Footnote (2012)

"Footnote" (107 min.) is a 2011 movie out of Israel. It brings the rather complicated but intruiging story of a father and son who both are scholars and researchers at the Talmud Department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. As it happens, the son is actually more successful and the movie starts out with the son's acceptance speech upon getting elected into the Israeli Academy of Science and Humanities. Remarkably, we don't actually see the son but instead the camera focuses the entire sequence (probably 3-4 min.) only on the father, who seemingly is shell-shocked and/or confused and/or resentful at the ever-growing successes of his son. Then, about 30 min. into the movie, the father gets the call from the Israeli Department of Education that he'd been waiting to get for 20 years: he's been chosen to receive the prestigious Israeli Prize. Happiness turns to potential disaster when the son gets called by the Israeli Prize Committee the very next day with the bombshell that due to a clerical error, it was he who had been chosen for the Israeli Prize, not his dad!

I don't want to spoil more from the plot, and the movie then really takes off and you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out. The movie offers an excellent character sturdy of both father and son, looking at it from both a generational perspective as well as a scholary difference in how each is doing research.

This movie was one of the 5 nominees for this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Movie (Iran's "A Separation" won the Oscar), and rightfully so. This is the complete antitode to Hollywood's mainstream fare such as "John Carter" or "Wrath of the Titans" in that it is an intellectually challenging movie. The lead performances of Shlomo Bar Aba as the father and Lior Ashkenazi as the son are nothing short of outstanding. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many people were in the theatre when I saw the movie this weekend here in Cincinnati, giving me hope thia may reach a wider audience. Meanwhile, "Footnote" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

FOOTNOTE is an appropriately titled sparklingly intelligent and entertaining film written and directed by Joseph Cedar. With a small cast and a focused story this little film form Israel is not only a pleasure to watch as a story performed as shared by brilliant actors, but it is also one of the most visually artistic and creative venture of cinematography to be on the small screen in a long time: the genius cinematographer is Yaron Scharf. Add to this a musical score that enhances every moment of the story courtesy of composer Amit Poznansky and the film simply succeeds on every level.

In a most ingenious way we are introduced to the two main characters father and son, both professors in the Talmud department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The film opens on the confused and somewhat unattached facial expression of the seated father Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) as he listens to his ebullient son Uriel Shkolnik (Lior Ashkenazi) being inducted into the prestigious Israeli academic union. Uriel's acceptance speech reflects his childhood when his father informed him upon questioning that he was a `teacher' an occupation the young Uriel found embarrassing at the time, but now honors his father for this guidance. After the ceremony we slowly discover that there is a long-standing rivalry between father and son. Uriel has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while Eliezer is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition: his only clam to fame after long years of intensive research is that the man who published his findings mentions Eliezer in a footnote. When it comes times for the Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, to be awarded, a clerical error results in a telephone call informing Eliezer that he has won, while in reality the award was meant for his son Uriel. How this error is resolved open all manner of windows for examining family relationships, fame, pure academia, and forgiveness.

The film is an unqualified success. Lior Ashkenazi (so well remembered from `Walk on Water' and `Late Marriage' among others) gives a bravura performance and that of Shlomo Ben Aba balances it in quality. The supporting cast is strong. Joseph Cedar has produced a fine film very much enhanced by the brilliance of the cinematography that tells the story as much as the dialogue. Grady Harp, August 12

Buy Footnote (2012) Now

This bittersweet comedy from Israeli is set in the rarefied world of academia and is a fine, interesting movie about the bitter relationship between a father and a son who both happen to be Talmudic scholars working at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and how their rivalry finally overcomes their filial obligations.

Eliezer Shkolnik (a terrific performance by Shlomo Bar Aba) is the father, and he seems a personification of male old age grumpiness. He looks at the at the rest of his colleagues with an insufferable air of intellectual superiority, and believes he hasn't been recognized to the extent that he deserves, yet the movie hints he is a bit of a fraud himself, his main claim to academic fame is having been thanked in a footnote in a book by a famous Talmudic authority. The more successful Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi, who usually plays young macho men, but here plays a middle aged academic against type), is the son. The film lampoons him for being a lightweight scholar and for being too attracted to the media spotlight, yet he seems to be the more psychologically rounded of the two. The tense relationship between father and son finally comes to a bitter confrontation when the elder Shkolnik is mistakenly awarded an important academic prize that was meant for the son (I'm not going to reveal anything else about the plot).

I'm also obviously not going to reveal the ending but it seems underwhelming and unrealized, as if the director Joseph Cedar didn't knew how to end the movie. Thus, what was a fine film until then ends in a curiously unsatisfying way. Nevertheless, this is a fine movie with many great scenes. I especially liked two scenes: one is set in a small but packed conference room and ends when one academic shoves another to the wall. In the second scene, a very pretty female journalist goes to the home of the elder Shkolnik to interview him and manages to get him to say very nasty things about his son.

Read Best Reviews of Footnote (2012) Here

Footnote is an excellent film that portrays a bitter rivalry between a father and son in the world of competitive, backstabbing academia, a world in which winning prizes for research and being recognized and accepted by the academic community is everything. Some people have commented that the first twenty or so minutes of the minute move too slowly; but this is necessary for character development. The rest of the plot moves along at a very good pace; it's anything but boring. The casting was thoughtfully done and the acting is very convincing. The choreography and cinematography lack nothing; and the musical score enhances the film as well.

When the film starts, we are slowly but surely introduced to an Israeli father and son who are both passionate about Talmud research. Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar-Aba) is a bitter, autistic older man who has been nominated for the prestigious Israel prize sixteen years in a row but has never received it; by contrast his son Uriel (Lior Ashkenazi) knows how to work the circuit, keep his subordinates in line with him or else and enjoys the attention that comes with giving six much admired speeches all over Jerusalem in just one night! While Eliezer shows disdain for the community that he thinks recognizes people who are not so "scientific" in their research, deep inside him Eliezer cannot help but feel the human need to be appreciated, accepted and receive awards like his son receives. Eliezer's only real source of pride (and he is a remarkably proud man) is a footnote dedicated to him by his mentor in an opus on Talmudic Literature.

Eliezer has another reason to be sour, jealous and depressed. After nearly thirty years of daily research at The National Library, Eliezer was just about to publish a bold, groundbreaking thesis proving there was a different, European version of the Talmud in the Middle Ages--but just as he's about to publish his findings, the culmination of his life's work and the source of what would have been great pride, another researcher (Grossman, played by Micah Lewensohn) by pure chance just happens to stumble over the actual old European Talmud in Italy! Grossman, knowing he would steal Eliezer's thunder and crush him emotionally, publishes his own findings anyway and Eliezer is badly scarred.

Things only go from bad to worse when Eliezer gets a phone call that he has won The Israel Prize he wanted all his life. When Uriel is secretly told that the prize was actually meant for him and not his father, Uriel is stunned. Uriel fights with the prize committee, including Grossman who chairs the committee, so that his father can have the prize; but Grossman's hatred of Uriel's father surfaces and the solution to the problem will not be easy or immediately obvious. There are plot twists after that but you will be able to follow along.

Look also for excellent supporting performances by Alma Zack as Dikla Shkolnik; Daniel Markovich as Josh and Yuval Scharf as Noa, a journalist.

Footnote is a first-rate film that will appeal to anyone interested in family dynamics; the competitive and backstabbing world of academia; dramas with a slight touch of comedy and fans of the actors in the film.

Want Footnote (2012) Discount?

FOOTNOTE (HEHARAT SHULAIM in Hebrew) is an appropriately titled sparklingly intelligent and entertaining film written and directed by Joseph Cedar. With a small cast and a focused story this little film form Israel is not only a pleasure to watch as a story performed as shared by brilliant actors, but it is also one of the most visually artistic and creative venture of cinematography to be on the small screen in a long time: the genius cinematographer is Yaron Scharf. Add to this a musical score that enhances every moment of the story courtesy of composer Amit Poznansky and the film simply succeeds on every level.

In a most ingenious way we are introduced to the two main characters father and son, both professors in the Talmud department of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The film opens on the confused and somewhat unattached facial expression of the seated father Eliezer Shkolnik (Shlomo Bar Aba) as he listens to his ebullient son Uriel Shkolnik (Lior Ashkenazi) being inducted into the prestigious Israeli academic union. Uriel's acceptance speech reflects his childhood when his father informed him upon questioning that he was a `teacher' an occupation the young Uriel found embarrassing at the time, but now honors his father for this guidance. After the ceremony we slowly discover that there is a long-standing rivalry between father and son. Uriel has an addictive dependency on the embrace and accolades that the establishment provides, while Eliezer is a stubborn purist with a fear and profound revulsion for what the establishment stands for, yet beneath his contempt lies a desperate thirst for some kind of recognition: his only clam to fame after long years of intensive research is that the man who published his findings mentions Eliezer in a footnote. When it comes times for the Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious national award, to be awarded, a clerical error results in a telephone call informing Eliezer that he has won, while in reality the award was meant for his son Uriel. How this error is resolved open all manner of windows for examining family relationships, fame, pure academia, and forgiveness.

The film is an unqualified success. Lior Ashkenazi (so well remembered from `Walk on Water' and `Late Marriage' among others) gives a bravura performance and that of Shlomo Ben Aba balances it in quality. The supporting cast is strong. Joseph Cedar has produced a fine film very much enhanced by the brilliance of the cinematography that tells the story as much as the dialogue. In Hebrew with English subtitles. Grady Harp, August 12

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The Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad, an

Sergio Leone's classic trilogy of films with Clint Eastwood arrives on Blu-ray (and also in a separate DVD release ) under "The Man with No Name" with varying results. All three films "Fistful of Dollars", "For a Few Dollars More" and "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" (the last film previously released on Blu-ray before this set)have their individual issues but, on the whole, all three films have more positives than negatives when it comes to their debut on HD.

I'm going to skip the plot summaries since others have already done a good job with that.

"Fistful of Dollars" clearly isn't the same transfer as the European edition; skin tones tend to be a bit red and the framing is a bit different than the European restored edition. I'm not sure if the original negative was accessed for this edition (I doubt it)but it could use a bit of restoration work.

