstick on a grand scale, with a clever commentary on greed thrown in. And the cast! Tracy, Berle, Caesar, Silvers, Winters, Rooney, Hackett, Shawn, Terry-Thomas, Falk, Rochester...and the 3 Stooges had a bit part, along with Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Buster Keaton, so many more! For one of the first generation of 'TV Kids', I was in Heaven!

With adulthood, and changing tastes, I can see some of the film's flaws...It's too long, Spencer Tracy is obviously in poor health and straining to keep his energy level up, some of the scenes (especially the early ones) lack pacing, and the Cinerama format almost guarantees you'll miss part of the action, even in a wide-screen format.

But the film's sense of joy is undimmed, and the new digitally-remastered edition Amazon.com is offering gives them full attention. Enjoy again Rooney and Hackett's mishandling of an airplane, Jonathan Winter's gas station destruction scene (a classic!), and, of course the bodies-flying finale.

And hang in there...After the film is a 'Making of...' documentary, with FABULOUS ancedotes by the surviving cast members...It alone is worth the cost of the film!

After 36 years, I STILL love this movie!

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I'm not going to go into a review of the 1963 film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.'' This is one of those films that's almost beyond reviewing--you either love it or you hate it. I love it, and have loved it for more than 30 years, ever since my Mom took me to see it in its 1970 theatrical re-release. It's a classic.

What I want to talk about here is the new DVD version of the movie. Is it good? "Yes emphatically" and "yes kinda" at the same time. The main drawback for the dvd is the aspect ratio-strange for a widescreen 16x9 enhanced dvd, yes? Let me explain.

For decades since I saw it on the big screen, the only version I was able to see of "Mad4World" was the pan-and-scan version-which meant for years I was seeing only about half the picture. I thought myself lucky when I recently caught a "widescreen" version of the movie on cable TV (either Turner Classic or American Movie Classics, I forget which-probably TCM since my tape has no damn commercials stuck in the middle of it). Unfortunately, this version was only a small bit "wider" than the pan and scan; but it was better than what I'd seen on TV previously. You see, "M4World" started its life as a ultra widescreen Cinerama movie. That means its picture was not only super-wide, having been shot in 70mm SuperPanavision, but that it was also projected onto a curved screen that wrapped around the audience, taking up almost all your peripheral vision if you sat in the front part of the auditorium. An anamorphic lens was used in the projector which distorted the picture at the edges in order for them to look normal when projected on the huge curved screen. The original aspect ratio was 2.55:1.

So the point I'm trying to make is that this was a VERY widescreen movie. And now we have a very widescreen transfer on DVD. Now we can see more of the film than we have been able to in years, right? Good, right?

Well, yes and no. You see, for some reason, MGM has put "Mad4World" out not at a 2:55 aspect ratio, but at a slightly narrower 2:35 aspect ratio. This might not seem like such a bad thing, but the surprising result is that there are many things I can see on my old vhs tape of the pan-and scan version that I cannot see on this widescreen DVD!

The reason is this: as I said, this widescreen version is slightly less wide than the original, and often characters on either the far left or far right sides of the screen are cut off a bit. In my old P&S version, the person who had done the panning and scanning simply panned all the way to the right or left side of the picture if the action was on that side, showing that character fully (but of course showing the characters on the other side not at all). In this new dvd (not-quite) wide (enough) screen version there is, of course, no panning and scanning; the 2:35 picture is simply shown. Unfortunately it is a slightly smaller picture than what was originally there, and often the result is characters cut off at the shoulder.

Of course, this is MUCH better than anything we've had on home video before. And MGM should be praised for releasing the DVD at such a reasonable price, and with some decent extras. I just wonder why they didn't go ahead and transfer the film at its original aspect ratio.

If I have to look at Phil Silvers, I wanna see BOTH his shoulders, dammnit!

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In the Mood for Love (The Criterion Collection) (2000)

Perfection in cinema is an almost impossible goal to achieve. Mostly because spectators have varying taste and perspectives. But you can't help but feel that Wong Kar-Wai's "In the Mood for Love" is anything short of perfection. The imagery with its lush colors and breathtaking movements is enough to elevate this film. The simple, yet somewhat complicated tale is both heartfelt and authentic. And the performances by Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung are a marvel. But it's none of these that really makes this film, it's rather the manner that Kar-Wai so magically molds all these factors to set a mood that I have never felt before while watching a movie. In all honesty, I'm really not too fond of "forbidden love" movies, but this film really startled me.

Ironically, "In the Mood for Love" feels nothing like a Wong Kar-Wai film. It's a very slow moving film which uses lots of fades and dissolves. The Criterion edition of this film is probably the best dvd package I've seen to date. There are just so many extras on it, it's hard to believe. Deleted scenes, interviews, and promotional material, are just a few of the extras. The way Kar-Wai shoots his films (without a script) also adds to the suprise of picture. You see in the extras how much different the original concept was for "In the Mood for Love." There is also an alternate ending that seems very plain, but at the same time very heartbreaking.

Tony Leung is a journalist in Hong Kong, who rents a room with his wife in a family apartment. Next door, Maggie Cheung has done the same thing with her husband, who is almost always away on business.

As part of Kar-wai's game plan, neither the wife, nor the husband, is seen. They exist and are talked about, but never introduced.

Both Leung and Cheung's characters are painfully polite, which means you don't know what they're thinking. Even when it becomes obvious that their other halves are having an affair, it takes ages for either of them to respond. The idea of an emotional outburst would be unthinkable.

The film is so subtle and slow and internalized that it crystallizes into a thing of beauty. Longing has been choked by a thousand years of acceptable behavior. The cut of Cheung's dresses and the sheen of Leung's hair take on an unexpected importance in what appears to be Kar-wai's experiment into the purity of unconsummated passion.

By now this one is the most beautiful movie I had ever seen.

Every shot is like a poem. Each picture is a work of art.

I couldn't help myself from repeating the scenes again and again just to make sure i hadn't miss a thing.

A masterpiece.

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In the Mood for Love is such a charm despite a very simple plot. The year was 1962. Chow Mo Wan, a newspaper editor, recently moved into a dwelling populated by Shanghai immigrants with his wife. Through casual and accidental encounters Chow exchanged pleasantry with So Lai Jun (Mrs. Chan) who later found out about her husband's affair with Chow's wife. Heartbroken and devastated of the cruel truth, Chow buried himself in his job while So indulged in nightly movie screening. They began to let down the guard for one another and spent time during the mahjong sessions of their landlords. The characters forced themselves to abide by inveterate conventions and cultural morale that forbid an affair to become fruition. ...

Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung as usual deliver an impeccable performance in this 2001 Wong Kar-Wai release. Leung portraited a man who is unsatisfied about his marriage and denied his spouse's infidelity. Cheung seizes the empathy of her character who is accustomed to hush about reason for his husband's frequent absence. Maggie Cheung is elegant and charming in this movie. Not to mention the dazzling wardrobe she wears consistently over the entire movie. Her leg movements are captured in slow motion. Her arms dangling with the thermos meant for the late-night porridge order-to-go from the street vendor.

The movie is shot through a minimalist scope, that is, message is conveyed through very succinct scripts and imagery full of lush colors and meticulously chosen soundtracks. The film is shot in a very stealthy manner; it is as if a pin camera being fastened on the wall of the apartment. Conversations between Leung and Cheung are shot in an eavesdropping manner. The director seeks to de-emphasize other characters in order to focus on Leung and Cheung. Their spouse, respectively, always have their back facing the camera. Their performances are conducted by voices. The gaffer has done an excellent job adjusting the hues of light which is relatively dim throughout.

As a native of Hong Kong (born in mid-70s) who never witnessed the city in glory 60s, In the Move for Love has done me a favor in reminiscence. Wong Kar Wai makes sure everything is done just like when it was the 60s. Yes, even the restaurant menu to which Leung and Cheung skimmed through briefly. It was a green piece of cardboard decorated with some coconut tree clip art. Menu with such heavy Malaysian touch can still be found at local cafés that serve a fusion menu of Malaysian spices and sirloin steaks. Napkins are folded diamond-shaped like paper planes and kept at the far end of the booth. Leung and Cheung sip coffee from flimsy green chinaware cups that hold maybe three gulps. The green vinyl blinds hang unevenly at the office windows. The rotary phone. The subleased rooms where newly-wed couples rent and the kitchen with whom they share with their landlords. The white-collared wardrobe worn by housemaids. These are all the epitomes of lives in the 60s, in Hong Kong. Some find this mmovie a little slow-paced. I savor the manner in which the film is made. I savor all the details, the choice of colors and the tiptoeing scores in the film. 4.6 stars...

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It's only a shame that this wasn't released several months ago in the U.S. as it was in the U.K. or else it would have been nominated for some major awards. It's actually really hard to fault anything in this movie: the acting, directing, music and cinematography are all world-class.

The story centers around a woman and a man who live next to each other in a Hong Kong apartment complex in 1962. They both suspect their spouses of having an affair with each other, and begin to fall in love themselves. Being in such tight surroundings they obviously cannot show very much affection to each other in public and rely on subtle glances and very little actual physical contact: it is a testimony to the superb acting skills of the two main leads, Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung, that the relationship is believable. The director Wong Kar-Wai is also brilliant at mixing in slow-motion shots (perhaps to emphasize how slowly their relationship develops) and Spanish music, which fits the mood of the movie amazingly well.

