The Phantom Carriage (The Criterion Collection) (1920)

**EDIT 9-27-11** The overall quality of the Blu-ray is fair, not quite as good as I had originally hoped, but it's still decent. As with most silents, the tell-tale signs of aging are still present even after the restoration, mainly age spots and vertically running scratches. But don't let this discourage you from purchasing this silent masterpiece. Although it's not perfect, Criterion still did a good job on the restoration (as they normally do) and the overall quality is better than previous versions that I've viewed.

The Phantom Carriage is a silent Swedish film made by legendary actor/director Victor Sjöström. While Sjöström is known more for his acting performances later in life, namely as the protagonist in Ingmar Bergman's Wild Strawberries, he originally made his mark as a prolific and very innovative director, beginning in the silent era and spanning into early talkies. This film is considered by many to be one of his very best and is a perfect example of how Sjöström both pioneered and refined techniques that were used for decades to come.

The film uses double exposures quite extensively. While this technique was not new, for this film it was far more advanced, consisting of multiple layers and dimensions. While the techniques may seem obvious and even primitive by today's standards, they left audiences awed and mesmerized 90 years ago. Another innovation of this film is the unique structure in which it's told. This is one of the first movies to make extensive use of flashbacks, going as far as having flashbacks within flashbacks.

I will briefly cover the plot, as to not ruin the film for someone who has never seen it before. The film opens on a dark and depressing New Year's Eve with a young Salvation Army sister named Edit lying on her deathbed. Her last wish is to see David Holm, an alcoholic she had tried to help the previous New Year's Eve. David promised Edit that he would return on this very day to show her if her prayers for him had been answered. Since he has yet to arrive, someone is sent to find him before it's too late. David (portrayed by Sjöström) is found in a local cemetery with two of his drinking buddies recalling a legend told to them by their friend Georges. The legend states that the last person to die each year has to work the following year for Death collecting souls from the dead. The irony is that after telling the legend, Georges himself died on New Year's Eve. David and his friends are drinking and laughing until an altercation occurs, leading to David's accidental death right before the stroke of midnight. His soul steps out of his body right before Death's carriage arrives revealing Georges as its driver. From here the story has a Dickens-like feel as Georges drives David around in the carriage showing him the mistakes he's made via flashbacks. The rest of the story shall remain unspoiled. . . I hope you enjoy it as much as I have over the years.

The Phantom Carriage, based on the novel "Thy Soul Shall Bear Witness!" (Körkarlen) by Nobel-prize winning author Selma Lagerlöf, is an example of a somewhat modernized version of the old right vs. wrong morality tales. The main message in the film is to show how problems, such as alcoholism, can completely destroy someones life, but with a little faith and guidance, salvation is always attainable. In this, and many of his other films, Sjöström so masterfully shows the problems he saw within society, and the impact they could have on us if not resolved. . .

**Special Features and Technical Aspects As Listed by Criterion**

-New digital restoration, done in collaboration with the Archival Film Collections of the Swedish Film Institute

-Two scores, one by Swedish composer Matti Bye and the other by the experimental duo KTL

-Audio commentary featuring film historian Casper Tybjerg

-Interview with Ingmar Bergman, excerpted from the 1981 documentary Victor Sjöström: A Portrait, by Gösta Werner

-The Bergman Connection, an original visual essay by film historian and Bergman scholar Peter Cowie on the film's influence on Bergman

-Footage of the construction of the Räsunda studio where The Phantom Carriage was the inaugural production

-New and improved English subtitle translation

-PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by screenwriter and filmmaker Paul Mayersberg

Sweden

1921

106 minutes

Black and White

1.37:1

Silent

I saw The Phantom Carriage on TCM not too long ago and was enthralled. This movie is one of the gems of silent cinema, and for American audiences it's still mainly an unseen gem. I hope this Criterion release will change that. The print quality is superb; even with higher-contrast orthochromatic film there is good tonal range in this restoration. This is a boon because the lighting is often subtle. I'm not familiar with the source material, but the way Sjostrom directs his actors makes me wish he'd done a silent adaptation of Crime and Punishment; The Silent Carriage is a Dostoevskyan drama that turns the protagonist's soul inside out. It's a masterpiece of direction and restrained acting, and makes me appreciate again the sophistication Scandinavian film-makers brought to the early development of the motion picture.