Still, it looks pretty good with good detail. Overall the transfer looks quite good and digital noise reduction doesn't mar this one quite as badly as it does "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" (which still looks good even with that issue). Audio sounds quite nice as well.I'd also note that fans should be prepared--it looks quite grainy but this is the way the film was shot and originally shown in theaters.

We get all the extras from the previous edition on DVD that was released in "The Man with No Name Trilogy" and "The Sergio Leone Collection" (the only difference between those two DVD releases was that "Duck You Sucker" was included starring James Coburn was part of that package).

"For a Few Dollars More" looks exceptionally good with nice detail, colors that mirror the overseas edition of the film and, again, the extras from the DVD edition. This is probably the best looking of the bunch here. Again, the film is grainy but thats the intended look of the film.

"The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" looks extremely good even with occasional heavy handed DNR applied to the film (more to do with eliminating grain since all three films were shot on film stock that tended to be extremely grainy to begin with). The detail is still surprisingly strong this doesn't look as bad as, say, the latest edition of "Predator" where everyone has waxy skin completion but it isn't quite as strong looking as "For A Few Dollars More" either.

Part of this could be due to the fact that "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" underwent a restoration some years back and this could an older HD print for the film whereas the other two films received more recent transfers. The overuse of digital noise reduction (which tends to reduce detail, cause skin textures to look smooth like wax but smoothes out grain often eliminating it if overused)was pretty common as recent as three to five years ago. That's no excuse just the facts. I doubt given MGM's current financial crisis and Fox's recent trend towards overusing DNR ("Predator" again as an example for a recent catalog title or "Patton")that we were going to get a new HD transfer. It's not something that should prevent you from buying this set although you will notice it on TV sets 50 inches and above.

The video bit rate for all three movies is quite good with an average of 30Mbps ("Fistful" has the highest at 36 while "Good" which is the longest film of the three has the lowest at 26Mbps) which translates as a good, consistent picture.

Audio is strong for all three films. As previoulsy mentioned the extras from all three previously released DVDs are included as part of the set usually in standard definition though and on the same disc as the movie. We get multiple langauge tracks including English, Spanish, Hungarian, Italian and Turkish. Subtitles are available in English only.

All three films are packaged in a slimline 3 Blu-ray case with film credits printed on the inside of the outer sleeve. I would have liked to see Fox (which is handling MGM releases in the U.S.) include replicas of the lobby cards like they did with the previous single DVD sets and/or a booklet similar to the one that came with "The Sergio Leone Collection".

So is the transfer for "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and the framing issue for "Fistful" a deal breaker? No. You'll enjoy these films and they really have never looked this good on home video before. Be aware however that there is a region free European edition that doesn't have the framing issue for "Fistful" and the skin tones are a bit more muted for that restored edition. It all comes down to if you have a fistful of dollars to spend.

Most fans won't notice these issues and for those that do there is an alternative should you want to pick up the European edition of the film.

So a total of 4 stars because of some minor issues with two films in the set. A note on the cover--for some reason Fox has chosen to reuse the cover from "The Sergio Leone Collection for the Blu-ray (and DVD) of "The Man with No Name Trilogy".Recommended.

1. In a nutshell:

Picture quality:

"Fistful": 4/5

"Few More": 4.5/5

"Good, Bad, Ugly": 3,5/5

Region Free!

Widescreen 2.35:1

Audio: English, Spanish, French (German/Italian also on "Good, Bad, Ugly")

Extras: seem to be the same as on 2-disc DVD sets.

NB: extraordinary audio commentary by Leone expert Christopher Frayling!

In my view this box set is a bargain (I ordered my copies for $29).

If you like these Leone films, then this 3-piece set should be a no-brainer.

2. For sprocket hole addicts (myself included):

All films of this "trilogy" (of course it wasn't intended as such) were shot in "Techniscope" (i.e. 2 perforation holes instead of 4, as in "Cinemascope" ) hence cutting stock costs in half unfortunately same goes for picture resolution. Therefore a slightly lesser picture quality than in usual Cinemascope Blu-ray transfers is the result. But this only adds to the intentional grittiness of Carlo Simi's production design. Much better prints are not likely in the future.

Still these Blu-ray prints of the three movies differ in their picture quality with "Few More" being the best (except some minor visible stain at TC 00:04:09-56, Chpt. 2) followed by "Fistful" and "Good, Bad, Ugly" (due to excessive DNR processing).

Alternatives for the 3-disc box set?

"Fistful" you can also look for the Italian BD release from RHV (Ripleys Home Video; Region Free) available from bol.it.

"Few More" this BD is available seperately (for the price of this entire set!)

"Good, Bad, Ugly" you could wait for an enhanced BD version, but who knows when this will be around? "Good, Bad, Ugly" of course could use some improvement...

Fox have put out a 4-disc BD set also including "Hang 'em High" available from amazon.co.uk (RC? / picture quality? / audio?)

Overall these BDs look great a definite improvement over DVDs and are great fun to watch!! Audio commentary by Christopher Frayling (author of: "Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone", 1981) impressively marks the difference between informative vs. talkative (yes, Sir!) and provides you with everything you always wanted to know about these Leone films but didn't know whom to ask... brilliant!!

Buy The Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad, an Now

The trilogy of westerns made by Sergio Leone during the early to mid-60's are among the best of the so-called spaghetti westerns produced. Leone's unique cinematic vision and his unusual use of the camera (a bit of trivia Leone never storyboarded his films. Unlike Hitchcock and other major directors he had it all in his head)make these films unique and powerful. Leone was the first foreign film director to make self reflective movies; i.e., his westerns were really about the classic western films he grew up loving with a post-ironic twist.

You can read about the plots elsewhere as I want to concentrate on the major drawback (and the benefits)of these DVDs; Both Fistful and more are presented in their widescreen aspect radio. Since Leone's films benefited from the widescreen format and vistas, seeing them in a pan and scan version doesn't do the films justice; it's like listening to a great piece of music through a portable radio with poor reception. You get the gist of the music and feel that's powerful but it lacks the full impact and range.

The films exhibit a high amount of analog artifacts. Portions of More also look quite faded. Both films deserve and require a restoration similar to that performed for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (although the version included here is not the restored version). Both discs also include both pan and scan and widescreen versions of the films. There's also theatrical trailers and booklets with background on the making of both films. The soundtrack sounds flat and thin--given the way the original soundtracks were mixed and released that's not a surprise. Still, if the original elements still exist it would be worthwhile to revisit these films, restore and then remaster them with a commentary track (similar to that for Once Upon A Time in The West). They don't look horrible but it's clear that the negative is either in poor condition or the prints used were not pristine.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly looks and sounds better than the other two films in the series. It also benefited from a much larger budget and shooting time which is to the benefit of the film. The acting is stronger (Eastwood returns as does Van Cleef joined by the scene chewing Eli Wallach in a marvelous turn as "the ugly"). THis version features a number of scenes cut for both the International and US version. While the scenes aren't restored (and my copy didn't even had the advertised "Italian" dialogue track but was silent), they provide an interesting background as to the motivations of the characters.

TGTBATU looks still has a fair amount of analog artifacts but not quite as bad as the first two. The sound is slightly better although still thin (again, it was recorded and shown in mono. Remember, this was the early 60's). Leone's direction and visual flair are more in evidence on the third film of the series. Here's hoping that MGM will get around to re-releasing the restored version that showed earlier in the year. Reportedly, Eastwood and Wallach re-recorded their dialogue (which might explain why the tracks are silent--it's clear that the dialogue tracks must be missing or incomplete)and they had a sound alike for the late Van Cleef.

While all three films are essential western classics, all three are marred by a variety of analog flaws. Their still worth having but I'm hoping with the advent of reissues like Once Upon a Time in The West, that all three will get a face-lift and second chance on DVD. It also wouldn't hurt to provide some interesting background on the making of all three films. Eastwood and Wallach are still around as are various crew members/actors from the original productions. Let's hope it gets done!

Oh, and by the way, the Man with No Name did have a name in at least two of the three films here. That Man With No Name aspect was a marketing ploy dreamed up by the original studio (United Artists) to sell the films later on down the line.

Read Best Reviews of The Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad, an Here

My low rating does not apply to the movies themselves. In a period when most Hollywood westerns were becoming predictable and formulaic, Italian director Sergio Leone broke the mold! This trilogy, along with his last western, "Once Upon A Time In The West" (not included in this set), are the four greatest westerns ever made, and yet were not produced by Hollywood. The greatest of the Hollywood westerns, such as "The Magnificent Seven", "The Big Country", "The Alamo", "The Three Godfathers"; and south-of-the-border westerns like "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" and "Guns For San Sabastian" (to name but a few of the greats) all fall in behind the Leone westerns. If you are a fan of westerns and have not seen the movies in this trilogy, watch them as soon as possible, but be prepared for something different than you are used to. They are not slick, but instead portray an accurate grittiness of the old west. They are not gimmicky like the Hollywood westerns of more recent vintage (say from about the mid 1970's to present). The greatest western ever made has to be "The Good, The Bad And The Ugly". This is the mother of all westerns! The acting in all three movies is superb, but the performance of Eli Wallach as Tuco in "The Good..." is extraordinary, and ranks as one of the greatest performances by any actor on film. Clint Eastwood also gives the greatest performance of his career in "The Good...". It is interesting that Clint tried to recapture the magic of the Leone films in his own productions such as "Pale Rider", Hang 'Em Hign", etc., but never even came close.

Now on to the problems with these discs. The transfers are not particularly hign quality, and appear not to be remastered. The first two trilogy movies are merely letterboxed rather than enhanced widescreen. But the biggest bummer of all is the sound quality. The sound quality on "The Good..." is about as good as any of the versions I have heard. The sound quality of "Fistful..." is rather poor. But it is the obnoxious sound of "for A Few Dollars More" that is really a crime. The dialog is too far in the background, and the overall sound on this disc is so harsh that if you turn the volume up to a level where you can hear the dialog clearly, the hard, treble-heavy, distorted sound will bore a hole in your head! I'm not kidding. I love these movies so much that I will have to find an alternative version of "For a Few Dollars More" to replace the one that came with this trilogy. If I had it to do over again, I would purchase the best individual versions I could find, rather than waste money of this set. It's too bad that MGM didn't put just a little bit more TLC into these masterpieces!