To add to the atmosphere, the movie is almost completely shot indoors except for some shots outside at night and in the rain and the haunting last scene. You really get a sense of clautrophobia after a while, not only of the living space but how confined the characters' marriages and even lives are as well. Futhermore, the movie also has a political overtone which is, like everything else here, subtle, but suffice to say its setting in 1962 is not accidental.

Finally, the lack of a huge amount of dialogue means that those who don't like subtitles won't have to suffer through so many. For those of you like me who were disappointed with most of the junk nominated for Academy Awards this year, finally here's a movie that lives up to its reputation.

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"In the Mood for Love" is simply one of the most beautiful films of the last several years. I cannot praise this film enough the plot is at once simple and complex, the characters are both real and heartfelt, and the images are powerful and elegant. There really are so many positive things to say about this film, I'll try and hit the highlights for you.

The acting is superb both Tony Leung and Maggie Cheung give impeccable performances filled with subtle emotion. They radiate a quietly powerful intensity that is so lacking is a great number of film stars today.

The story moves in ways both expected and surprising. The pacing is wonderful as the story unfold slowly before you. They're none of the lighting fast cuts and manic pacing of most films. It's a slower film for a patient audience willing to wait for their just rewards. The overall design of the film with the use of color and wardrobe stunned me with it's rich simplicity. The same can be said of the photography rich with nuance (the way the shots are framed is remarkable) and feeling.

With "In the Mood for Love" Wong Kar-Wai has become one of the most skilled directors of our time with this film, proving that "Happy Together" (another brilliant film) wasn't a fluke. The Criterion Collection edition of the film is a two disc set that has an astonishing number of extras. After watching the film once, I watched the extras then immediately watched the film again with a fresh eye to see how the entire thing was put together. I was truly impressed.

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The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel once wrote that dramatizing the Holocaust was a futile task, not because dramatization could not be done, but because any such attempt would trivialize the evil inherent in the Nazi persecution of the Jews. Wiesel had good reason for his belief, having directly experienced what circumstances were like at the Auschwitz death camp.

In one sense I agree with Wiesel; however, I also agree with those, such as director George Stevens, who believed that dramatization served the critical purpose of informing the public of what occurred during the Nazi era. Further, as Otto Frank maintained, it was important that audiences realized that what his family and other Jewish people endured was not something restricted to Jews, but was, rather, an object lesson for the persecution of all people forced to endure the tyranny of genocidal regimes.

In a sense, therefore, it�s inevitable that Stevens� filming of �The Diary of Anne Frank� both failed and succeeded. It failed in that it commercialized the Holocaust, as every dramatic production is forced to do. But it succeeded in its educational mission, especially considering that at the time of its release in 1959, few people were aware of Anne Frank�s diary, or of the Holocaust generally.

Seeing the film today, it is still a powerful experience. Admittedly, as an aspect of its commercial treatment, certain elements were introduced that either were not in the original diary ---such as the stealing of bread by Albert Dussell (pseudonym of Friedrich Pfeffer) ---or were exaggerated for dramatic reasons (the love interest between Anne and Peter Van Dann). But the overall power of the basic situation ---the intense atmosphere of tension and claustrophobia ---and the story of Anne Frank�s adolescent transformation and her growing awareness of the transformation of Dutch society through Nazi oppression ---gives us a window on the Holocaust which is unique. The film, like the diary, holds up a mirror of conscience in what must have seemed at the time to be a world of sprawling insanity. Anne Frank triumphs, as the Nazis emphatically did not, in transcending the contradictions within herself, and as a consequence her idealism shines through at the end (even if this, too, was exaggerated for cinematic reasons).

Millie Perkins, who plays Anne in the film, has sometimes been slighted for her ostensibly awkward performance, but I believe this is a cynical and unjust criticism. For one thing, Perkins was not a trained actress, but rather a model who happened to have the right look and personality for the part. But as both the documentary and one of the other supplements on this DVD point out, this was precisely why George Stevens chose her for the role. He wanted an unknown actress, not a professional who would �impose� her persona on the character. He believed ---and I think correctly ----that her look of innocence, and aura of adolescent idealism, were perfect for what he desired, and it�s ultimately these qualities which impress us by their contrast with the horrific circumstances that surrounded her.

The other cast members are also superb. Though Shelley Winters won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress, virtually all the actors, especially Joseph Schildkraut and Ed Wynn, are equally brilliant. In fact, Schildkraut not only physically resembled Otto Frank, but, according to Anne Frank�s cousin (interviewed as part of the accompanying documentary, �Echoes of the Past�), was also similar to him in terms of personality and demeanor. Wynn, for his part, turns in an amazingly convincing performance in a serious role, playing completely against type.

Whatever the liberties taken by the screenplay writers for �Diary,� the film remains faithful to the core experiences related in Anne Frank�s journal ---both to her inner emotions and conflicts with her family, and to her widening awareness of her family�s place in the overall scheme of Nazi terror. The fact that this DVD transfers the film in such superior video and audio quality, and adds several excellent supplements (including a first-rate 90-minute documentary), makes this disc a fine addition to anyone�s video collection.

Restored to its original 180 minute roadshow length (including overture and exit music), George Stevens' CinemaScope production of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK (1959, Fox) is a deeply moving and superbly acted movie experience. Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett adapted their Broadway show, with a brilliant Joseph Schildkraut (Otto Frank) and Gusti Huber (Mrs. Frank) repeating their stage roles. Added to a great cast are a very poignant and natural young Millie Perkins as Anne, Oscar winner Shelley Winters, Oscar nominee Ed Wynn in a bitter dramatic role, Diane Baker, and Richard Beymer as Anne's boy friend.

It is heartrending material--a German Jewish family hiding out from the Nazis for two years in a Dutch attic, with Anne keeping a daily diary that was curiously ignored by the Nazis and has become one of the most important Holocaust documents. (Maybe the same God who unforgivably let Anne and her sister die in a concentration camp only one month before war's end helped hide her diary for posterity.) Location filming was done in the actual Amsterdam attic, with the real Otto Frank as technical advisor. The Oscar-winning B&W art direction re-creates the actual two story attic interior to perfection (on huge Fox sound stages), and Oscar-winning cinematographer William Mellor (PEYTON PLACE) worked miracles to make wide CinemaScope compositions look cramped and claustrophobic. Producer/director Stevens gives it all a nail-biting tension, even though we know the grim outcome because of the powerful opening and closing framing device.

Bonus material is outstanding--a feature-length documentary "Echoes From the Past." new interviews with George Stevens, Jr. (who was second-unit director in Amsterdam) and a still-beautiful 66 year old Millie Perkins, and Movietone Newsreel footage. You will need two evenings for this film masterpiece that was nominated for eight Oscars the same year as SOME LIKE IT HOT, NORTH BY NORTHWEST, BEN-HUR, and ANATOMY OF A MURDER. That was some movie year! DIARY OF ANNE FRANK is an unforgettable Holocaust drama and movie experience when you have a three hour time slot.

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Begins with Otto Frank's 1945 return to The Annex, informed that he is the only surviver of the eight inhabitants, gone are his wife and daughters.

He recognizes a scarf knitted by Anne, picks it up and cried deeply upon it.the scarf seems to represent all that is now lost.

Millicent Perkins ***** is enchanting in the role of Anne Frank, her glossy eyes and energetic playfulness which keeps her deluded from the tragic fate of the eight. She's full of soul and depth.

Shildkraut is also realistic in his portrayal of a very compassionate father trying to keep the children's spirits up and insuring that the children continue with their studies,providing them with as normal a life as possible under the very oppressed ,disturbing circumstances.

Shelly Winters,well she was well awarded for her convincing role.

All in all it is a very great, though extremely disturbing and saddening film.

Watching this touching movie spreads into your heart, and makes the eyes flood up with pity and sorrow.

This movie Should be seen At Least Once. It is easy to forget that we should count our blessings and be reminded of human torture the Holocaust brought. This film has a humbling effect.

The ending can easily move one to be more appreciative of his family and how little time we have on earth to love. As they stand , the eight of them terrorized, and yet somehow seem accepting and still hold dignity despite the doom they face.

One Last Look at Each Other and the movie closes.

ly recommended, especially for anyone who tends to pity themself too much.

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Anne Frank wanted to be a writer, maybe live in Paris....but life didn't go the way she wanted it to. Instead, her life went in a completely opposite direction. I cannot help feeling that perhaps her life was meant to be the way it was, so generations after her, would remember the war in such a way as to never want such a human tragedy to occur again. This is a version of the Broadway drama dealing with the Holocaust and perhaps that is why it is more upbeat. This movie is more entertaining than horrifying. While there is an undercurrent of fear and suspense throughout the whole movie, there is much left to the imagination.

When Anne and her family are forced into hiding in Amsterdam, she is pensive at first, but soon learns that she can create her own happiness. There are two families living in a small space and they must face the possibility of being discovered at any time. They face hunger and cabin fever. They spend time reading, sewing, listening to the radio and being as quite as they can for most of the time. In the evenings when the workers in the factory below go home, they can then resume family life.