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It delights me no end that Victor Sjostrom's THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE is finally getting a Region 1 release and from Criterion no less. I have had the Region 2 version of this for a few years (complete with mislabeled discs) but now I will be able to enjoy the additional extra supplements that Criterion offers. Since it is also being offered in Blu-Ray I can assume that it has a digital upgrade from my release which is from the Swedish Film Institute and was already a decent restoration although I confess that I didn't care much for the modern KTL score. In my opinion, the Matti Bye score suits the material better. An improved English subtitle translation is always a plus as well. KORKARLEN, the film's original title and the name of the book it is taken from, translates as "The Coach Driver" and is an accurate description as the carriage and driver appear throughout and are the key symbol on which the plot hinges.

THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE is one of those silent movies to show people who think they don't like silent movies. I have yet to meet someone that I have shown it to who was not captivated by it. Part of that is due to the similarity of the plot to a well known English property which I won't name here but a lot of it is due to the simple but creative special effects that seem perfectly natural in keeping with the story being told. Credit should also be given to the lead performances of Victor Sjostrom and Hilda Borgstrom which seem as contemporary as anything seen today. It's easy to see why Ingmar Bergman would have been attracted to and inspired by this story of a vicious alcoholic who receives his comeuppance and an unexpected shot at redemption. The dysfunctional family theme, long a staple of Scandinavian drama, also plays well today. A surprising movie that still has the power to engage and enthrall audiences 90 years later.

Read Best Reviews of The Phantom Carriage (The Criterion Collection) (1920) Here

A psychological film that probes into the mental anguish and misery of a character, "The Phantom Carriage" is a film that inspired filmmakers such as Ingmar Bergman but also a film that would be the precursor of Bergman's probe into the psyche of his characters throughout his oeuvre.

"The Phantom Carriage" (Körkarlen) is a silent film from 1921 that is a film adaptation of the novel "They Soul Shall Bear Witness!" by Nobel-prize winning Swedish author Selma Lagerlöf (the first female writer to win the prize and is best known for her children's book "The Wonderful Adventures of Nils").

The film would be directed by Victor Sjöström who would also play the lead role of the film.

Known for directing films in the U.S. during the 1920's, it's unfortunate that for a talented filmmaker and actor, the majority of his films are considered as lost. Fortunately, those that did survive are his film adaptations of Lagerlöf novels such as the "Sons of Ingmar" (1919), "Karin, Daughter of Ingmar" (1920) and "The Phantom Carriage" (1921). The latter which received restoration courtesy of the Archival Film Collections of the Swedish Film Institute.

And now, "The Phantom Carriage" will receive its HD treatment on Blu-ray and also standard DVD release courtesy of the Criterion Collection.

VIDEO:

"The Phantom Carriage" is presented in High Definition, tinted color and the fact that earlier versions that many people have watched this in the past were not in the greatest condition and considering the fact that the original film elements were not fully complete, I was quite amazed to see how beautiful this film looked on Blu-ray.

The film also utilized double exposures made in the camera but used in a greater form for the film in order to create the ghost characters. A very challenging special effect for its time.

Presented as a color-tinted silent film, "The Phantom Carriage" on Blu-ray is the best version of the film to date. Is it pristine? The answer is no. You can see occasional white specks, hairs or tears on the original film element, flickering but with that being said, none of these will ruin one's viewing of the film. In fact, the fact that it's complete, not hindered by any nitrate composition or any degradation, for a film that is 90-years-old, if you are a silent film fan, you can't help but be appreciative that the film look so good and that the Criterion Collection has chosen to release this film on Blu-ray.

According to the Criterion Collection, the restoration of "The Phantom Carriage" was undertaken by the Archival Film Collections of the Swedish Film Institute. A new film master was created from two source elements, an incomplete black-and-white nitrate print with Swedish intertitles and an incomplete color-tinted nitrate with print with English intertitles. From these source elements, a new black-and-white duplicate negative with Swedish intertitles was completed in 1975. New 35 mm polyester viewing prints were then struck from this restored negative, using the color-tinted nitrate print as a color reference.