Want The Man with No Name Trilogy (A Fistful of Dollars / For a Few Dollars More / The Good, The Bad, an Discount?

A good series to own, if you like westerns or Eastwood. I'll just comment on the DVD features. The video reproductions of "A Fistfull of Dollars" and "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly." are excellent. The reproduction of "For a Few Dollars More" left a lot to be desired. This one must have been reproduced from an imperfect source because a lot of dust floaters are present which is only really distracting during nighttime scenes. Not a lot of extras included, a few trailers and for the "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" some extra minutes from deleted scenes.

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Fatal Attraction (1987)

This film did more for a return to monogomy than any social diseases! I've just re-watched this flick, and it's just as effective as when I first viewed it. Picture a younger Baby Jane Hudson combined with Jaws, and that's pretty much "Alex", Glenn Closes' woman scorned. Michael Douglas, as the typical, successful, arrogant, mid-'80's Yuppie, who, though perfectly nested in a seemingly great marriage to gorgeous, giving, Anne Archer, has to prove he's still a desirable stud by having a "casual" (WRONG!!) fling with Closes' "Alex", a sexy, also seemingly sophisticated associate of his. She initially gives the impression she wants the same thing as he, a "no strings attached" sex-fest, but, after a 24 hour marathon, while wifey is out of town, it begins to become apparent that Alex is becoming just a teensy bit possessive, and when Douglas, as diplomatically as possible, tries to explain to her that he's happily married, and it's dumpster time, Miss Alex IS NOT buying it. The ensuing harassment of he and his family, which starts with pranks from Alex to express her displeasure, turns into a horror-ride that will have your emotions tap dancing faster than Ann Miller!! Some people feel the need to rationalize the entirety of a film, "why'd she do that", that wouldn't happen", etc... not me. With a film like this, it either entertained me, or didn't. Well, this one certainly did. I found all the acting excellant, and the situation not all that unbelievable. Though "over the top", it is a non-stop ride of suspense as Douglas' nightmare (and life) un-folds. I recall there were some copy-cat flicks made shortly after this came out, trying to duplicate what this film has. Well, they didn't succeed, and were soon forgotten. I feel that this film, with its great cast , production, intelligent script, and direction, will not be topped for films of it's kind, and will stand the test of time. It pushes ALL the buttons.

Let's face it: we're guys. Wandering eyes. A perceptive inclination to gander at a short skirt, a hint of cleavage, a heart-pounding hip wiggle. I ran smack dab into a door the last time I gawked, but consider myself darn lucky compared to Michael Douglas' character in FATAL ATTRACTION--a white-knuckled "don't-let-this-happen-to-you" thriller that vividly demonstrates what can happen to a guy when he lets other parts of his anatomy do his thinking for him.

Manhattan lawyer Dan Gallagher (Douglas) has it all: successful career, attractive wife, loving daughter. So why not have an extramarital fling with a woman he met at a party while the family is out of town? Sure. Just a one-night stand. No harm, no foul. But there's something very "foul" about Dan's partner in crime, because blonde Alex Forrest (Glenn Close) may have all the right moves in the sack, but she also has an elevator that doesn't go all the way to the top. So when Dan wants to shake hands and part company, Alex will have none of it, and the table is set for a one-way ticket to Looney Land.

Let the stalking. . .the suspense. . .the thrills and chills. . .begin. The bathroom scene, in which Dan's frazzled wife Beth (Anne Archer) wipes the steam off the mirror, is worth the price of purchase of this video alone.

Director Adrian Lyne (as usual) delivers a gripping, antacid-popping story. The only positive in FATAL ATTRACTION was the fact all this bad stuff happened to an attorney. Like, how sad. I'd like to write more, but I hear the wife calling--something about all the hair in the sink. Don't want to get her riled.

--D. Mikels

Buy Fatal Attraction (1987) Now

In 1987, the thriller "FATAL ATTRACTION" was released into theaters and the film touched a nerve worldwide that it became a social phenomenon and a box office hit. The film jumpstarted a wave of many psychopath films right after but also generated fear for men who have ever contemplated an extramarital affair.

The film was directed by Adrian Lyne ("Indecent Proposal" and "Nine 1/2 Weeks") and was produced by Sherry Lansing and Stanley R. Jaffe (both worked on "Indecent Proposal", "Black Rain" and "The Accused"). The film also featured the talents of composer Maurice Jarre ("I Dreamed of Africa", "Sunshine", "Dead Poets Society", "Jacob's Ladder" and "Ghost") and cinematographer Howard Atherton ("Indecent Proposal", "Deep Rising" and "Lolita").

The film would star well-known talents such as Michael Douglas ("Basic Instinct", "Wall Street" and "A Perfect Murder"), Glenn Close ("Air Force One", "Damages" and "Hook") and Anne Archer ("Privileged", "Rules of Engagement" and "The Art of War").

Needless to say, "FATAL ATTRACTION" had elements of the 1971 film "Play Misty & Me" but shocked America and the world of the implications of a one night stand, hurting the people around you and to be careful of the unknown and in this case, the unknown was having a one night stand with a psychopath.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"FATAL ATTRACTION" gets its first HD treatment on Blu-ray via 1080p High Definition. The film looks great for a film of its age. Because it was shot in 1987 and seeing many films in the late 80's and early 90's being heavily DNR'd (digital noise reduction) and looking too soft in picture quality, "FATAL ATTRACTION" definitely showcases the detail of the surroundings but also brings out the grain throughout the film. Personally, I would have grain (since it's part of film) rather than excessive DNR and edge enhancement.

The film showcases its vibrancy in colors during the outdoor segments but the indoor segments, really interesting use of lighting to show the differences between Daniel's home and Alex's home and how things continually got darker and darker. "FATAL ATTRACTION" doesn't have the cleanest picture quality but compared to its DVD counterpart, this is probably the best we are going to see of this film on High Definition. Blacks are nice and deep and I didn't see any major compression artifacts or dust.

As for the audio, the film is presented in English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD (including French Dolby Surround and Spanish mono). "FATAL ATTRACTION" is primarily a dialogue-based film where moods and ambiance is brought to life by the music of Maurice Jarre. Overall, dialogue is clean and understandable and music is quite clear.

There are some scenes where you can hear the New York surroundings and crowded scenes (such as the party scene) where you can hear the people around the room. But to tell you the truth, I felt the audio was front channel heavy. I didn't hear much coming from the rear surrounds but the subtle noises as the chilling water drips near the end to the operatic music of Madame Butterfly come quite clear in audio but then, even the single gun shot noise that you hear in the film really doesn't have any punch to it. But in the end, it's the acting and the dialogue that is the priority and how the music enhances the moods of love, sex, despair and violence is what I felt was most important and those two things come clear through the lossless audio.

As for subtitles, "FATAL ATTRACTION" is presented in English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"FATAL ATTRACTION" comes with the same special features that came on the 2007 DVD Special Edition release. There is nothing that is new to the Blu-ray but the alternate ending and the trailer are featured in HD. Included are:

* Commentary by Adrian Lyne I have watched a few films with commentary by Adrian Lyne and he's the first person to tell you that he doesn't have the greatest memory. With that being said, with his commentary for "FATAL ATTRACTION", he does remember enough to discuss the details of making the film and talks about it in detail. Especially how many cuts it took for certain scenes, working with the talents such as Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Ann Archer and the child Ellen Hamilton Latzen. Lyne is upfront about having to reshoot ending and his thoughts of the ending on the final cut of the film. But like previous Lyne commentaries, there are times when he just stops talking. Perhaps watching the film again has captured his attention for a short while. Lyne's commentary is also a bit soft and low, so you may need to turn your speakers up a bit.

* Forever Fatal: Remembering Fatal Attraction Cast & Crew Interviews (28:15) A wonderful featurette about the making of the film. From working with James Dearden and then finding the talent who would be right for the film (Michael Douglas was already in consideration) and why they chose the talent to portray those roles but also learning how no studio or director wanted to do the film. What was amazing to hear is how Glenn Close fought for the original ending. As an actress so into her craft, she researched her role for Alex Forrest and felt the ending was perfect but at the screening of the preview, audiences disliked the ending and thus they reshot the ending to the film despite Glenn Close being against it. And of course, discussion about how the film became a phenomenon and the worldwide media coverage that it received. Presented in Standard Definition.

* Social Attraction The Cultural Phenomenon of Fatal Attraction (10:00) "FATAL ATTRACTION" became a cultural phenomenon. On one side, it received media coverage because of how shocking the thriller was. The film became popular among psychiatrists but the film also received backlash by feminists. Presented in Standard Definition.

* Visual Attraction Behind-the-Scenes Production Featurette (19:39) In order to create the world of "FATAL ATTRACTION", a lot was done in set design, makeup and just creating this overall, visual sense of the film.

* Rehearsal Footage (7:05) The original rehearsal footage of Glenn lose and Ann Archer. If you thought their acting was powerful in the film, the rehearsals were just as powerful! Presented in Standard Definition.

* Alternate Ending with an Introduction by Adrian Lyne (HD) (11:51) The original "Madame Butterfly" ending. In the end, I would have to agree with the filmmaker and happy they changed the ending for the final cut.

* Original Theatrical Trailer (HD) (1:33) The original theatrical trailer presented in High Definition.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I'm not going to lie to you, "FATAL ATTRACTION" scared the crap out of me when I first watched it many years ago and it scared the crap out of me watching it again over 20 years later.

I remember it becoming a cultural phenomenon, in my opinion, because "one night stands" are always shown as things that happen in life but the film shows us the ramifications and the dark side that exist. Sure, we would see a break up of a relationship or a divorce from infidelity on film but "FATAL ATTRACTION" explores the side heavily and doesn't miss a heartbeat. Instantly, showing us a woman who would not be ignored, has some psychological problems and how she became obsessed.

You can analyze this film on the psychiatric side of things or the human-side of things and ask yourself, who is at fault? Who is the victim? In a way, all are victims in a way.

The film was powerful in a sense that Glenn Close played Alex Forrest, a troubled woman just perfectly. Her gaze, her look, everything about her sent shivers down my spine. But its what Glenn Close said on the special features that when playing the part, she felt there was some major trauma that this woman had gone through long ago to be this way. And Close did a good job of researching and bringing this character out and making her alive, but also terrifying.