Anne has not been exposed to the evils of life. In 1942 she starts a journey to learn about herself and about the hardships of life. After receiving a diary as a present, she immediately starts to pen all her thoughts which are buried deep in her heart. As they spill out onto the pages, we are invited into Anne Frank's world. The world of a teenage girl, who is just learning about life, yet who learns so much in so little time.

I found this movie to perhaps be the most emotionally engaging story I have ever watched on film. Anne Frank had my heart in the first ten minutes. I was in love with her character, her personality, her big bright eyes, her interesting way of looking at life, her thought process, her eternal optimism and her delightfully impetuous nature. You will simply forget you are watching a black-and-white film. The picture is so colored by the characters that in fact, you will forget you are watching a movie. It is quite amazing how a film could be made on two families living in a few rooms in an attic. For this to be possible and enjoyable, the story had to be so true, and so real, that it would demand your full attention.

While this movie is based in the second World War, it is not at all pensive through the entire movie. I found myself laughing at one line so much, I actually cried. It was a line about the cat and I think you will think it is quite funny, especially if you watch the expression on the face of Ed Wynn as he is saying it. The cat belongs to Peter and becomes a part of the family. Having a cat in this movie was a delightful surprise.

The playful taunting between Anne and Peter is amusing. Anne has no friends to talk to and can't believe she is trapped up in this room with no girlfriends to talk to. She is such a typical teenager, that you completely understand her frustration.

While today we find it hard to comprehend how anyone could have their freedoms taken away from them, It could happen as easily to us as it did to them. Each time we treat someone with disrespect, we add to the evil influences in the world. It all starts in the heart. To me, Anne represented the good in the world, the light shining in the darkness. She had a heart which was so giving and she was open to experiencing life, no matter what her circumstances. Perhaps her soul was the most beautiful one God ever allowed to walk on our earth, and for such a short time. This is a movie you will never forget. Of all the movies I have seen, this one was the most beautiful in spirit.

~The Rebecca Review

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The Fox Studio Classic DVD release of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK was outstanding and featured both a commentary track and excellent extras. So is the Blu-ray worth the upgrade? YES! The transfer of the film is beautifully done and all of the extras from the DVD are still here, but the additonal NEW material is worth the price of upgrading all by themselves. The section featuring Millie Perkins and Diane Baker sharing how they came to be picked for the film and their experiences working with director George Stevens moved me to tears. The Stevens World War II footage that he shot in 16mm Kodachrome has much more material then we have ever seen before. Steven's Jr. experiences on the film are very interesting and the section in which he shares letters that his dad sent and received are touching. Alfred Newman's composer sons (David and Thomas)discuss their dad's work on his magnificent score for the film. If you are interested in classic films and/or Anne Frank then this Blu-ray edition will be treasured addition to your libray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

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Black Rain (Special Collector's Edition)

I'm not sure why this movie is described as a 'guilty pleasure'. I don't feel at all bad about liking it. And I do like it, a lot.

For one thing, I like Michael Douglas. I liked him thirty years ago in _The Streets of San Francisco_, I liked him even better after he turned _One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest_ from a great book and a great stage play into a great motion picture, and I've kept right on liking him every time he's gotten himself cast in a stylish, well-scripted film.

And this _is_ a stylish, well-scripted film. It's every bit as dark as you expect from Ridley Scott, and although there's a fairly well-defined villain, the 'heroes' are morally ambiguous. I like that in a movie.

The reviewers who say Michael Douglas's character Nick Conklin is an 'ugly American' are right, but they seem to have missed the fact that this is part of the point. This film is a fairly ambitious, though not terribly deep, attempt to bring off an East-meets-West theme in what looks superficially like just another buddy-cop movie. The 'black rain' of the title is one of the aftereffects of the nuking of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and it's the symbolic stand-in for the Western 'decadence' bemoaned by the more traditional Nipponese (even the crime bosses).

But that doesn't mean Japan wins the dramatic argument. On the contrary, the Nipponese cop (played with endearing self-effacement by Ken Takakura) learns a few things from his new cowboy friend 'Nick-san' too. (And the karaoke scene with Takakura and Andy Garcia is priceless.)

Kate Capshaw doesn't really need an excuse to appear in a film, and that's good, because here she doesn't really have one. She's an expatriate American who inexplicably keeps turning up at the center of the action. She gives the film a bit of _Casablanca_-like flavor, but it's more a matter of mood than anything else.

I won't tell you anything about the plot except that it involves the Japanese underworld and that it zips along at a fast clip. Don't look away or you'll miss something.

The whole thing is rendered most atmospherically, with the sort of dark and brooding edge that I like in a film (and at which Ridley Scott excels). In general I'm not the biggest fan of Hans Zimmer's scores, but for the most part he's used pretty effectively here.

This is a first-rate action-adventure thriller, and I don't feel the slightest bit 'guilty' for taking a very great deal of pleasure in it.

I really enjoyed this when I watched it back at the cinema in 1989.Last year I found out that it was available on dvd and made the purchase without prior knowledge of the picture quality.The film still impresses me but I am very much disappointed with the picture quality,which is grainy and has fading color. It's a pity Paramount has overlooked this film.I am looking forward to seeing a SPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITION release which includes:an anamorphic widescreen transfer,a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX sound,English subtitle(the current one doesn't even have this standard feature!),audio commentary with Ridley Scott and/or Michael Douglas,interviews,or other featurettes of the film. What do you say PARAMOUNT ?

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Before I review Black Rain, let me tell you that I agree with some of the previous reviewers that the picture quality of this DVD (its better on VHS) is totally unacceptable. When I first watched it, I had to check my cable connections to make sure they weren't at fault. What a let-down. Mr. Scott should be raising hell over this.

With that said, this is one of my favorite action movies. It portrays Detective Nick Conklin (Michael Douglas) as an outgoing, old-school cop who takes moral short-cuts to get the job done. His partner, a relatively new Detective (Andy Garcia) is along for the ride. They have a run-in with a Japanese mobster (Yakuza) named Sato. After arresting Sato for commiting two murders in a New York restaurant, the Detectives are ordered to escort him back to Japan to face charges there. They manage to let Sato escape as he arrives in Japan. A Japanese Detective (Ken Takarara) is assigned to help out the New York Detectives.

Douglas, Garcia and Takarara are excellenty cast in their respective roles. The screenplay is well written. I must say that the cinematography is really good. Japan, the once-conquered nation, is now an industrial powerhouse. But, like the U.S., it suffers from the ills of corruption and violence. Ridley Scott does a great job of showing the tension between the two cultures. The Japanese, "bound by duty and honor", and the Americans, loud and outspoken, are viewed as somewhat obnoxious by their counterparts. The musical score is incredible. Hans Zimmer really brings this movie to life with an array of Japanese and American-themed music that injects just the right amount of tension for the corresponding scene. Brilliantly done.

This movie is 5-Star material, but the DVD version is a huge disapointment. I would wait to see if a special edition DVD comes out (I can only hope) with the video quality this movie deserves.

Read Best Reviews of Black Rain (Special Collector's Edition) Here

REVIEW: The year is 1989 and so far in that decade we had some pretty cheesy action films. However, Ridley Scott took his approach to this story that if handled by anyone else would have ended up probably like any other 80's action flick. The story follows a renegade cop played by Michael Douglas and his partner played by Andy Garcia as they travel to Japan to deliver a convicted Japanese murderer back to the Japanese police to be imprisoned. When they arrive they are met by the police and hand over the prisoner, but things aren't that easy. The seemingly legit police officers were actually in disguise, and now Nick and Charlie clash with the Japanese culture and with their assigned guide from the Japanese police played by Ken Takakura.

The film follows the formula and if you put your head to it then of course this film will seem unoriginal, but that's not the point. I don't think anyone on the film thought they were creating a masterpiece. Ridley Scott is best known for creating worlds and really utilizing the setting of a film to shape the characters. Here he has Japan, a completely foreign land to most Americans, and he utilizes the setting perfectly. The film is very dark, color-wise. Most of the scenes take place at night and that's where we get the film's really vibrant lighting. Jan De Bont's cinematography really brings notice to the concrete jungle that is Japan and most of the scenes are lit by neon and florescent lights. This adds a harsh dark side to Michael Douglas' character, and that's appropriate since he is a flawed hero. Nick (Douglas) is not a likeable character at all, and that is why Charlie (Andy Garcia) is his partner. Charlie brings humor and charm to the film and the first half of the picture is actually carried on that character. Once we are focused on Douglas's character the film picks up speed and really opens more of his character as he builds a relationship with the Japanese policeman, Matsumoto (Takakura).

Michael Douglas gives his character a rough edge and he closes him up for the first two acts, and not until the third act do we see him start to open up. Douglas does a great job at crafting this flawed character. Andy Garcia is perfect as Douglas's opposite and brings the movie much needed life. Ken Takakura who has not done any American films besides this is great as a supporting character. Our villain is played by Yusaka Matsuda, one of those typical 80's action bad guys who doesn't talk that much and is all about the stare. It's the acting and the characters that makes this film's plot stand out from the rest, because if it were not for the characters then this movie would be forgotten in a month. Yes, Ridley Scott did craft the film into his style, and that did wonders for it, but if he had flat characters then it would be wasted.