Criterion Collection also pointed out that the new digital transfer was created on an ARRISCAN film scanner in 2K resolution from the new duplicate negative, at the Chimney Pot in Stokcholm, using the same color-tinted print from the Swedish Film Institute as reference. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter and flicker were manually removed using MTI's DRS system and Pixel Farm's PFClean system while Digital Vision's Phoenix system was used for small dirt, grain and noise reduction.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"The Phantom Carriage " is presented with two scores. One by Swedish composer Matti Bye and the other by the experimental duo KTL.

The original 1998 Matti Bye composition used on this Blu-ray release is absolutely beautiful. Presented in DTS-HD MA, the music with its piano, horns and strings does a great job of enhancing my appreciation of the film. The music is coordinated just right to the scenes of the film and for the most part, is a wonderful score which sounds great via lossless.

As for the KTL soundtrack is presented in LPCM 2.0 and the experimental music makes this film feel quite dark and menacing. It stays that way throughout the whole film and the sound is quite eery. The score of course is subjective to the listener but listening to the score and watching the film, it gives you the feel of a horror film.

So, overall, I preferred the Matti Bye soundtrack because it is more emotional and upbeat compared to the KTL experimental score.

The film is presented with Swedish intertitles in English and special features with English subtitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"The Phantom Carriage The Criterion Collection #579' on Blu-ray comes with the following special features:

Audio Commentary-featuring an in-depth audio commentary by film historian Casper Tybjerg who helps explain the film but also the sentiments of the viewers watching the film at the time.

Ingmar Bergman (15:19) An interview with Ingmar Bergman, excerpted from the 1981 documentary "Victor Sjöström: A Portrait", by Gösta Werner

The Bergman Connection (18:12) An original visual essay by film historian and Bergman scholar Peter Cowie on the film's influence on Bergman.

Construction of the Räsunda Studio -(4:43) Short footage of where "The Phantom Carriage" was the inaugural production.

EXTRAS:

"The Phantom Carriage The Criterion Collection #579' comes with an 20-page booklet. The essay "Phantom Forms" by Paul Mayersberg is included plus information on the two scores included on this Blu-ray release.

JUDGMENT CALL:

We often hear from filmmakers in America who talk about the American filmmakers and films that inspired them to pursue a career in the industry.

In Sweden, filmmaker Ingmar Bergman who was only a 1-year-old when "The Phantom Carriage" came out, would later become inspired by Victor Sjöström's work and how his exploration of the human psyche, their melancholy, a character being miserable and the emotional pain that they harbor inside..these are things that are a big part of Bergman's oeuvre.

As Bergman is known as the filmmaker to capture human suffering, for Bergman it began with Victor Sjöström who would go on to introduce his style of filmmaking in America and showcase the mental anguish of a person in "He Who Gets Slapped" (1924), "The Scarlet Letter" (1926) and "The Wind" (1928). And while many historians have always recommended Sjöström's "The Wind" (as it is one of Lillian Gish's finest acting performances), "The Phantom Carriage" was definitely a film which is a product of its time that does have its relevance today.

We have seen how alcoholism affected a person, especially a father and his family in film. This is nothing new. But in 1921, alcoholism was never fully explored, nor its ramifications. Tuberculosis is still a problem today, but even moreso back then. It was a bold film to take on such a subject of how an alcoholic can hurt his family and others, but also lead to one's death. And yes, there is a little introduction to how those who submitted to God have changed for the best, but for those who frown upon preachy religious films, this is not one of them.

If anything, one can easily call this a psychological thriller mixed with drama. The film for its time can be seen as dark as it showcased human suffering and interesting enough, Stanley Kubrick's film "The Shining" which has a famous axe scene is quite similar to the axe scene found in this film. Granted, this is not a horror film but compared to other silent horror films that I have seen (which are not too scary), I can only imagine how audiences reacted when they first watched this film. It's definitely not a happy upbeat film but it does manage to work itself out in the end and I guess, one can say the film is not all tragic.