Michael Douglas is just the "everyman" in this role. A normal, hardworking person with a family that he loves but now has to deal with the ramifications of his extramarital affair and the implications it has on his family, to Alex and to himself. Anne Archer as Beth was the wife one would want. A good mother, loving wife and it's just unfortunate that like in real life, even these good people become a victim. Fortunately, for Archer's character, despite the loving, family and caring tendencies, she's also a strong woman who will not let anything happen to her family. Archer's chemistry with Douglas was also terrific to watch.

I think that the alternate and original ending to the film can be debated. I've read that critics prefer the original but of course, the one that was reshot and is in the final cut was what was needed to please the audience. It was great to hear every on the film comment about having to reshoot the scene.

I'm just glad that all special features from the 2007 DVD Special Edition are included on this Blu-ray release. Although, nothing new added to the Blu-ray, "FATAL ATTRACTION" is still a solid Blu-ray release.

"FATAL ATTRACTION" is a well-done thriller. The acting is terrific, the screenplay was absolutely captivating and yet terrifying. For those wanting an excellent thriller for their Blu-ray collection, you can't go wrong with this film.

Read Best Reviews of Fatal Attraction (1987) Here

"Fatal Attraction" isn't so much an erotic thriller as it is a stalker suspenser. Sure, the movie begins with the standard lurid sex scenes involving two respected actors pawing at each other like there's no tomorrow. But rather than succumb to such torrid displays of goofy, laughably cheesy eroticism, the material actually becomes interesting in its second half, building a solid sense of menace and intensity around the mind games of its psychotic centerfold.

Michael Douglas stars as Dan Gallagher, a lawyer whose firm's clients include a well-known publishing company in New York City. His wife, Beth (Anne Archer), has hopes of moving out of their city apartment and buying a house in Bedford, where she and their young daughter travel for the weekend. And as they say, when the cat's away, the mice will play, which is just what Dan does when he crosses paths with Alex Forrest (Glenn Close), an editor from the publishing company whom he spends the weekend with.

So far, so mediocre. The various conversations between characters meant to advance the plot are silly and ongoing, while the inevitable images of lustful satisfaction between Douglas and Close provide some unintentional laughs that seem to work in the film's favor. Once you see these two credible performers manhandling one another, you have a choice: you're either in or you're out.

The film picks up considerable momentum once the reality of the situation sets in. Dan realizes that he can't continue seeing Alex, who becomes embittered when he avoids her phone calls and dismisses her from his office after an invitation to the opera. As he tries to juggle his secret and keep up the pretence of happiness with his family, Alex acts as a thorn in his side that keeps inching deeper and deeper, until he acknowledges the fact that she is a real threat to his family's safety.

This turn of events isn't as unexpected as it would hope to be; from the various expressions of underlying menace that grace Close's face, we can already gather that she's cooking up more than just spaghetti for dinner. But, as we wait in breathless anticipation of Alex's next move, the shocks multiply, the suspense grows, and everything we initially thought about the film's beginning act is but a memory as we follow the plot into familiar yet overall satisfying grounds.

Much of this rests on the shoulders of Close, who carries her character so well that any inhibitions one may have about the extent to which her character will go are left behind. Alex's coolly-calculated, ultimately psychotic plan of attack gives way to moments of sheer lunacy that Close masters with little more than a delightfully menacing smirk. When Dan finally comes clean and gets the police involved, we know just what she's going to do, and how she's going to do it, but under such a brooding performance, it all seems fresh.

It's also quite nice to see Michael Douglas squirm as the victim of the movie's role-reversal, where this time, the woman makes all the rules. His performance here is commendable, and he does show a sincere amount of fear and worry over the revelation of his dark secret, and the safety of his wife and child. His scenes with Close carry their weight in sweaty-palms tension, as well as some sweet lessons about the consequences that he must face as a result of his affair.

If you have the stomach to stick with "Fatal Attraction," you may find yourself enjoying it for its acting zeal and wonderfully-executed second half. It's trash, to be sure, but it's stylish, likeable trash, made so by a predictable plot tailored with a low-lying charge of intensity that grips the viewer by the hair until the blazing, bloody end.

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Sometimes we have great ideas and potential, and we may hold onto a lot of the great aspects, but we just can't work out the bugs. If we watch this movie fairly and objectively, we can see that this is most certainly the case here.

To make a long story short, Douglas is a good lawyer who is going through the stress of climbing the ladder of success. He has friends and a nice wife, as well as a 6 year old daughter. He meets an editor (Glenn Close) through work and he quickly has an affair with her. We are allowed to think that possibly, Douglas's wife was paying too much attention to the daughter and ignoring him. Or perhaps Douglas was just stressed from his job. (Either way, we have some reason why he accepts the offer of an affair.)

Moving on, Douglas tries to go back to his legitimate life, but finds that Glenn Close is not going to tolerate being 'used' and then just dumped in the garbage. To complicate things further, Douglas has made Glenn Close pregnant. (Great so far.)

Now, here is where we run into problems. The story tries to make Glenn Close out to be the villain. But let's be honest here. She did NOT FORCE Douglas to sleep with her. Douglas agreed to it. Then he tries to say he loves his wife and is happy with her. Well, Glenn Close is VERY RIGHT when she says: "If you were so happy with your wife, what were you doing with me?" And in all honesty, how can we not side with her a little when she says: "You had your fun, and now you just want to go back to your quiet life.

From here, the flaws start to get worse and worse. The simplest way I can put it is that the movie tries to make a hurt woman who has some psychological issues into an evil monster who has to be destroyed, and it tries to make the man who had an affair with her, got her pregnant, and wanted to just walk away as if nothing happened a hero. It just doesn't work.

A grand scale error is when Douglas goes to Close's house and brutally assaults her. Excuse me. This is a lawyer, and he doesn't know how stupid this is? (Even from a selfish standpoint, this is not going to help the matter if he wants Glenn Close arrested.) And even worse. Are we suppose to be cheering for him? Is it Glenn's fault that he consented to this affair? Is it Glenn's fault that he thought he could use her and walk away?

Reality check...A smarter man may have suggested a group therapy session with a psychologist....(And as a lawyer who understood confidentiality, he would have known his wife would never know about the affair from the mouth of the psychologist! The trip could have even been covered easily. He could have just said he was meeting with a client.)

Now the worst error. The original end (and at least we can see it as an extra on the dvd) tied things together nicely. Because of her severe depression and hopelessness, Glenn Close kills herself, and Douglas gets the blame because his prints were on the knife Glenn Killed herself with. (GREAT! And it underlines how stupid it was to go to Glenn's house and assault her.) In one option, Douglas was suppose to kill himself in prison. (Good) In the other option, Douglas's wife was to find evidence to clear him. (OK. A less disturbing, but still good end.)

But no. They choose the worst possible end they can. Let's see what's wrong. (Douglas consents to an affair with Close...He realizes you can't just sleep with someone and throw them in the trash...Glenn Close gets shot because Douglas had an affair with her...) This is a perfect example of an artificial (AND ABSURD) happy end that just doesn't fit.

Well, I should also say that Stuart Pankin does a good job of adding some badly needed comic relief in this movie.

SIDE NOTE: It is utterly absurd that Glenn Close became the most hated woman is America for playing this part.

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The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Criterion Collection) (1943)

How wonderful it is to have this unique movie beautifully restored to its original length and scene order by the British Film Institute.

Until about ten years ago, I had never seen this film. I had never rented the cut, reconfigured tape, because I didn't think I'd like the film (in any form). But the L.A. County Museum of Art had an Archers' retrospective several years ago that included the BFI restoration print. Despite many of there pictures being among my favorites, I still thought I was in for a hoary WW II propaganda film. I could walk if I didn't like it.

Was I ever wrong. I came out considering it among The Archers best works. which in my book, means one of the finest films ever.

"The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp," in the original version, is a brilliant mix of WW II propaganda, an often whimisical loving satire of the system. It is ultimately one of the most winning anti-war films ever. In a different way, as good as "Grand Illusion."

This low-key epic begins with the Boer War, when Blimp is a young (too) gung-ho officer to the time the film was made--mid-war 1943. The cast is superb. Roger Livesey gives one of the best performances imaginable. Deborah Kerr (18) at the time, gives a tour-de-force performance as the three different women Blimp falls for in the 40-year span of the film. Anton Walbrook Is so brilliant in this film. This man I am now convinced was one of the greatest actors of the 20th Century. His controversial character is a German officer Blimp befriends in the Boer War and they become life-time friends, with Blimp vouching for him being permitted to stay in England during WW II. Walbrook's scene explaining why he has left Germany is as great, if not greater than his curtain speech in "Red Shoes." Most other actors would have turned this into maudlin sentimentality. Walbrook instead gave me a giant lump in my throat. I don't lump easily.

If you've never seen the complete, uncut and untampered with film and are Archers devotee, this is the version for you.

The extras are uniformly fine. The commentary track with Martin Scorsesse and director Michael Powell, from a recording he made on first viewing the restored film, is sharp and perceptive. He sounds very old and can be hard to understand because of it, but it is worth the extra effort to hear him comment on one of his personal favorites.

There is also an excellent half-hour or so documentary, that includes Emeric Pressburger's grandson, that helps explain why and how the film was tampered with and almost never seen as a result of Prime Minister Winston Churchill trying to ban it. No luck in England. J. Arthur Rank released it in his English theatres and advertised "See The Banned Film." And it was a huge hit. The "banned" got the initial audiences in, word-of-mouth made it the movie too see. Winnie also failed in his attempts to stop exportation to other countries.

One of the most intelligent, witty,serious, breathtakingingly beautiful Technicolor films ever released.

Get this Criterion treasure now. It also includes several Colonel Blimp "original" editorial cartoons, by Blimp creator David Low. Some are timely today and could run with the names changed to suit today's political and military madness. The editorial cartoons were a revelation to me.

Archer Fans, order now and have a really complete collection of these unique gems.

The chap from England, below, is absolutey, right.