VIDEO: The film is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. I was pretty bothered by the picture unfortunately. This transfer does not handle black well at all. In some scenes you can barely see the actors' faces, and I know that was not intentional from a creative standpoint. Jan De Bont's vivid lighting is brought to life and the neon shines sharply, but the picture overall is very soft. You will notice the blurriness of the picture mostly at the end of the film in the wine vineyard because it takes place during the day. Overall, not to impressed, especially since this is a double-dip.

AUDIO: The sound on the other hand is top notch. The old disc had a Dolby 5.1 mix, but with this new release we have an incredibly dynamic Dolby Digital 5.1 EX mix. The picture is more about the atmosphere than it is about action, but it definitely enriched the viewing experience.

SPECIAL FEATURES: The old release was barebones, and surprisingly I was impressed with what was put together for this release. The bonus features consist of a "making of" documentary broken into 4 parts. The first part is about the pre-production of the film and runs for about 28 minutes. They go into the script and how they cast the film, it's great stuff. The production of the film is broken into two sections, a 20 minute part and a 7 minute part. They talk about the problems they had filming in Japan and how it was completely different than filming in America. We hear from the costume designer, the producers, the actors, Jan De Bont and his goals for the look of the film, and of course Ridley. The post production section talks about editing the film, scoring the film, and then the release of the film and public response. Hans Zimmer gets significant screen time and talks about his first film with Ridley Scott which would later lead to an incredible partnership. Zimmer is my idol and it was great watching him discuss this early work of his that would later become the structure for his scores to Batman Begins and The Last Samurai. There is also lots of resemblance to his score to Rain Man, which is how Ridley discovered him.

BOTTOM LINE: The film follows the formula, but Scott brings a new point of view to it and created a memorable, exciting, and entertaining picture. This is not the best film ever made and it's not Scott's best film, but it's a great action film that does everything it sets out to do.

Want Black Rain (Special Collector's Edition) Discount?

Great colors & action. Sound is superb. Douglas is a great action actor.

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Night of the Creeps (Director's Cut) (1986)

1986 was a pretty good year for horror films. There were stellar, undeniable classic releases like ALIENS and The Fly. Gore soaked goodies such as From Beyond and Demons. And then there was a severely underrated gem called Night of the Creeps.

A skin crawling tale about parasitic alien slugs accidentally unleashed from a cryogenic state of suspended animation, wrecking havoc on a college campus by way of invading the student bodies bodies through the mouth, effectively turning them into kill-happy zombies. The infesting parasites incubate in the brain long enough to spawn another generation. When the alien slugs are born, the host's top pops!

This is a endearing homage to everything from 50's B-movies, George Andrew Romero's zombies, silly teen/early twentysomething movies, slasher flicks and much more, wonderfully directed by Fred Dekker.

If you enjoy watching college frat boy wannabes screaming like banshees, a cool, catch phrase spewing detective settle old vendettas with an ax wielding reanimated corpse, gratuitous scenes of slugs violently and graphically erupting from peoples heads, and a little T&A to arouse your eyes...well this movie's for you. I know it's certainly for me. I've seen it so many times(lost the exact count)and it never losses it's appeal. The biggest draw in this movie is unquestionably venerable character actor Tom Atkins performance of a lifetime as Detective Cameron. Trust me you will hang on every word Atkins utters.

If you have not yet viewed this cult fave stop for a moment and give this one the chance to creep up on 'ya!

"In the words of Detective Cameron..."Thrill Me!" And for 23-years, this film has continued to thrill fans and has literally become a film that has achieved cult status. Director Frank Dekker gets his wish for a release of a Director's Cut with his original intended ending and fans of the film are treated to a reunion by the original cast 23-years later and also a tribute to the career of Tom Atkins. Definitely an enjoyable DVD release and a great tribute to one of the more hilarious comedy horror films ever created. Highly recommended!"

In 1986, a horror/zombie film called "Night of the Creeps" became a cult hit among fans due to the film's comedic nature but also how it pays homage to the horror genre.

The film is written and directed by Fred Dekker ("The Monster Squad", "RoboCop 3', "Enterprise"), produced by Charles Gordon ("Field of Dreams", "Die Hard", "Hitman"), music by Barry De Vorzon ("The Twilight Zone", "Tatoo", "Private Benjamin) and cinematography by Robert C. New ("So Weird", "Blade: The Series").

Although never considered a scary, horror film, "Night of the Creeps" was a film that caught attention for its screenplay, its special effects and its campiness but it was one of those 80's films that continues to be a fan favorite and for many years, many fans have waited for the film to be released on DVD. On Oct. 27th, the film via a director's cut receives a DVD and also a Blu-ray HD treatment and comes with the ending that Fred Dekker originally wanted and also a reunion of the cast 23 years later.

The film kicks off in a space ship where two aliens hunt down one of their own who has stolen an experiment. The alien in pursuit manages to rid of the canister and launches it out into space.

The film then transitions to 1959 where a sorority girl goes out on a date with a guy and the two go out to a make out point. The two are warned by a police officer, a young Ray Cameron (who dated the sorority girl) that a man has escaped from a mental ward and has hacked a few people with an ax. The two ignore the officer but then see a falling star which crashes near them. The guy and the girl drive to the area of where the meteorite may have crashed and the guy leaves the girl in the car. The guy discovers a canister and a slug from the canister jumps into his mouth. Meanwhile, the girl left alone in the car hears reports that the killer is headed towards their direction. While screaming for the guy to get back into the car, she is unaware that the killer is about to slaughter her.

We are then taken to 1986 where two nerdy college students: Chris (played by Jason Lively, "Mancuso, FBI", "Maximum Force", "Monday Morning) and J.C. (played by Steve Marshall, "Night Heat", "Sleeping in a Dream") are walking around the fraternity and sorority section and see a girl across the street that captures his attention. Chris is the silent type while his best friend and roommate J.C. (who has a disability and walks with crutches) is a lively jokester and tries to get the girl's attention for his buddy.

Because Chris is so shy, J.C. manages to introduce the girl named Cynthia (played by Jill Whitlow, "Mask", "Thunder Run", "Twice Dead") to his friend. But she happens to be dating a frat guy and thus, Chris's hopes are dash. Chris comes up with an idea that they should join a frat and when they try, in order to join, they are told to take a body from the science lab and drop it in the front porch of another frat.

When Chris and J.C. go to the lab to retrieve the body and releases it from its incubator, the body (which happens to be the guy who discovered the cannister back in 1959) has awaken. Startled by the body moving, Chris and J.C. run away in fear.

Meanwhile the scientist in charge of maintaining the body is killed by the zombie man and immediately, the zombie walks to the sorority where he went to visit the girl he was dating back in 1959 (the room of the girl is where Cynthia is now staying in). Immediately, the man's head blows up and slugs are released into the public. The slugs tend to possess a person's body, kills them from the inside and takes over their brain where they can breed and make more of their kind and continue the process of finding a body to breed in.

With murders happening on campus, detective Ray Cameron (played by Tom Atkins, "Halloween 3', "The Fog", "Bruiser") remembers back in 1959 of how his girlfriend was hacked into pieces by the axe murderer who was never caught and worries that these killings may be the work of the killer. He has suffered nightmares in which he sees a skeleton or zombie murdering his ex-girlfriend and with news from Chris and J.C. that the body inside the incubator moved, he worries about what is going on.

With zombie infestations now happening, the friendship of Chris and J.C. is tested, and Chris and Cynthia are brought closer together. But will they be able to survive the onslaught of the zombies during the night of the big dance?

It's important to note that "Night of the Creeps" is a Director's Cut version and that it features the original ending that Director Fred Dekker wanted (the reason why it wasn't used was because Dekker who was a new director at the time, showed an incomplete test screening to an audience and execs without the special effects and the audience and execs wanted a new ending). The original theatrical ending is included on the DVD.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"Night of the Creeps" is featured in 1L85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen. For a 1986 film, I have to say that the picture quality is pretty good and I didn't see any major compressions or massive warping. I can only comment on the DVD version but it doesn't look like Sony Pictures Home Entertainment used any major Digital Noise Reduction in the release, so I wonder how nice the Blu-ray transfer may have been. But for the DVD itself, fans should be happy to know that this 23-year-old film looks good.

As for the audio, the audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby Digital. I was noticing mainly front and center channel dialogue and the music but nothing that caught my attention via the surrounds. So, I ended up switching the audio to "Stereo on All Channels" on my receiver for a more immersive sound. But for the most part, dialogue was clear and understandable and that 80's new wave electronic music is clear as well.

Subtitles are presented only in English.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Fans of "Night of the Creeps: Director's Cut" will definitely enjoy the special features included on the DVD. Included are the following:

* Commentary with Writer/Director Fred Dekker An audio commentary with Michael, the DVD producer and Writer/Director Fred Dekker. Dekker gives a more technical insight about the film and how certain cuts were made. Especially certain scenes that Dekker enjoyed.

* Cast commentary (Jasone Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow and Tom Atkins) A lively, hilarious and insightful commentary by the four talent of the film. What's even more interesting is to hear the cast see the original Fred Dekker ending for the first time.