There are life changing moments and for the most part, "The Phantom Carriage" is a pre-cursor of the human suffering type of films that Victor Sjöström would create several years later and a theme that would have its impact on Ingmar Bergman's work.

So, "The Phantom Carriage" does have its place as an important film not only to Swedish cinema but also for its darker theme that was not as prevalent in 1921. But as many people are discovering Ingmar Bergman's films through the new releases on Blu-ray and DVD from the Criterion Collection, the company has been good in showing films in which these filmmakers were inspired from.

So, this is one important film that fans of Bergman's work can really enjoy. So, as Jean Renoir and Jean Vigo were an inspiration to future French filmmakers, Victor Sjöström was the same as he inspired Swedish filmmakers, specifically Ingmar Bergman. And for Bergman, he had watched this film over 100 times and has said that from the first time he had watched the film, he would eventually watch it every year since then.

"The Phantom Carriage" was a big impact on his life and to know Bergman's work and why he is so enamored with human suffering, you need to look past Bergman and watch a Victor Sjöström film.

"The Phantom Carriage" is recommended!

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Swedish director Victor Sjostrom's THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE (1921), while not as popularly known today as other masterworks from the era, is nonetheless as important to the development of cinema as are any of those more famous films.

The last person to die on New Year's Eve before the stroke of midnight must drive Death's chariot, collecting the souls of those who die throughout the next year. Sjostrom himself plays David, an abusive alcoholic who becomes the chariot rider's successor and is shown the harm and misery he brought to others.

THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE is an atmospheric masterpiece. Told in what was then an innovative flashback format, the film utilizes double and even multiple exposures in ways previously unseen to simulate the spectral, horse driven carriage and its doomed rider. The film is also noteworthy for some of the earliest night for night photography ever attempted in a motion picture. This remarkably moving parable of a film was a huge influence on the work of Ingmar Bergman, especially THE SEVENTH SEAL and WILD STRAWBERRIES, both from 1957.

Criterion's exceptional Blu-ray was transferred from a restored duplicate negative derived from two prints; a black and white nitrate and a color tinted nitrate. Two optional scores are included; a chamber orchestral work and an experimental, computer composition. The special features give us an absorbing commentary by historian Casper Tybjerg, a 1981 interview with Ingmar Bergman, an essay by Peter Cowie on the film's influence on Bergman, some footage of the construction of Rasunda studio where THE PHANTOM CARRIAGE was shot, and a booklet by Paul Mayersberg discussing the film's importance.

As usual, Criterion has done a beautiful job in putting this edition together, and it does ample justice to an extraordinary film that deserves wider recognition. Its haunting quality is unforgettable.

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Fired Up (Unrated Edition) (2009)

I think the best way to see this film is to know they had fun making it, producing it and to get something out of it like the commentary says: "...they will be studying this for years to come at USC film school..."

Let's get all of the hate mail out of the way. Yes the leads are all over 30, yes it is another dang cheer film, yes it has nothing new to add to the comedy plate this year, and so on. But I still got some good laughs out of it and plenty of fit people to look at. The main thing that struck me was the chemistry between the two main actors, they were actually believable and funny. The supporting cast had some great moments, especially John Michael Higgins as Coach Keith and Philip Baker Hall as Coach Byrnes they both showed awesome chops in doing their corny roles.

The film quality was excellent, the sound was a fun 5.1 and the impressive long-takes actually looked good. Whether you love or hate this film, that one take when the crew arrives at camp showcasing the 178 ladies on the steps was impressive. The unrated is only a few seconds longer and contains some nice (and natural) upper body nudity in the night swimming sequence.

The special features give this 2.5 star film the last 1.5. There is a 15 minute making-of, a 7 minute clip on the "stunting" involved, and 8 minutes of unrated outtakes which if anything are hilarious because of those damn peacocks. The quick press junket shows Eric Olsen in meltdown mode and the commentary with the director and two leads is worth it. Even if to hear little tidbits on how the main cast got each other sick from the kissing scenes or how everything was actually filmed in LA and not in Hinsdale.

Plenty of people hate this film, but I fell into the category of liking it and laughing. I suppose it will be mandatory for the cheer fans out there, but this will actually keep the guys interested also.