This is the best film by the best chroniclers of english life. I put this review on the American site because I feel the need to evangelise! Emeric Pressburger was an Hungarian refugee, and put much of his experience into the mouth of Theo, the sympathetic German character (in 1943! No wonder Churchill wanted it banned without seeing it). The film has three sections, set in 1902, 1918 and ww2. It shows the friendship between the title character, Clive Wynne Candy, and Theo Kretchsmar-Shuldorf. It's also a love story, with Deborah Kerr as three identical looking women. Most of all it's a requiem for a lost golden age, and a call to arms to defeat Nazism. The best set pieces are given to Theo (Anton Walbrook) a German refugee actor, emphasising that this is not a conflict between two equal and honourable countries, but between good and between evil, and this time, if good loses, there is no return match.This propaganda is 60 years old, but every time I watch it by the end I'm ready to sign up.

Buy The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Criterion Collection) (1943) Now

This and "A Matter of Life and Death" are Powell & Presberger's masterpieces, before they descended into the schmalz of "The Red Shoes". The tale of the essentially decent British and German gentlemen, played by Roger Livesey and Anton Walbrook respectively, rapidly becoming dinosaurs in the changing Europe between the Boer War and the Blitz, yet clinging to their values despite being kicked in the face by the brutalisation of Germany and by the consequent brutalisation of a Britain attempting to survive against barbarism. Their friendship begins from the mutual respect engendered by a duel fought reluctantly for the honour of their respective traditions at the time of the Boer War. During convalescence they vie for the hand of Deborah Kerr, turning up in the first of 3 roles. Livesey's shyness leaves Walbrook holding the field. Nearly 20 years pass until they meet again, at a POW camp in Britain. Livesey's essential naivete rides roughshod over the wartime enmity, but Walbrook's response is ambivalent, and the reunion is short-lived and bittersweet. Livesey marries Deborah Kerr's reincarnation as a nurse, because of a resemlance to his first love. A further 20 years pass. Livesey, widowed, is asked to act as sponsor for Walbrook, now exiled from Germany, also widowed and estranged from his Nazi children. Together they come to terms with their sidelining in a world of younger men with few of the old values. Deborah Kerr turns up for the third time as Livesey's driver as he moves from army officer to Home Guard organiser,refusing to be pushed out of the fight. In appearance Livesey's character assumes the appearaqnce of David Low's cartoon Colonel Blimp, but underneath he is more rounded; decent,generous to and loyal to friends, slow to denegrate his foes and totally patriotic, but finally nobody's fool. John Laurie appears in a delicious cameo as Livesey's batman/manservant, crusty but loyal. His boss may occasionally infuriate and perlex, but Laurie recognises the basic decency, as, finally, all do who come into contact with him. It may be propaganda, but it is still magnificent.

Read Best Reviews of The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Criterion Collection) (1943) Here

I found "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" to be a haunting story, rich in story and superbly acted. I found the film to be a very private experience one that you will be thinking about for a long time.

I really can't add anything to the comments made before other than to say that this is the type of film that makes Criterion a special mark. I would question many of their choices, films are available in other formats and of questionable importance (e.g. "Armageddon", "The Royal Tennanbaums" and "The Rock"). "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" probably would have been lost forever (or show up as a $...DVD on a "Bargains" rack) without the work put in by Criterion and the "legitimacy" conferred on it by being recognized by the brand.

myke

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This amazing saga--even more amazing, considering that it was filmed during World War II in England, is a tantalizing tale of a man's whole life--from youth to old age--and his loves, all of whom turn out to be played by the marvelous Deborah Kerr. The restoration is up to Criterion's high standards and the Technicolor is delicious. For fun and a look into our past, watch this movie.

Mobile Suit Gundam 00 the Movie: A Wakening of the Trailblazer (2010)

I would like to first off note that Gundam 00 isn't just a recycled Gundam concept idea as some would have you believe, but it is an idea of just how mankind should learn to get along with itself. The story is amazing, the characters are probably the best in this franchise, and the animation is superb. I even liked the way it was packaged. This Gundam timeline has a lot of messages that have to do with humankind finding a way to come together, and I like that about this Gundam timeline. Even the fact that this timeline is set in the A.D. era just adds to the shows appeal. Even if you don't like Gundam, I think you should at least watch it to see what I am talking about. Having both a DVD and a Blu-Ray version of the movie is great, so if you do have just a DVD player, it won't be an inconvenience to have both in case you do plan to get a PS3 or Blu-Ray player. The DVD version of the movie just has the bare minimum stuff like audio setup, scene select, and two extras (which are trailers and DVD credits). But the Blu-Ray version has so much more than the DVD version like special announcement videos, theatrical trailers, and more. I recommend buying this version so you'll have the best of both worlds.

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Fantasia (1940)

The quality and presentation of this restored version of FANTASIA is wonderful. Finally restored, unseen since the initial release, are the complete introductory sequences, including a chimes player's accident with his instrument, the orchestra applauding Mickey Mouse, and the orchestra shuffling out for the intermission. Even the original title card has been returned to its proper place, during the intermission. (Some of the narration was rerecorded due to original voice tracks being no longer available.)

But there is CONSIDERABLE CONTROVERSY over the continued censorship of the "Pastorale" sequence. Circa 1969, the seemingly racist shots of a black centaurette (similar to Our Gang's "Buckwheat") attending on the white centaurettes were cut from the film, resulting in a "jump" in the music. Allegedly, the 1980 release's newly recorded music soundtrack covered up the clumsy edit, so that the remaining choreography was in sync. Subsequent releases to video have used optical tricks to remove the appearance of black centaurs, so that the original music track scans properly.

In this "restored" version, these optical edits are still glaringly obvious. (E.g., an optical zoom to avoid the black centaurette shows you the film grain up close, in another shot, a green bush magically slides across the ground by itself!)

The film survives as a masterpiece of filmic art, and this presentation of a "politically correct, original version" (my description) is tempting. But Disney does this release, and all customers and fans, a disservice by inappropriately calling it a "restored" and "uncut" version, when in fact it is NOT the version that was seen in the 1940 road shows.

Let your buying conscience be your guide, but consider the significance of buying an "original, restored" version that is neither, and perpetuates revisionist cuts as if they never happened.

Don't get me wrong -this film is fantastic, and by itself it rates 5 stars. But this DVD edition is not all its cracked up to be.

First, there's the editing in the Pastoral Symphony, as noted by other reviewers. This is nothing new -that editing was originally done back in the 60s -but it makes for some very grainy frames in an otherwise beautiful print.

Then there's the re-dubbing of Deems Taylor's parts. As I understand it, this was necessary because the original soundtrack was missing for parts of the extended interstitials. However, I can't believe that they couldn't find a better voice match for Taylor, given the wealth of voice talent in Hollywood these days. If you're used to the original, the difference is kind of jarring.

My biggest gripe, though, is the apparent re-mixing of the music. The original soundtrack was full-on surround sound (what Disney called Fantasound) that had the music literally surrounding the viewer, often sweeping about the room to follow movement on the screen. The 1990 theatrical and video releases contained this Fantasound mix, but the DVD seems re-mixed as a static symphony recording, with the rear channels carrying only reverb. The sound is a bit cleaner than the last go-round, but it's far less dramatic. And the differences are noticable even in plain stereo.

All of these things add up to considerably less than a faithful rendering of this film. The editing is understandable since racial stereotypes are unacceptable these days, but the rest is a shame, and hard to understand in view of Disney's usual attention to detail.

As I noted, the film itself is well worth seeing, and aside of the editing, it has never looked better. But the original laserdisc/VHS release is far more interesting.

Buy Fantasia (1940) Now

It was great to see all of the narration put back into the film, but this so called "Uncut" edition, is not what is seems. Being a life-long fan and collector of "Fantasia" items, I was shocked to see (or not to see), the small black centaurette pyganinnies, totally removed from the film in the "Pastoral Symphony". Disney's "pan & scan" techinque in one sequence chopped them out and when Bacchus is ushered up the stairs, they have been totally wiped out of the segment (the carpet now rolls itself up to the throne...ah,Disney magic). I have many of the above mentioned sequences on video and was really hoping that they would find their way back into the DVD "uncut version". I realize that in this age of 'racial discrimination" that certain things can't be shown or referred to, but give me a break, "Fantasia" is art and should not have been censored, besides, these are mythical creatures. Also,......I remember Demms Taylor as having a different voice, the one in the DVD really does not sound like him at all. Anyway these are my thoughts. Having waited so long for the "uncut version", I feel very let down.

Read Best Reviews of Fantasia (1940) Here

I loved Fantasia when I was a kid, and it was now time to share it with my grandchildren. I was satisfied with the price, quality and availability of this product, but, when my daughter first inserted the DVD into the player, she was disconcerted to find that the language of the speaker and the settings was Korean. She's a clever woman and she managed to fiddle with the controls to find how to switch both the spoken and subtitled portions to English, but there was no indication in the ad on Amazon that this would be necessary, and no instructions accompanying the item as to how to adjust the settings for language.

Great show, but I think that the marketing was unclear at the least, and possibly misleading. I am disappointed in the seller, whose response to my emailed comments was unsatisfactory to me.

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As a child, I grew up watching the "almost original" VHS copy of my favorite Disney film of all-time.

Since purchasing the DVD, I was thoroughly disappointed. The redubbing of Deems Taylor's dialogue was blasphemous, and I'm sure that it could be easily restored with the technology we have today. Also, another point of interest is the censored "Black Centaur" scene (talk about 'political correctness'). Hasn't anyone seen the recent "Donald Duck" and WWII cartoon shorts from the "Walt Disney Treasures" series? They can at least have someone come on before the movie to warn those who may be offended by an animated African-American caricature.

All I can say is I hope Disney will have the common sense to faithfully restore the entire "Roadshow" edition on DVD and Blu-Ray next year for their upcoming "Diamond" release in Fall 2010. Oh, I pray that the day will finally come!!!

Sunrise Blu-ray + DVD (1927) 3-Disc & 20-Page Booklet > F.W. Murnau (1927)

In 1927, German film director F.W. Murnau (known for his role in German Expressionism) was invited by William Fox to make an Expressionist film for Hollywood and in return, Murnau created a film that would simply become a true classic and a true masterpiece with "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans".