* Original Theatrical Ending (:30) The original theatrical ending. Which one do you think is better? It's important to note that the Director's Cut ending was shown on television while those who saw the original theatrical cut, own the VHS and LD saw this ending.

* Deleted Scenes (7:45) Seven deleted scenes: The Girls Meet Johnny, J.C.'s Positive Thinking, Cameron vs. Raimi, Making cookies, Raimi Follows Protocol, Cameron Spies Spanky, Chris Stays Behind

* Birth of the Creeps (10:43) Director Frank Dekker, the Cast and crew talk about Frank Dekker and how the film became a reality.

* Cast of the Creeps (15:56) Featuring a reunion of the cast (Jason Lively, Steve Marshall, Jill Whitlow and Tom Atkins) who talk about their involvement in the film and working with each other.

* Creating the Creeps (10:31) How the special make-up FX was created and interviews with David B. Miller (Special Make-Up FX Supervisor), Howard Berger and Robert Kurtzman (Special Make-Up FX Creator) talk about their involvement of the film, the challenges due to the short pre-production schedule and more.

* Escape of the Creeps (11:35) Charles Gordon (Producer), Michael Knue (Editor) and Director Frank Dekker talk about how the film became a hit with fans. But also why the ending was changed and how they didn't like the ending the execs wanted.

* Legend of the Creeps (10:59) How over 23-years later, the film has a cult following and Director Frank Dekker and the cast talk about why they think the film has done so well with the fans. Fans talk about why they love the film. And how this film is so different from today's horror films.

* Tom Atkins: Man of Action (19:53) A celebration of Tom Atkins career and talking about his film career and tidbits of the talent he worked with in various films. And how fans love to ask him questions about "Night of the Creeps".

* Trivia Track Fans can watch the film via trivia utilizing subtitles.

* Original Theatrical Trailer (1:32) The original theatrical trailer

JUDGMENT CALL:

"Night of the Creeps: Director's Cut" is a film that has become a cult phenomenon. Over 23-years later and fans continue to enjoy this classic zombie/horror film and it hearkens back to the days when horror films were allowed to have its share of humor and not always were created to frighten the viewer. One of the things that I enjoyed about the film is for the fact that it's hilarious, campy but I feel that in this day and age, horror films have become more or less studio cash cows and writers wanting to create the the most horrific and dark film.

Although, I'm not a horror fan by any means, I can easily remember films such as "Poltergeist", "The Monster Squad" or "The Lost Boys" and although not necessarily horror films in today's standards, back in the 80's, they were very entertaining to watch and the films had its share of scary moments. You were allowed to laugh and be entertained but the clever writing knew when to scare the hell out of you. These were films that families brought their kids out to see and a whole family can be frightened together. "Night of the Creeps" was one of those films that can easily be enjoyed by families and a lot of those kids who watched it back then, are now enjoying it today as adults.

"Night of the Creeps" is a film that pays homage to classic horror films and is a part of Frank Dekker's passion for sci-fi and horror films in the past. The film also has that 80's campiness that some have found enjoyable and some may find it not their cup of tea. But it all comes down to the viewer and if one is wanting a comedy horror film, "Night of the Creeps" is definitely one of the best out there.

As for the DVD release of "Night of the Creeps: Director's Cut", I'm sure people will have their say on what their favorite ending will be but for Frank Dekker, he never was a fan of shock endings and although losing the battle to have his original ending featured in the final theatrical cut, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has given him the thumbs up for a DVD release featuring his original intended ending for the film. Also, I found the reunion by the cast and crew to be wonderful and also fun and enjoyable to not just listen to the commentary but also to see them goof around during the interview portion of the special features. Also, Tom Atkins fans will definitely enjoy a tribute to his career and an interview where Atkins discusses his films and the talents that he has worked with. So, I have no doubt in my mind that fans will find this DVD release to be entertaining and fun to watch. It's a solid DVD release!

Overall, if you are a big fan of this film, I highly recommend "Night of the Creeps: Director's Cut" on DVD or Blu-ray. And yes, you will definitely be "thrilled".

Buy Night of the Creeps (Director's Cut) (1986) Now

An under-appreciated gem of campy sci-fi-tinged horror, this directional debut from director Fred Dekker has everything from a busload of frat-guy zombies to an undead killer puppy to an amusing death by lawnmower rampage that foreshadows Peter Jackson's over-the-top finale to Dead Alive. Virtually unnoticed during its brief theatrical run, this wildly entertaining horror-comedy achieved a cult status following its home-video release. This low-budget effort throws alien monsters, axe-wielding killers, flesh-eating zombies, nudity, and drunken fraternity pranks into a blender, spiced with witty one-liners and references to dozens of horror classics.

The result is a satisfying treat that will tickle the tastebuds of horror fans. The film's nominal protagonists are a pair of randy fraternity pledges who open a can of worms when they steal a corpse from the campus medical facility and release a horde of space-leeches, which proceed to infest the bodies of everyone in sight. The host bodies subsequently become homicidal zombies with a penchant for popping in on unsuspecting sorority girls. The town's only hope seems to be a hard-boiled ex-cop who has uncovered the secret link between the zombie invasion and a 30-year-old axe-murder case... and who's also several sandwiches shy of a picnic. Dekker keeps things moving at a brisk pace thanks to some outrageous set-pieces ,some of which happen so quickly they'll have viewers reaching for the pause button, and clever dialogue, particularly for Atkins ("Girls, the good news is your dates are here; the bad news is, they're dead"), who dives into his crusty character with relish

Not only does director/screenwriter Dekker keep things moving along nicely by offering some exciting and bloody thrills, but he also makes some interesting choices with the portrayal of his main characters as well. In addition to offering a social misfit protagonist who remains uninterested in the usual college party scene, the inclusion of a handicapped sidekick who isn't defined by his disability shows a director unafraid to offer real, identifiably human characters; a refreshing change of pace compared to the all-too-perfect teens that populated horror films throughout the following decade. Along with character names that offer sly nods to numerous famous horror directors, Dekker also includes a beyond hard-boiled police detective hilariously cocksure swagger provides much of the film's effective gallows humor. Sure Dekker includes such college horror film mainstays as the obligatory love interest and the spoiled jock who gets his rocks off humiliating the nerds, but once he turns up the heat during the final act, cinematic clichés take a backseat to fast-paced zombie head-bursting fun.

Now that i've widely spoke my mind, i must turn the table in a violent fashion and speak this out loud, to the top of my lungs: 11 years for the DVD release of one of the funniest, most entertaining campy B-flicks of the 80`s? An extended director's cut in Blu-ray only covers 50% of the misery we've suffered over the years, trying to get a decent version of this deliriously entertaining classic.

BLU-RAY edition of "night of the creepsDirector's cut".

Intro: The sound/video quality is very decent with bright colors and compressing, and good depth for the only audio channel. Below blu-ray standards because there is not much to enhance after all, this is a great work considering the fact that this movie never had an official dvd release untill October 2009 and was available only on VHS since 1987. The movie is restored at the best possible from the original tapes. Grainy on big tv sets, must look great on 21 to 26" tv sets.

The director's cut feature is the adding of the original ending Fred Dekkar planned for this movie, instead of what he calls a popular "cheap scare" for the current horror B-movies back in the middle 80's.

Features:

1-Commentary with writer / director Fred Dekkar:

2-Cast commentary.

3-Original theatrical ending: Less effective and corny in my opinion, glad he put the original ending the company didn't wanted for reasons you will know.

4-Deleted scenes: Little gems that should have been included, specially the phone conversations alerting dead bodies.

5-Five Featurettes: Birth / Cast / Creating / Escape / Legend of the Creeps: These featurettes are very recent interviews with the director, cast and crew and the promotion of the 2009 director's cut. Because of the very little amount of behind-the-scenes footage (only a few pictures), these featurettes are almost entirely based on conversations.

6-Tom Atkins, man of action: An interview with actor Tom Atkins.

7-Trivia Track.

8-Original theatrical trailer.

9-Previews: Blu-ray and 4 special editions of other releases.

10-English language and subtitles.

11-BD live

The Blu-ray Menu features are very simple and not exactly according to the movie's gory humor: Just a bar with a blood stain as an indicator and the sound of what could be a blade. Never the less, this is a very satisfactory edition for fans who waited 20 years for this classic. The 80's feel of the movie is priceless.

Read Best Reviews of Night of the Creeps (Director's Cut) (1986) Here

While Sony Pictures has given "Night of the Creeps" fans a lot to cheer about, they still managed to skimp on the DVD disc packaging, disc & cover artwork and disc features. The DVD case is flimsy and cheap looking and it's missing portions of the plastic on each side. In my opinion the final artwork cover chosen isn't as nice as the Blu-ray edition and this cover artwork doesn't do the film justice. Sony Pictures should have just used the original VHS cover artwork instead. As for disc artwork, well they're just isn't any. The disc is as plain as can be with just the title printed on it and personally I expected a much better effort from Sony Pictures. As for disc features, where are the chapter stops?

Well enough of the bad, now for the good. The widescreen picture is absolutely fantastic and Sony did a great job with the transfer. The 5.1 Dolby Digital sound is really good, but I preferred the stereo mix much better. The bonus features more than make up for the cheap disc packaging and lack of disc artwork from Sony Pictures and fans will enjoy what they see and hear from Dekker and the gang.