This one is a good one! I watched it on a plane and had to buy it so I could watch it properly. If you like 'Bring it on', this is a must-see.

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Few films rival Goodfellas, On the Water Front, or Raging Bull...

Only one movie blows them out of the water. That movie is Fired Up!

Never before has a director captured the spirit of American film like writer and director Will Gluck does in this underrated tale of teenage angst, the dark side of American cheerleading, the consequences of dating pre-med students, and the hidden code of American cheer.

An instant classic that transcends time and space, Fired Up! is an emotionally charged whipsaw exploring the chaotic lives of high school sports stars Shawn Colfax and Nick Brady. Eric Christian Olson, who plays Brady, mesmerizes audiences with his thespian range, magically evolving into a hormone-charged teenager who questions not only his lot in life, but also the depths of his sexuality when he meets Downey.

The best supporting actor role of 2009 should have definitely been given to David Watson for his epic portrayal of Dr. Rick. This performance was so translucent that the manuerisms and monologues will most definitely be studied by students at Tisch School at NYU for generations.

I wish the universe were larger so that I could give this film infinite stars. Just thinking of the performances by Phillip Baker Hall and John Michael Higgins moves my soul in a way that no touch of another human being ever could. If you don't buy this film for yourself, then you are cheating yourself out of an experience that only sex on a chocolate waterfall with Zues himself could rival.

Read Best Reviews of Fired Up (Unrated Edition) (2009) Here

People over analyze everything. Its a movie about two football guys who go to cheer camp to get girls. One Boy falls for a girl but both guys learn a valuable lesson. It is funny, simple and perfect. A great movie to watch with extremely funny parts especially when they watch Bring It On. Its a fun movie, thats it.

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Believe me when I saw the commercials for this film I was like "pass", but when it came out on dvd i saw it on netflix and was surprise how good and funny it was and it didn't look like one of those stupid low budget movies,fired up is simple two guys in high school go to cheerleading camp to hook up with as many girls as possible in what results to lots of jokes and crazy cheerleading and thats about it believe this is still a good movie to watch,you'll have fun with it till the very end.

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Brubaker (1980)

Of course, I'm biased. "Brubaker" is a fictionalized account of the real story of Tom Murton, warden of Tucker & Cummins prison, in Arkansas, in 1967-68. Tom Murton was my dad & I lived on both those prisons as a 5th grader, before we were unceremoniously kicked out of Bill Clintons state. Most of the movie's events really happened, including the electric torture--called the Tucker Telephone--the whip, the horrid food, the inmate trustees carrying guns, painting death row, & digging up some of the 200 unmarked graves, most of which remain unmarked on Tucker farm. Fictional events include the female prison board member, the black old inmate dying--his name was Reuben Gaines & he got out of prison. My dad assuredly did NOT infiltrate the prison as an inmate, but the scene w/ the old warden barricading himself in his office w/ a Thompson submachine gun was true. Like Redford's character, my dad was not PC & probably unecessarily antagonized both the corrections board, & the governor. But who could really agree to cover up 200 murdered inmates? Governor Winthrop Rockefeller fired my dad, even as the Arkansas legislature was moving to indict him for grave-robbing. We had 24 hrs to exit Arkansas. My dad went on to be a tenured professor of Criminology at the Univ. of MN, Minneapolis & passed away in 1990. The book about all this is "Accomplices to the Crime" by Tom Murton & Joe Hyams, Grove Press. Long since out of print, but available over the internet from rare booksellers for a reasonable price. My verdict on the movie: considering that it's primary purpose was to make money, it's a lot more factual than it could have been.

Brubaker is based on a true story and tells of the events of one man's attempts to reform a prison system mired in corruption, brutality, and a lack of order to any general degree.

Henry Brubaker, as stated in the movie, gained his past experience in corrections working in military prison systems. Brubaker hatches the ingenious plan to insert himself into the prison population at Wakefield Penitentiary as an inmate to experience first hand all the problems inside the facility. What he uncovers is nothing less than barbaric punishment methods, no structured management of inmates, lack of medical care, and the penitentiary itself in advance stages of disrepair.