The film is highly regarded as a masterpiece and is featured in the American Film Institute's "100 Movies List of Great Films" (#82) and the British Film Institute's critic's poll as the seventh best film in motion pictures. The film won an Academy Award for "Unique and Artistic Production" at the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1929 (including "Best Actress in a Leading Role" for Janet Gaynor and "Best Cinematography" for Charles Rosher and Karl Struss) and was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Although the film was highly regarded then and now, the film was not a success at the box office because of its creative and artistic interpretation while critics were calling it a true masterpiece.

"Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" was the first film with a soundtrack of music and sound effects utilizing Fox's Movietone souund-on-film system and for its creative and artistic style, the use of groundbreaking cinematography during that time would influence many filmmakers and even has been referred to as the "Citizen Kane" of American silent cinema.

Despite the original negative for the film being destroyed in 1937 due to a major nitrate fire (nearly 80-90% of Hollywood's silent films by Fox Film Corporation's created between 1910-1920's were destroyed) at Fox's storage facility in New Jersey. Fortunately, a 1936 print held by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and the NFTVA were still present (the UCLA print was later destroyed due to advance decomposition in 1992). In 1995, Kevin Brownlow and David Gill of Photoplay Productions prepared a new print for the 1995 London Film Festival using the NFTVA print and in 2002, restoration talks for the film began. A fifth generation 1940 nitrate negative print was found in 2002 and then a 1927 print loaned by the Narodni Filmovy Archv in Prague featured a Czech version of footage not featured in the American release.

Eureka! via "The Masters of Cinema" has released "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" featuring both Movietone and Czech films on the Blu-ray release and with a choice of the monaural Movietone score and the stereo Olympic Chamber Orchestra score.

VIDEO:

"Sunrise: A Song for Two Humans" were shot with two cameras thus one has the aspect ration of 1:20:1 and the other with 1:37:1 According to Eureka!, the Blu-ray version of the films were encoded with both HD masters in 1080p AVC format on BD50. Eureka! decided against HD-DVNR, MTI or other forms of digital restoration or grain removal after tests revealed noticeable disruptions of the film's "Sfumato" qualities in many scenes. And thus, their hands off approach was their respect to the filmmaker and the patina of the image. The level of damage still present is exactly what you would see if the film was projected via 35mm theatrically.

Having not seen any previously DVD or VHS release of "Sunrise: A song of Two Humans", I can tell you that from what I saw... despite it having some scratches and dust, I was very impressed with the picture quality of the film on Blu-ray considering the film is over 80-years-old. According to my associates who have compared this film to the previous standard definition releases from Fox and Eureka!, this HD release of the film is absolutely fantastic!

I will say that the Czech version is a bit much more difficult to watch because it's missing frames and thus I prefer the Movietone version.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

Eureka! via "The Masters of Cinema" has released "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" featuring both Movietone and Czech films on the Blu-ray release and with a choice of the monaural Movietone score and the stereo Olympic Chamber Orchestra score by Timothy Brock. According to Eureka!, the absence of any surviving soundtrack for the Czech version led Fox to roughly approximate the Movietone score to it in 2008.

Original English intertitles on the Movietone version are featured and optional English subtitles on the silent Czech version.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans The Masters of Cinema Series #1" comes with the following special features:

* Audio Commentary Full-length audio commentary by ASC cinematographer John Bailey on the Movietone version. Interesting to hear Bailey's comments, especially on the camerawork and effects used.

* Outtakes (9:57) Outtakes with optional John Bailey commentary. It's amazing that a film of this age has any outtakes. So, I was surprised to see this on the Blu-ray.

* Murnau's 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film (40:55) Janet Bergstrom's updated 40-minute documentary about the lost Murnau film "4 Devils" featuring still pictures, art and details of scenes from the film.

* Original Theatrical Trailer (1:50) The original silent theatrical trailer.

* Original `photoplay' script The original "photoplay" script by Carl Mayer with Murnau's handwritten annotations (150 pages in pdf format). You can download these from the Masters of Cinema website as well.

* 20-Page booklet Illustrated booklet with film restoration and DVD/Blu-ray transfer information, along with a comparison between the two versions.

JUDGMENT CALL:

I have wanted to see "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" for such a long time. I've waited with heavy anticipation for UK-based entertainment company Eureka! to release this film via Blu-ray courtesy of their Masters of Cinema series and I am so grateful that they decided to release this film with no region encoding, so anyone from all over the world that has a Blu-ray player can enjoy this film.

After watching the film, I can't help but gush about how fantastic this film is. From the crowded streets in the city to the innovative camerawork and editing, I was simply amazed of what was accomplished back then. The film is literally gripping as the film has its share of action and drama and literally from beginning to end, "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" manages to captivate you courtesy of George O'Brien and Janet Gaynor.

O'Brien plays the man from the country with such a great presence as Gaynor transforms from this sad housewife to this vibrant woman, especially in one scene with the crowd ask the two to dance. But the camera work and artistic presentation was just phenomenal. The whole city sequence created on the Fox back lot with hundreds of extras and cars from that era in a traffic jam to the man and wife attending a fair. I don't know how much was spent on this film but everything on camera just worked. I was overwhelmed by how magnificent this film was but then watching the special features that came on the Blu-ray release, especially the slight differences from the Movietone and Czech version was quite interesting to see, especially to know that we will never be known of what was the final cut that Murnau had wanted due to the original print being destroyed in the Fox Warehouse and many other prints out there suffering from major deterioration.

But what we are able to see on this Blu-ray release, again...I'm grateful for Eureka! for releasing this Blu-ray via non-region but most importantly, choosing a silent film for its first major release on Blu-ray. If anything, I am more inclined to purchase the Murnau DVD box sets out right now and look forward to watching the Master of Cinema's next Murnau Blu-ray release "City Girl".

Overall, "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" is simply magnificent and this Blu-ray release is just outstanding! If I had to give this film a rating, then definitely an... A+!

Pure visual poetry. No serious movie-lover or historian should be without this disc. It is Region Free and so will play anywhere. It is also a new scan, since MoC felt that the 2005 scan wouldn't be good enough for a 2009 Blu-ray release (hear that, Criterion?), and it's gorgeous. The only real digital work that has been done is to stabilize the frame and even out the flicker, something that nearly drove me mad about the 2005 DVD release (but only after repeated viewings). Everything else is here, scratches, an occassional missing frame or two, film grain (thank god!) so the result is like watching a screening of a very good print. Sunrise, like Murnau's other monumental classic, Nosferatu, suffered a fragile and dangerous history, but has survived nonetheless. In typical Murnau fashion, the first half of the story is a brooding thriller, then it moves, quite logically, into a romantic comedy, then turns to tragedy. Murnau liked to cover the whole spectrum in his films, mixing laughter with tears.

A beautiful, mesmerizing visual poem. Get it, and help bring this kind of filmmaking back to life.

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From the press release:

This new 2009 reissue of Sunrise (for the first time anywhere in the world in 1080p HD on Blu-ray, in addition to a newly mastered 2 x DVD set) contains two versions of the film: the previously released Movietone version, and an alternate silent version of the film recently discovered in the Czech Republic, which is of a higher visual quality than any other known source. The Blu-ray edition includes both versions in 1080p HD. Czech archive of a higher visual quality than any other known source. Supplements include:

1. Restored high-definition transfers of two different versions: the American Movietone version, and the silent Czech version Original English intertitles on the Movietone version, and optional English subtitles on the silent Czech version

2. Original Movietone score (mono) and alternate Olympic Chamber Orchestra score (stereo)

3. Full-length audio commentary by ASC cinematographer John Bailey on the Movietone version

4. Outtakes with either John Bailey commentary or intertitles

5. Murnau's 4 Devils: Traces of a Lost Film Janet Bergstrom's updated 40 minute documentary about the lost Murnau film

6. Original theatrical trailer

7. Original 'photoplay' script by Carl Mayer with Murnau's handwritten annotations (150 pages in pdf format)

8. 68 page illustrated booklet with numerous essays including a new reprint of a piece by Dudley Andrew

End of press release.

There is nothing special about the story behind this movie. A farmer (George O'Brien) is attracted by a vamp from the City (Margaret Livingston) who seduces him and has gradually had him selling his farm off piece by piece to provide presents for her. She finally suggests that he leave his failing farm altogether and return with her to the City. However, to complete the plan, he will need to drown his country wife(Janet Gaynor). A few days later, the farmer takes his wife for a trip to the city. As he rows his wife across the lake that is between their village and the trolley, he comes close to doing away with her. However, always a reluctant partner in this plan, he recoils in horror and rows the boat to the shore, his wife unharmed. The wife, having seen the murder in her husband's eyes, jumps onto the trolley to the city with her husband in hot pursuit. Once in the city, he reassures her that he would not harm her, and he begins to feel real remorse for his previous actions. They slip into a church and watch a wedding ceremony going on, and in doing so begin to reconnect to one another. By the end of the day, they've fallen in love again; the man remembering why it was he married his wife in the first place. However, when a storm breaks out on their way back across the lake, the wife falls out of the boat. The farmer goes for help and the entire village looks for her, hoping she has not been drowned in the storm. This rather simple story could easily have been transformed into a hackneyed melodrama. What makes Sunrise a great film, though, is the majesty and tenderness F.W. Murnau managed to give it without the benefit of audible conversation.

Particularly intriguing is the set of the unnamed "City". If the traffic patterns shown in this movie are indicative of traffic laws in the 1920's it's a wonder anybody made it to or from work alive. Early autos, horse-drawn carriages, and people all chaotically race through the streets without rhyme or reason. Also wondrous are the night shots of the Coney Island-style amusement park where the farmer and his wife go for some fun before returning home as well as the view of the trolley ride and and the glide following the farmer through the moonlit marsh. This truly was the "Best Artistic Picture" of the year.

A little known fact is that Sunrise was one of the first feature films to use sound-on-film techniques, in which Fox was a pioneer. There were fully synchronized sounds of automobiles, church bells, crowds, and other effects. Unfortunately, "The Jazz Singer" was released shortly after Sunrise, and Sunrise failed at the box office. Time, however, has had a different judgement. Today, "The Jazz Singer" is mainly remembered for ushering in the age of the talkie. Likewise, "Wings" which won the first Best Picture "Oscar", is largely remembered for its aerial stunts, for which it also won an engineering award. Sunrise, however, is still appreciated as a whole motion picture experience, not just a temporary technical triumph that has faded as other technical triumphs take its place.