The year is 1959 and a young man spots a mysterious canister after it has crashed nearby, he leaves his date alone in the car while he sets out to investigate the crash site. After opening the canister the young man is infected with a mutant slug creature which transforms him into a zombie; now the real nightmare begins!

The mutant slug creatures contained in the canister were never meant to be released but one of the aliens during a battle on the spacecraft ejected the canister and it fell to earth. Luckily for the rest of the town the infected young man turned zombie has been captured and he has been cryogenically frozen in the basement of Corman University where he is being studied and monitored by a scientist played by veteran character actor David Paymer.

Everything has been quiet in the basement of Corman University for years until two students J.C. (Steve Marshall) and Chris Romero (Jason Lively) accidentally stumble across the frozen body in 1986 while trying to pull off a school prank and they unknowingly unleash the slugs on the University campus. Now that the terror has started up again it's up to J.C. , Chris , Cindy and everyone's favorite cop of course Detective Ray Cameron to save the day. Thrill Me!

Bonus Features plus 60 Minutes of Behind-the-Scenes material Include:

"Birth of Creeps" featuring Dekker talking about the origins of the project

"Cast of the Creeps" featuring Jason Lively, Tom Atkins, Steve Marshall and Jill Whitlow

"Creating The Creeps" featuring interviews with SFX creators David B. Miller and Robert Kurtzman

A special Tom Atkins centric piece called "Tom Atkins: Man of Action"

"Escape of the Creeps" a detailed look at the post-production.

Deleted scenes

Fred Dekker solo commentary

Cast commentary featuring Atkins, Whitlow, Marshall and Lively

The original theatrical ending

Trivia Track

Want Night of the Creeps (Director's Cut) (1986) Discount?

It all starts out with a beautiful black & white prologue at Corman (nudge nudge) University in 1959. Some "creeps" (disgusting little things) come to Earth and attack a young man (they get in through your mouth, turn you into a zombie and plant other "creepers" that shot out of the mouth to infect people). He is caught and frozen solid and (for some reason) kept at the university. Then, in 1986, two friends Chris Romero (nudge, nudge)(Jason Lively) and J.C. (Steve Marshall) unwittingly revive him. He wakes up and attacks the university. Soon, it's overrun by the things--it's up Chris, J.C., Cynthia Cronenberg (nudge nudge) and Detective Cameron (nudge nudge) to battle them.

As you can see this movie doesn't take itself seriously for one moment. Heck, there's even a cameo from Dick Miller! And it IS very funny (especially some of J.C.'s lines). But it doesn't shy away from blood and gore--there's PLENTY of that. And it is creepy (sorry) more than once. They even break one of the rules of horror films--POSSIBLE SPOILER AHEAD--a sympathetic character (I won't say who) dies and it's actually one of the film's more unpleasant moments (you don't see it but you HEAR it). As 83 minutes it doesn't overstay it's welcome and ends with an all out massacre (I'm REALLY surprised--and pleased--that this got an R rating). There are some gaps in the plot (things happen way too quickly and characters just automatically correctly guess what's going on) but this is a small quibble.

I saw this back on video in 1986 after Fangoria magazine raved about it. I loved it--then it disappeared. I never even saw it again until today! Here's another great movie awaiting rediscovery. From what I heard Sony owns the rights--hopefully we'll see the DVD someday.

A fun, scary, gory movie. A 10 all the way! "The good news is that your dates are here. The bad news is they're dead!"

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A Bullet for the General (2-Disc Special Edition) (1967)

Blue Underground's disc contains both the US and the 3-minute longer International versions of the film A Bullet for the General. These are separate 1080P transfers and NOT seamlessly branched sharing the same Blu-ray disc. There may be some very slight differences in the image quality between the two versions but it won't be a lot if any at all. I've made a couple of comparison captures below. The transfer seems a little inconsistent with some sequences showing that nice sheen of grain we often see with Blue Underground but there are a few spots that look waxy as if DNR were the culprit. This wasn't at all egregious and I'd say that overall the visuals are extremely impressive with great detail in close-ups and depth being displayed. Colors are bright with true skin tones. The 2.35:1 widescreen is used in a slick fashion and the the video comes across pleasing throughout most of the presentation.The US version offers a healthy DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1906 kbps that is comparable to the DUB on the International version that also has the option of lossless Italian at equally as robust a transfer. Gunshots are piercing and the aggressive pats of the soundtrack seems easily handled by the uncompressed audio. The flatness is expected. We have an original score by Luis Bacalov and the iconic Ennio Morricone that supports the 'Spaghetti' aspects very well. There are optional subtitles both English (SDH) and English for the Italian version as well as French and Spanish. Region Free too.

Extras :

There isn't much more on the Blu-ray disc which is fairly filled with the two films but we still get a A Bullet for the Director Interview with Director Damiano Damiani running 50 minutes in Italian with English subtitles, plus some trailers and a stills and poster gallery. What is a significant supplement is a bonus DVD Gian Maria Volonte: Un Attore Contro running just shy of a whopping 2 hours. It has plenty of the actor/writer and fans of the genre will definitely want to indulge. This is a very nice documentary addition in Italian with English subtitles.

Review By Gary Tooze of DVD Beaver, Thanks Gary.

Following with the unlikely alliance of an opportunistic American (Lou Castel) and a Mexican bandit (Gian Maria Volonte) who sells arms to the rebels, the first half hour or so of Damiano Damiani's cult classic is more than a bit ropey. The director has difficulty establishing the relationship between the two leads and resorts to a succession of shoot-em-ups. Thankfully, these are better handled than the drawn out opening attack on the train carrying Castel's enigmatic gringo, in which too many of the ideas are in the script and too few in the execution.

If the first half is the usual running with the rebels territory, the film becomes more complex as it progresses. It is clear from the beginning that the gringo is working to his own agenda, and throughout the course of the film he steers the group towards it. Not interested in women, he professes to be interested only in money, yet at one point kills a rebel paymaster and throws away his cash. Yet even after his objective and the bandito's part in it become clear, the film manages to take the characters even further in an intriguing epilogue.

Both may be mercenary, but finally choose their own executioners, although in very different ways. Castel inadvertently because, despite ruthlessly killing those on both sides to achieve his end, he is ultimately not ruthless enough, Volonte voluntarily, passing judgement on himself when he realises the consequences of his actions.

Castel is a fairly anonymous lead as the 'ugly American', a potential flaw which the director manages to turn to the film's advantage. A moral void, he has no ideals and no scruples but is instead a remorseless pragmatist. The real undercurrents in their relationship are brought out by Volonte; his bandito, first seen literally banging his own drum, manages to avoid caricature. His growing politicisation is convincing, as is his spellbound look of (largely sexual) confusion at the gringo during a confrontation with a landowner. The audience's sympathies are never directly engaged, our involvement with the character more covert and accidental en route.

Hailed as the best of the political spaghetti westerns, A Bullet For the General doesn't quite live up to the epithet but is still a remarkable example of the genre. Co-writer Franco Solinas also wrote Battle of Algiers and Quiemada, and his revolutionary fervour is very visible in the film's parallels with America's covert overseas operations and the presence of a militant priest throwing hand grenades in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost (a less wired than usual Klaus Kinski as Volante's half-mad half-brother). The film even ends with a call to arms -"Don't buy bread, buy dynamite!"

Buy A Bullet for the General (2-Disc Special Edition) (1967) Now

Directed by italian director Damiano Damiani in 1967, A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL is a pure marvel released now in the DVD standard by Anchor Bay. Just two trailers as extra features but imperial sound and images justify a must-buy status for this movie.

Now for the actors. Gian-Maria Volonté is exceptional in the role of El Chuncho, a rather likeable outlaw who considers that the mexican revolution is a good opportunity to make money by selling rifles to the revolutionaries. His brother Klaus Kinski, as blonde as El Chuncho is black, is more disturbing as a priest convinced that social justice must be brought into this world by all possible means, preferably with the help of explosives and machine-guns. El Niño, the character played by the colombian born actor Lou Castel, is even more intriguing with his attitude à la Clint Eastwood. He's the meanest of all but nonetheless develops a strange friendship for his alter ego Volonté.

Four years before Sergio Leone's A FISTFUL OF DYNAMITE, A BULLET FOR THE GENERAL is already visiting the mexican revolution but with an engaged point of view that doesn't leave unharm politicians, working-class people, wealthy ranchers, pistoleros, revolutionaries or americans. Great fun with food for the mind, what more can you expect from cinema ?

A DVD zone your library.

Read Best Reviews of A Bullet for the General (2-Disc Special Edition) (1967) Here

Spaghetti westerns are, in my opinion, generally the best fictional films about the American West. You can argue that John Wayne made a bunch of great movies about life in the Old West, and you would be right to say so, but for some reason the Italians captured perfectly the specific elements of the era that made their movies seem more realistic. The frontier was a dirty, violent place full of unsavory types trying to get rich quick. Italian westerns capture this mood expertly whereas American films portray characters whose outfits look like they just came back from the dry cleaners. Hollywood films also tend to apply a black and white dichotomy onto their characters, the old "good guys wear white, bad guys wear black" philosophy that obscures the reality of the time and place. Not so in Italian films, where even the good guys often have distinctly unsavory traits. It's too bad spaghetti westerns went the way of the dinosaurs a few decades back; I never tire of watching these films even though I am not an expert on the genre. "A Bullet for the General," part of the larger Anchor Bay "Once Upon a Time in Italy" spaghetti western box set, serves as an excellent example of how powerful the genre once was.

If you enjoy spag westerns, you're going to love "A Bullet for the General." Like many other spaghettis, the film takes place in Mexico during the raucous revolutions of the early twentieth century. Bandits roam the countryside robbing and killing under the guise of revolutionary armies seeking social change. One band, led by a scruffy looking Mexican named El Chuncho (Gian Maria Volonte), earns their living by stealing weapons and selling them to a powerful warlord named General Elias (Jaime Fernandez). El Chuncho's band preys on federal army patrols, trains, and any thing else that allows them to realize their goals. Along with his holier than thou former priest turned revolutionary brother El Santo (Klaus Kinski) and a beautiful woman named Adelita (Martine Beswick), El Chuncho and his thugs make a good living at what they do. When the group happens to rob a train loaded with armaments, they run smack dab into a dapper gringo named Bill Tate (Lou Castel), a mysterious man who initially poses as a prisoner so he can get into the good graces of El Chuncho's army. Amused by the American and thankful for his help in stopping the train, the group decides to take him on as a fellow bandit and revolutionary. Chuncho even nicknames him "El Nino" in the process because of his baby-faced good looks.

Tate's hidden agenda remains hidden for most of the movie, but in the meantime he earnestly joins the guerilla war in Mexico. El Chuncho's band takes the rifles off the train and holes up in a poor village until it's safe to transport the arms to Elias's headquarters in the mountains. Regrettably, the local villagers convince the desperados to dispatch the brutal local landowner, a truly revolutionary action leading to land redistribution amongst the poor. Since the federal government opposes such actions, the village is certain to encounter an invasion force of substantial size. Suddenly, and probably due more to the pretty local women than any altruistic reasons, El Chuncho and El Santo take an interest in protecting the village from annihilation. The rest of the gang decides money is more important than a heroic stand, and heads off to Elias's fortress with the weapons. The now former bandit leader cannot stand to miss out on any of the action (or the money), and before too long is off riding after Tate, Adelita, and the rest of his compatriots. The conclusion to the movie, with Tate's true mission in Mexico revealed and the subsequent bloodbath that follows, is classic spaghetti western grit. Until the very end, you're just not sure what's ultimately going to happen.

"A Bullet for the General" is most notable for its strident political themes. All spaghetti westerns engage in the old good versus evil debate, but by the late 1960s the directors and writers of the films in this genre began inserting left wing rhetoric and pro-socialist situations into the pictures, thus turning the Old West into a mirror image of the turbulent social movements of the 1960s. Whereas in earlier movies you might see good guys and bad guys battling over money, in films like "A Bullet for the General" you see the good guys protecting the poor from money-grubbing big business interests such as railroads, oil companies, and landowners. El Chuncho's conversion from a greedy bandit to a socially conscious revolutionary symbolizes the transformation the New Left hoped most members of society would eventually undergo in the real world. Even the Church takes a shot on the chin in the movie, as El Santo becomes more authentic when he rejects the passivity of the pulpit in lieu of a socially active gospel requiring violent action against the propertied classes.

Unfortunately, a few problems plague "A Bullet for the General." First, the filmmakers failed to utilize the full potential of the volcanic Klaus Kinski. There is an intriguing scene where we see El Santo roaring biblical quotations from a rampart while tossing grenades into a mass of troops, but for most of the movie his character simply disappears. Second, the dubbing is awful--truly, ear achingly awful. But the good outweighs the bad. Anchor Bay performed miracles with the pristine picture transfer, the story is intriguing, and there's plenty of good shoot 'em up action. The DVD unfortunately only contains two trailers as extras, but the movie's good enough that you won't miss the behind the scenes stuff and interviews usually included on most discs. "A Bullet for the General" is must see viewing for spaghetti western aficionados, and a good introduction to the genre for the beginner.

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Although I'm confident it's a minority opinion, I always felt that Gian Maria Volonte was the best part of A Fistful of Dollars and For a Few Dollars More, though not in the same league as Eli Wallach would be in the classic finale of the trilogy. (Who is?) In 'A Bullet for the General', Volonte takes the lead in a better than average ensemble cast as El Chuncho, a bandit leader whose childish infatuation with the sainted General Elias makes him the perfect patsy when American Bill Tate (Lou Castel) is hired to send a bullet to the general.

First of all, if you are not already a fan of Italian westerns or at least look favorably on them then 'Bullet' is probably not going to change your mind. Hallmarks of the genre poor dubbing, convoluted storylines, gratuitous violence and over-emotive acting styles are all present and accounted for here, though to my mind, this film keeps the more grating elements in check. What we end up with, underneath it all, is a neat little psychological study that adds just enough flavoring to the excitement to push this film past average and make it a minor classic of the genre.

The dandy American, Tate, worms his way into El Chuncho's bandit gang, and it will be immediately apparent to all but the most obtuse that he has designs on something much larger than banditry and running guns for the Mexican Revolution. Once he is invited into the gang, he meets El Chuncho's half-mad half-brother El Santo (Klaus Kinski), Adelita (Martine Beswick), and the others, and is accepted more or less at face value after telling them that the train they have just raided was taking him to prison. From then on, Tate keeps pushing to see Gen. Elias a revolutionary leader hidden up in the mountains for whom El Chuncho is stealing guns.

Throughout the film, El Chuncho's fondness for Tate, whom he calls 'El Nino', causes him to sacrifice members of his original group until only these two are left to deliver the load of guns to Elias. Without giving away too many spoilers, in the end Tate both saves El Chuncho and at the same time betrays everything in which the bandit leader believes.

Subtlety is not a word that springs to mind when thinking about the action styles of Volonte or Kinski, and even though their actions remain over the top, both these two and Martine Beswick manage to imbue their roles with the hint of something more than two-dimensions. I'm trying not to over-praise here in the context of a basic action/western, they manage to convey more complexity than usual for this type of film, which I think really puts the entire effort on a higher plane. Lou Castel, as the american Tate, is, unfortunately, the odd-man out here. By design of the director or no, his acting style never resonated with me, or else it stood out at odds so distinctly from the others that it appeared out of place. His presence is the single most distracting element of the picture.

There is a very anti-American allegorical layer to this film those who expect to be offended by that may want to pass it by. El Chuncho, for all his violent, criminal savvy, is politically naive, and easily manipulated by Tate. Tate, on the other hand, represents the idea that any action is blessed as long there is a tall enough dollar sign behind it. When El Chuncho is placed between nationless greed and belonging to his people, though, he makes a choice that speaks for the entire film. I won't say that director Damiano Damiani completely avoids ham-fisted sentimentality this is an Italian western after all but within the context of the genre, I think it's excellently done, whether I agree with the subtext or not. Easily within the top ten of Italian Westerns that I've seen.

This Blue Underground release was nicely done not pristine, but nice. Both sound and picture were entirely serviceable, though the only extras included were trailers and a filmography of Damiano Damiani.

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Forrest Gump (Chocolate Box Giftset) (1994)

Forrest Gump is a rare movie that succeeded on all levels. It was a box office smash ranking among the top five highest grossing movies of all time. But it was also a critical darling, garnering across the board praise and a truckload of awards. The movie became a cultural phenomenon, spawning cook books, quote books, a top ten soundtrack album and lines like "stupid is as stupid does" and "life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get" have permeated our dialect. The movie has a nostalgic, feel good vibe thanks to the dimwitted Forrest's trek through 60's and 70's touchstone events. Underneath all those warm feelings lies a darkness. Bad things happen to just about everyone Forrest comes in contact with. His best friend Bubba is killed in Vietnam, his other friend Lt. Dan loses both his legs, his mother dies of cancer and his beloved Jenny dies of AIDS. Even the famous people Forrest comes across meet with disaster, President Kennedy & John Lennon are assassinated, George Wallace is shot and Elvis Presley dies young. There are superb performances all around. Sally Field is feisty as Forrest's mama, Mykelti Williamson is funny as Bubba, Gary Sinese as Lt. Dan is a perfect rough edged foil to Forrest and Robin Wright as Jenny portrays the confusion that young people of the times felt perfectly. While all those performances are of high quality, Forrest Gump is Tom Hanks' tour de force. He is utterly brilliant as Forrest. He is in virtually every scene of the movie and never once does he fail to astound. He becomes Forrest and makes you care what happens to him. Mr. Hanks deservedly won his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar for the role and cemented himself as the best actor of his generation and one of the best of all time.

1994 featured the two most interesting central characters to ever grace the silver screen. They were Andy Dufresne (The Shawshank Redemption) and Forrest Gump, played respectively by Tim Robbins and Tom Hanks. Both films from which the characters originate I consider to be in the top five best movies of all time and it's the actors that makes the characters come to life that makes the films so magnificent.