Read Best Reviews of Sunrise Blu-ray + DVD (1927) 3-Disc & 20-Page Booklet > F.W. Murnau (1927) Here

Amazon has many versions of Sunrise, I was looking at the imported Korean version because it came up with my search for it in Blu-ray. It even had reviews that referred to a Blu-ray version.

But upon a more thorough investigation, I found out that the imported Korean version is only the regular DVD Version not the Blu-ray. If I had purchased it, I would have been very, very displeased.

This is something that Amazon has been doing a lot of lately mismatching reviews one has to be careful.

my two cents.

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I watched this movie on TCM thinking it would be another interesting silent film that eventually gets boring enough to fast forward to the more interesting parts with DVR. Instead I was mesmerized by the emotion and magnificent scenery. This is a must see for anyone who can relate to the dilemma of a good person tempted by love and lust to dispose of his wife and family. It is honest and very realistic with a refreshing sense of story telling above and beyond most twenty-first century talkies! I am fortunate enough to have seen a few clips of this movie on Blu Ray. It's a must own with fine acting as a bonus!

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Veer-Zaara (2004)

Curious, I rushed into a Bollywood DVD rental shop and asked the clerk to recommend a few. She immediately handed me this one. I can see why.

This movie introduces us to Veer, a man imprisoned unjustly in prison for twenty-two years, and Somayya, his young, beautiful lawyer trying to get him out. Veer tells Somayya his story of why he's there. It's long, yet beautiful, touching, poignant, and emotional.

Throughout the film, marvelous song-and-dance numbers are interspersed (My favorite song"Lado"), making the viewer want to "get theeself to Indian dance lessons."

Lastly, the movie leaves a few lessons on the viewer's mind. The first, what is a border, but a line drawn on a map? The second, what is life without love?

Enjoy!!!

This movie is one of my favorite love stories. Great cast and great acting. Not to mention a great story that goes where you least expect it too. I am so glad that Hollywood didn't touch this one, they would have ruined it. Bollywood sure knows how to do it right.

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I sat down to watch this film with rather low expectations. I mean, sure, it was backed up by heavy star power, like the unfailing Shahrukh Khan, and the excellent Amitabh Bachan, but I didn't expect the film itself to be good. However, this was a beautiful masterpiece, and I must say Yash Chopra has pulled off another splendid film! My only two complaints were that the film tended to drag at some parts, and there was one song (but only one) that bored me a little. Overall, it is a nice film, and should be watched if you have the patience and time. The plot was good, and the romance was not overdone (like in many Hindi films). The main theme song is also rather catchy, and you'll find yourself humming it after you've watched the movie. There is no violence in this film, and it's good for the whole family (I mean that)!

Read Best Reviews of Veer-Zaara (2004) Here

"When the right woman comes into a man's life, that's when he becomes complete."

Unfolding slowly with the bright and vibrant colors of an Indian quilt, this rich and moving romantic epic is the more hopeful side of "The English Patient." Whereas that film was haunted by love, Veer Zaara revels in and embraces it. The notion that destiny can sometimes overcome circumstance because, in the end, love really is all, has rarely been so wonderfully presented.

It begins in shadow, however, as a young beautiful Pakistani named Saamiya Siddique (Rani Mukherji) comes to aid a man known only as 786 who has been imprisoned for the past 22 years. Saamiya knows his name was once Veer Pratap Singh (Shahrukh Khan) and when she uses it, the floodgates of memory open and ever so slowly the story of love which brought him there is revealed. It is her belief that once she hears it she can prove his innocence and free him, despite the handicap of gender presented in her country.

Veer is an Indian rescue pilot and Zaara (Preity Zinta) is a young Pakistani girl trying to bring her Bebe's ashes back home to India before she must return and marry Raza. It is an arranged marriage benefitting both their powerful and respected families but one that is draining Zaara's sprit. There is both humor and romance against the colorful backdrop of the two countries, which despite religious differences, director Chopra shows are closely tied together.

His Indian Uncle and Aunt, who have raised him, embrace Zaara as their own, and only when she must return does Veer learn she is bethrothed to another. He only knows he loves her and wants to be the one to marry her, but nothing of her feelings. It is a story of two hearts crossing borders, their love a river deep and flowing. When her sister Shabbo comes to Veer and lets him know how much Zaara loves him, he comes to the shrine to see her and sets in motion the tragic events which will lead the viewer back to the beginning of the film.

Khan and Zinta are terrific here but it is Rani's marvelous turn as a Pakistani girl going against tradition, very much like the love story of Veer and Zaara, which is the glue holding the film together. Like most Indian films, it is interspersed with the occasional song which propel the story forward. Some are quite beautiful and once used to their interjection as part of the narrative, are very enjoyable. For 22 years Veer has protected his love from dishonor but, once in court, Saamiya discovers something which will change all their lives forever.

Magnificently romantic and hopeful, the viewer is rewarded with an old-fashioned love story both visually and internally beautiful. Rare and rewarding, its brilliance tied to its simplicity, this is a masterpiece of the old variety. Its story of love tied to modern Pakistan and India is somehow timeless and not soon forgotten. Those wanting romance in their films will want to come to the valley filled with the season of love.

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Before viewing this movie, I had never been privy to a "Bollywood" film. I'm your typical "whiteboy" so this genre of film was quite new to me. The first things to take into account (for "whiteboys" like myself) are the length of the movie, bollywood films tend to run longer than american films (no worries though, there's an "intermission"), the other attribute is that this film as with most bollywood films I've learned, incorporate song into the film. Hence, they have more of a "show" feeling to them. It's kind of corny at times, because the actors don't actually do the singing. When the scene suddenly goes into song and the vocal voice is significantly different than the actor/actress's voice it's quite noticable, but that's how things are done and you just have to get used to it.

Overall, Veer Zaara was actually a quite wonderful film, the story is solid and heartfelt, the cinematography is wonderfully done, the acting is superb, and the songs are quite beautiful and catchy (I now have the soundtrack, and listen to it often). This for me, was a wonderful introduction into the genre, and I will seek out more similar movies to view, due to this particular film.

The hardest thing for me was getting past the cheese of the actors during the musical numbers. This is the american in me speaking when I say that I'd probably prefer the songs in the background during scenes, rather than the actors lip-synching to them, but I can definitely get used to that.

I guess in closing, if you are a die-hard fan of Bollywood, or a novice like me, you will enjoy this film. it's a great story, with wonderful actors, spectacular sets/locations, and the music sets the mood perfectly for each scene. I own it now, and that should at least be motive enough to see it when you have the chance.

G-Force (2009)

Didn't see this on the product listing.

All details are according to Disney's official website for this DVD.

1-Disc DVD

*bare bones, movie only

2-Disc DVD

BONUS FEATURES:

* G-Farce Bloopers And Flubs

* Deleted Scenes

* Exciting Music Videos

-"Jump" By Flo Rida Featuring Nelly Furtado

--"Ready To Rock" By Steve Rushton

--"Go G-Force"

* Blaster's Boot Camp -High-Tech G-Force Training

* G-Force Mastermind -Producer Jerry Bruckheimer And CG whiz/Director Hoyt Yeatman Reveal The Inspiration Behind The Movie

* DisneyFile Digital Copy -Watch Your DVD In The Living Room And Your DisneyFile Digital Copy On The Go!

3-Disc Blu-ray + DVD

* Exclusive To Disney Blu-ray

-Cine-Explore With Darwin, Blaster & Their Creator

-Bruckheimer Animated: A Look Back At His CG Work

-Access Granted: Inside The Animation Lab

* G-Farce -Bloopers And Flubs

* Deleted Scenes

* Exciting Music Videos

-"Jump" By Flo Rida Featuring Nelly Furtado

--"Ready To Rock" By Steve Rushton

--"Go G-Force"

* Blaster's Boot Camp -High-Tech G-Force Training

* G-Force Mastermind -Inspiration Behind The Movie

* DVD Of Film

It is my prediction--but what do I know?--that "G-Force" will NOT win an Oscar for Best Picture. It may not even pack 'em in the theaters the way "Cars" did. What it will do is entertain children--AND adults--and even teach a lesson or two.

It is a summer ritual that I take my great-nieces (2) and -nephew to see a movie at the theater. We all chose "G-Force" because of television ads. Prior to going, Carolina (age 5) went up to everyone she knew and quoted--with great voice intonation and perfect facial expressions--this line from the movie: "You put a bow on me, you lose a finger!" After we saw the movie Carolina added the second line: "You put a dress on me and you lose the whole hand!"

It won't be a bad spoiler, will it, if I say that not only does this character get a bow and a dress, but she gets lipstick as well! That's the final insult, but Juarez (the character), must play along to win her freedom.

And that's one vital point of the plot: Win their freedom. They've been sold as pets! Blaster and Juarez, guinea pigs--make that scientifically and genetically altered guinea pigs--are actually government agents trained by Ben (a human) to use sophisticated weapons to obtain secrets for the government. In short, they are spies with special talents.

Although the plot is fun and perhaps a little scary for wee ones (not my 5-year-old Carolina), the older crowd (5 and older) seemed to really enjoy the movie. Obviously, the humor is meant for all ages because I heard myself laughing--out loud (I'm grandparent age)! Even Carolina kept whispering, "This is awesome!"

Of course, Colby (the 9-year-old) loved Blaster. He always loves the "goofy" ones (because he considers himself a "goofy" one). Tracy Morgan wonderfully delivers this voice--and sometimes steals the scene. The main character, Darwin, the capable leader, is narrated by Sam Rockwell, and is deliberate, yet carefully heroic.

In fact, I was sure Nicholas Cage voices Darwin, but no, Nick plays the mole, the brilliant technology character. Who would have thought it?

But the real surprise is Juarez, voiced by Penelope Cruz! Juarez was my particular favorite, who plays the keep-'em-guessing governmental agent with exactly the right tempo--a little mild flirting, but focused concentration on the job at hand. It is this character with the "lose a finger" line. Delivered perfectly! Juarez is totally delightful!

However, the best thing about "G-Force" is the message. Bottom line: Everyone is special. Everyone has talents. It sometimes takes a skilled person to instill that self-confidence and bring out those talents. The scientist Sam is the one in the film. In "ordinary" life (there is much talk of being ordinary), it is often teachers who bring out these talents. It was a good lesson.