Forrest Gump is a drama and a comedy. It tells the tale of a mildly retarded man who becomes involved accidentally in the biggest events of the sixties, seventies, and eighties. All throughout his life since he was a child, Forrest has been in love with a girl named Jenny (Robin Wright Penn). However, she refuses him only because she loves him too much and doesn't want to hurt him.

Underrated by audiences, Forrest Gump is simply an amazing film. I was surprised by how hilarious and moving it was. The film generates many big laughs that involve how Forrest initiated and inspired many events in recent history such as how he was the one who taught Elvis Presley to dance and the time he unknowingly ratted on the Plumbers of Watergate.

The performances are what make this film memorable. Tom Hanks gives one of the best leading performances of the decade (and possibly of all time). Coming in almost as good is Gary Sinise as the misanthropic lieutenant whose life is changed after becoming involved with Forrest in the shrimp business. The supporting cast which consists of Wright Penn, Sally Field, Mykelti Williamson, and Haley Joel Osment (of Sixth Sense fame) also deliver good performances.

Forrest Gump is a great film that has to be seen to be believed. Cynics might find some problems with this film but they would just be missing the entire point. This is essentially a film about how the most innocent and kind person on Earth has a low IQ and how he views the world. His journey is simply breathtaking.

Buy Forrest Gump (Chocolate Box Giftset) (1994) Now

Forrest Gump is one of the best film of all time. Definitely the best Zemeckis's work so far and he has put so much soul and depth to this 1994 Academy Award winning Best Picture. This movie portrays the life of a slow-witted character who gets embroiled in various ridiculous situations. He was a Vietnam war hero, received a congressional medal of honour, shook hands with many US Presidents and was a successful owner of a shrimp company. We get to see many world events through the eyes of a supposedly "dumb" character. The flow and pace of the movie was perfect as we ride through various historical events like the Vietnam War, assasination of JFK and the Watergate Scandal. Tom Hanks gave an undeniably wonderful performance as Forrest and truly deserves the Oscar that he earned. Gary Sinise gave a superb performance as Lieutenant Dan in the movie. Even though he was only nominated and did not win anything, I felt he really deserves the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The scene where he pulled Forrest down from the bed and cursed him for saving his life, just simply blew me away. Sally Field is also wonderful as Forrest's mother and deserves the Oscar as well. The line "Forrest, you have to do your best what God has given you. Be brave Forrest, be brave in everything you do. Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you gonna get." really moved me and brought me tears. No movie had bring such emotion in me. Robin Wright did her role well as Forrest's love interest and complements well to Forrest's life. The actors truly brings the characters to life and I must salute Zemeckis for choosing the perfect cast. The technical aspect of the film is just excellent. The visual effects is unlike anything we have seen before. Many movies have not fully utilised the CGI effects to complement it. Nowadays, filmmakers just want to show what special effects they can do rather than what the special effects can do for the film. In Forrest Gump, visual effects are utilised to their best to create unbelievable scenes. Scenes like the flying feather, Lieutenant Dans' missing legs, Vietnam War, meeting of the president is just incredible. This is what visual effects is all about. To create impossible scenes to the big screen. Alan Silvestri's film score is one of the best scores I have ever heard. From the touching piano piece at the beginning feather scene to the uplifting tune of Forrest hugging Jenny at the Washington square scene, Alan's award-winning score truly brings the perfect mood and emotion to the film. Every aspect of this movie is simply excellent from the eye-popping special effects, film editing, wonderful score, sound, to the theme of the movie. This movie makes us realised that we all have a purpose in life and that we all have the ability to do the impossible. Forrest Gump tells us that we all should have strong principles and beliefs to succeed in life. Forrest only believes in 3 person. He believes in God, his momma and Jenny. Nothing can go past them. Just look at what Forrest has achieved. He is the President of a shrimp company, a war hero, a Ping-Pong champion, and a happy father. Forrest Gump simply tells us that we can achieve anything in life as long as we put our best effort and believe in everything that we do. Forrest Gump is no doubt one the best films I have ever seen. It changes my perception of life and makes me realised that we all have a purpose in this world. We probably won't be seeing anything like this forever. A true masterpiece.

Read Best Reviews of Forrest Gump (Chocolate Box Giftset) (1994) Here

Forrest Gump is a very hard movie to watch since I am an autistic physically disabled black dude who grew up in the racially charged 1960's. I had always heard so much about Forrest Gump that made me not think it was the kind of movie I'd like watching so I usually avoided it with a passion. Suddenly this Christmas friends of mine roped in into sitting through Forrest Gump and I was shocked by how much I absolutely loved this movie.

The movie is vivid fictionalized but oddly realistic life seen through (disabled kid) Forrest Gump's eyes. Forrest Gump's perspective on life was weird but strange as he was the movie felt real in the oddest ways I could imagine. It is true watching life unfold through Forrest Gump's eyes offers a perspective that leaves you altered for the better if you have any heart and soul at all. I owe this movie a huge appology because for years I just knew in my heart I'd hate Forrest Gump yet I ended up loving that it was so much like my own life experience growing up disabled in the 1960's when you got very little encouragement and help as a special needs kid.

I suspect I disliked Forrest Gump because it came way too uncomfortably close to being exactly like my own life growing up disabled labelled the dummy or my neighborhood retard by grown ups and peers alike. Like Forrest I had family members (grandparents mainly) who loved me and fought hard, long and tirelessly to be sure I had the same opportunities for advancement other kids had. I saw the park bench scene in the movie trailer and felt it was acted way too simplistically almost as if the movie was poking fun at or making light of the disabled so I never wanted to watch it. Forrest Gump threatened to reopen many painful memories from my own past growing up disabled and those sores were still sensitive in my heart so why watch it.

I am much stronger as a disabled person now than I have ever been before so I let myself be roped into watching Forrest Gump. I liked and understood myself now so I risked veiwing Forrest Gump this Christmas Eve surrounded by friends. Anyways this Christmas Eve friends wanted me to see the Forrest Gump DVD after hearing I had still never seen it so I saw the movie from beginning to end. Watching Forrest Gump was still very painful because, I experienced personally so much of the torment Forrest did going to regular school as a disabled kid in the mid 60's myself. More than a few times I wanted to leave the movie and just go sit in a corner, retreat into my own autistic world to cry tears of solidarity for Forrest Gump in a place where my heart was my only witness but I did not. I stayed the course and watched the whole Forrest Gump movie despite my own pains being vigorously stirred. I gave my word to friends I'd watch to all of Forrest Gump and a Wolf without honor is no Wolf at all.

Yes Forrest Gump stirred up some real painful experiences in my past but that said the movie answered some real unresolved questions I had leaving me much stronger, secure and prouder as a disabled man for my Forrest Gump experience. In my eyes a truly good movie uses fiction to teach truth in ways that leaves an audience stronger better and more enlightened and in all these measures Forrest Gump excels so completely as to have no equals in its job of putting 1960's life with disability in honest perspective. My grandparents used to insist I never see myself as disabled I was expected to do everything the normal folk did and for years I thought my grandparents were cruel almost to the point of being sadistic. I had started to know my grandparents loved me. Watching Forrest Gump showed me that expecting your disabled child to make his own way in normal society coping using tools he developed alone was the most difficult way to love a special needs child in the 1960's but it was the only way to encourage success back in those days when ignorant hostile cruelty about disabilities was rampant.

I am successful today exactly because my grandparents pushed me forcing me to cope in the world of normal people until I got it right. In my case it took me 41 years to get it right and it is still a daily struggle to live among normal folk but I do it. I had hated and avoided watching Forrest Gump for the same reasons I love and highly reccomend buying it from AMAZON.COM now. The Forrest Gump experience as wacky and off beat as it appears was really how it was to be cognitively and physically disabled in the 1960's. For a long time Forrest Gump was too real. Forrest Gump's message hit me way too close to home reminding me of things I'd rather forget and for those very same reasons I most highly recommend that you please buy Forrest Gump on DVD from Amazon.com because the story might be fiction but the 1960's disabled experince it shares is so REAL it can not honestly be deniedtake it from one who lived it! This I know.

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Forrest Gump is a tale of America's culture from the 50s through almost the present day, and it is brilliantly done. Tom Hanks' performance as Forrest Gump is quite simply flawless as an idiot savant who comes into contact with most of the significant events and people of his day. I have always liked Hanks as an actor, and here he puts in an unusual and yes, a brilliant performance.

But the real star of the movie is America of the 50s through the early 80s. The portion of the film that dealt with the Vietnam conflict was unforgettable, as we see large numbers of ordinary American boys swept into a conflict that they little understood. Gary Sinise puts in a very creditable performance as Lt. Dan, Forrest's platoon leader in Vietnam for whom the war is a personal tragedy.

The film hilariously shows Forrest Gump navigate through many of the key events in history during the periods. He meets Elvis and influences his style. He meets President Kennedy. He has a ringside seat in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s. He is caught up in the Vietnam War. He meets President Nixon and inadvertantly triggers the Watergate scandal (this part is really a hoot). The film's portrayal of the hippies and radicals of the 60s is particularly funny and in fact rings true.

This is a film that almost everyone will like, and which will touch even the most hard-boiled viewer. The DVD is a terrific value, and most viewers will enjoy watching this one many times.