One neg about the movie: The poster accompanying this review is a very weak choice for advertisement (that little blue one next to the reviews). When the picture is small, the front guinea pig (Darwin) looks like an elephant or perhaps a Jewish man from the Old Testament. I know the poster depicts a brave scene, but I suggest replacing it with one of color that shows the courage and derring-do of these wonderful guinea pigs.

Note: Parents, please don't buy your child a guinea pig just because they are so cute in this film. Animal activists are worried about this. You know, the-bunny-and-chicks-at-Easter syndrome.)

You might also rethink your kitchen appliances! If you ask why, you might lose a finger...or a hand...or worse!

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I thought this was a really good and very funny movie! I thought the guinea pigs were cute. This movie is filled to the brim with action, suspense, and comedy! A team of super intelligent guinea pigs named Darwin, Juarez, Blaster, and Speckles infiltrate the residence of Leonard Saber, who has been under FBI investigation for years. Saber has a sinister scheme that is set to occur in 29 hours. When the G-Force are shut down by the FBI, they must band together to stop Saber by any means necessary. When the evil plot happens, the gang must stop an unlikely villain who has betrayed them. Will G-Force save the world? I highly recommend G-FORCE!!!

Read Best Reviews of G-Force (2009) Here

What happens when you take a secret government program of trained animals and combine them with the latest in high-tech spy equipment? The result is G-FORCE.

The film became the first 3D film on the big screen by producer Jerry Bruckheimer ("National Treasure" films, "Pirates of the Caribbean" films, "The Rock, "Con Air" and "Top Gun") who teams up once again with Academy Award-winning visual effects master Hoyt H. Yeatman ("The Abyss", "Mighty Joe Young", "The Rock" and "Con Air") who directs the film.

The film about animals saving the world didn't go to well with the critics but at the box office, "G-Force" was quite successful as the film which was budgeted at $82.5 million made over $281 million worldwide.

Featuring an all-star cast, "G-FORCE" revolves around a secret US Government program using guinea pigs Darwin (voice by Sam Rockwell) as the squad leader, Blaster (voice of Tracy Morgan) as the outrageous weapons expert with attitude and Juarez (voice of Penélope Cruz) as the sexy martial arts pro and taking part in top secret espionage missions.

Joining the guinea pigs is star-nosed mole, Speckles (voice of Nicolas Cage), the computer and information specialist, the computer and information specialist and Mooch, the reconnaissance expert. Also, featuring pet shop layabout Hurley (voice by Jon Favreau) and territorial hamster Bucky (voice of Steve Buscemi).

The film also stars Bill Nighy as the sinister industrialist Leonard Saber, Will Arnett as Special Agent Kip Killian who is bent on shutting down G-FORCE, Zach Galifianakis as the creator and father figure of G-FORCE, Kelli Garner as the team's veterinarian and many more.

The "G-Force" Blu-ray release comes with the Blu-ray, a DVD and a digital copy.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

"G-Force" is featured in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1). The actual merging of CG animation and real characters actually works extremely well for this film. Sony Pictures ImageWorks did a wonderful job on the CG and special effects. A lot of good ideas were implemented in the film in terms of the animation of the G-Force team. Especially hair effects as you can see the detail of the animals when they are wet or dry. As usual with Disney releases on Blu-ray, picture quality is fantastic. Along with the details of the G-Force team, their surroundings are detailed and when outdoors, the colors are vibrant. Blacks are nice and deep and I spotted no problems with artifacting, banding at all.

Audio is presented in English 5.1 DTS-HD (48 kHz/24-bit) and French and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Lossless audio is actually pretty well done. Good utilization of the rear channels for the action scenes, as explosions and glass shattering comes out quite clear from the surround channels. "G-Force" tends to use quite a bit of music from the Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa and Flo Rida, so the music is quite clear and contains quite a bit of bass. Subwoofer tends to utilize the bass of the music quite a bit. But overall, a solid lossless audio track.

As for the voice acting, I felt the talent did a good job. Nicolas Cage really surprised me with his squeaky, nerdy voice for tech master Speckles. Penelope Cruz as the voice of female guinea pig Juarez worked quite well. Although, Tracy Morgan sounds like Tracy Morgan but overall, the voice talent did a good job.

Subtitles are in English SDH, French and Spanish.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"G-Force" contains several special features in 1080p or 1080i, English 5.1 or 2.0 Dolby Digital and with English SDH, French or Spanish subtitles:

* Cine-Explore with Darwin, Blaster and their Creator While watching the film, you can watch along with Darwin, Blaster and Directory Hoyt Yeatman. As you watch, the movie will pause when a video comes up, showing behind-the-scenes of the film. Unlike previous Blu-ray releases where the picture is picture-in-picture, Cine-Explore features the film in a stylized window while other G-Force related footage or facts are being shown on screen. Very cool feature!

* Blaster's Boot Camp (4:41) A featurette with Blaster (voiced by Tracy Morgan) explaining the training that one must do in order to become part of G-Force.

* G-Force Mastermind(4:13) Director Hoyt H. Yeatman talking about how the concept came from his five-year-old son. Young Hoyt talks about how the idea came about and his experience of working on the film.

* Bruckheimer Animated -(3:12) A featurette about Jerry Bruckheimer's involvement in CG work for past films. Featuring Jerrry Bruckheimer and Hoyt Yeatman and how the two worked together in "Armageddon", "Con Air", etc. and past films that Bruckheimer utilized animation and technology.

* Access Granted: Inside the Animation Lab (7:51) Utilizing Sony Pictures ImageWorks to do the animation and special effects for the film. A tour is given by Hoyt Yeatman of the headquarters and showing how various parts of animation were created (lighting, hair, etc.).

* G-Farce Bloopers (1:49) Bloopers from "G-Force".

* Deleted Scenes -(6:18) A total of six deleted scenes: March of the Cockroach, Mooch's Donut Regiment, B-B-Bunies, Undercover Pets, Hurley Under Attack, World Domination.

* Music Videos Featuring three music videos: "Jump" by Flo Rida feat. Nelly Furtado, "Ready to Rock" by Steve Rushton and "Go Go-Force".

* Learn How to Take Your Favorite Movies on the Go (1:04) A promo trailer for DisneyFile Digital Copy.

JUDGMENT CALL:

"G-Force" may not have been a popular film among the critics but for a family film, "G-Force" was actually fun. The idea of "G-Force" came from Hoyt H. Yeatman's five year old son at the time about wanting to use his animals to take on bad guys. And it's an idea that visual master Yeatman toiled around his head and six years later, became a feature film.

Special effects were done quite well and there are many big budget films where CG animation and real-life filmmaking just doesn't work but for "G-Force", it worked quite well (especially if it costs over $80 million to make, it better work well).

Parents may wonder why the film has a PG rating and there is mild action with the team trying to take on Saber's "weapons" but in terms of the rude humor, there is a lot of farting (courtesy of the gassy guinea pig Hurley) and scenes where the rodents are stuck in a sphere and you hear jokes such as "get your butt out of my face. No, you get your face out of my butt" type of jokes but that is the worst it gets. Now of course, there are scenes where a child puts one of the G-Force team members in a remote control car and crashes it into G.I. Joe action figures or tries to jump a ramp with it inside the car. And another scene where a girl plays dress up with the guinea pig and puts nail polish and lipstick on the animal. Of course, parents who have children with hamsters or guinea pigs will best explain to them not to do that at home despite seeing it onscreen.

As far as the Blu-ray release is concerned, you get a solid 3-disc release (Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy) and plenty of special features to keep the children busy during this holiday season. The "Cine-Explore" feature was especially well-utilized on this Blu-ray release.

In the end, this film is a enjoyable, action-packed family film targeted for the children. I've read many reviews by critics who just have a disdain of rodents saving the world via technology and look at it as a stupid concept. Granted, for some of those reviewers, I'm sure when they were children, the concept of Lassie, Flipper and Benji were probably regarded by critics of their time as a bit over-the-top as well. Granted, those animals were not hooked up to high tech devices and were used to save the world but granted, this is not the film to exactly take seriously. The same happened with the release of "Stuart Little" back in 1999 and critics had a hard time moving past the talking rodent but sure enough, that film inspired sequels and direct-to-DVD movies and was quite successful.

Overall, I felt it "G-Force" was a fun concept. Where "Stuart Little" was more of a happy film about family, "G-Force" was about camaraderie and trying to save the world. Sure, the concept is farfetched but if you're taking this film that seriously, you're not going to enjoy this film at all. I watched it along with my six-year-old and we both enjoyed it. And as a parent, I felt it was a fun film with action, hijinks and a lot of music from The Black Eyed Peas.

Definitely a family film and a Blu-ray release worth checking out!

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Ben (Zach Galifianakis) has spent his life working with rodents. And it's paid off. This FBI scientist has figure out a way to communicate with them and train them to go on covert missions. But his funding is about to be taken away. As a last second hail Mary, he sends out his crack team, consisting of a fly, three guinea pigs, and a mole, to infiltrate a house and get a file off a computer.

The mission is a big success, or so it appears. The next day, at the review, things go horribly wrong and the project is shut down. The rodents manage to escape to a pet store, but the FBI wants them to keep the entire project completely secret. Can the rodents escape and foil the plot they've uncovered? Or will the FBI track them down first?

I talked into seeing this movie by my roommate. The previews just never convinced me it would be great. And I was right.

Now don't get me wrong. There were some genuine laughs in the film. The mice we meet in the pet store stole the show, for example. I couldn't stop laughing at them. The effects were very well done, too. But the majority of the movie wasn't that great.

The plot was full of cliches from start to finish. That's not necessarily a deal killer for me, but the rest of the movie has to be good enough to make up for it, and it wasn't.

One of the big problems was that the movie just didn't feel like it was going anywhere. There were lots of jokes and pop cultural references, and I felt like they were designed to hide the fact that the plot was weak from us. Even the characters were flat and dull. And I really feel sorry for the humans in the movie who were little more than cardboard characters. Even the dialogue the characters had was so trite it was cringe worthy.

If you can see this movie for free, you'll find a few good laughs. But it isn't worth paying any money for.

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