Henry Brubaker, after revealing his status as the new warden and assuming his duties, goes on to discover that there are no state hired corrections officers on the staff. Inmate trustees, armed with weapons, are given the responsibility of manning watch towers, supervising work crews, and keeping the peace inside of the prison. Furthermore, prisoners are farmed out to local businessmen in the community for work with no pay which amounts to slave labor.

Upon deeper investigation into all the activities in and around the prison, Brubaker discovers other illegal activities including theft of prison food supplies and equipment, inmates being charged fees for almost non-existent medical care, and the revelation that there are prisoners buried on the prison property that were the victims of murder by fellow inmates.

Brubaker confronts the state prison board with these problems only to find out that the prison board is not only aware of these incidents, they think the system should reamin unchanged because it has always been this way and should remain so. You can sense their unhappiness with Brubaker as the new warden who wants to come in and upset their system rather than tow the line.

Henry Brubaker is portrayed as a man of honesty, integrity, and professionalism and in defying the prison board's message to leave well enough alone, he launches his own campaign to reform the prison and correct the wrongs he has inherited as the new warden. Unfortunately, with the power of the prison board and the governor of the state against him, he is eventually removed as the warden and fired.

In the final outcome, many inmates saw the necessity of the changes attempted by Brubaker and were dismayed at seeing him removed and the new warden not making proper progress to reform the prison. This prompted many inmates to file lawsuits against the state for inhumane prison conditions resulting in the governor not being re-elected the following year.

This movie is a fine drama with a very good plot, great acting, and poignant conclusion. I highly recommend this movie to everyone.

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There are only a handful of good prison movies from what I have seen over forty plus years. "Shawshank Redemption", "Brubaker", and "Birdman of Alcatraz" are three of the best. I don't care about Redford's personal politics and therefore my review is not political unlike one rant here. The story is based on a true event, and the acting is superb. My wife asked me the other day if I had replaced my VHS of this with the DVD. I realized I hadn't and I was long overdo to see this again. I immediately ordered it. The movie is one of Redford's best so fans of his should definitely see it. If you aren't a fan, then see it because it is a good drama about what sometimes occurs in prisons whether those that work in that environment like it or not. Corruption happens in all systems so people in law enforcement should not take this movie as an insult, but merely as good drama loosely based on what really happened at a prison many years ago.

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Robert Redford is Brubaker, an honest expert in corrections sent to clean up a trouble-plagued penitentiary. Sent to Wakefield Brubaker enters undercover, living his first few days as a prisoner. We learn that for its brutality, Wakefield was conceived along the lines of a noble experiment one that gave the prisoners unusual autonomy, and was intended to actually correct those imprisoned there. Instead, the experiment has carved a super-class of prisoners who rule over the rest of the prisoners as Trustees. Unafraid to use force, they skim off books while stealing supplies already paid for. Brubaker, once revealed as the new warden, slowly but surely turns the system upside down he can't move too quickly because those prisoners or administrators who are most guilty are also the only ones who can tell him what's wrong. Eventually discarding the old guard, Brubaker soon learns that Wakefield has an even darker secret, one whose discovery threatens the Wakefield's future.

This was a good movie, although it's hard to understand the first time around. The sophisticated system of prisoner autonomy is somewhat hard to believe unless you've already seen the movie before. The setting is interesting a dessicated prison, complete with an antique electric chair (which emerges from the shadows like the monster from "Alien" quite yet terrifying). That said, the movie has no surprises (comparisons to "Last Castle" are incorrect). Brubaker is an utterly honest and incorruptible soul. Once we see how he uncovers grafters among the prison administration and trustees, there's little more for him to do. We know that outside businessmen will be corrupt croneys and that even well meaning corrections bureaucrats will try to rein Brubaker in for the good of the system. The movie blows what should be its focus having Brubaker connect with the prisoners something he does too easily, too much so considering that his first speech reminds them that they are prisoners and that they are there for a reason. There also aren't enough really supportive roles as if Yaphet Kotto was the only reliable prisoner. Still worth a look.

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Brubaker, the movie, never mentions the fact that it is based on the book, "Accomplices To The Crime", by Tom Murton and Joe Hyams. It also doesn't mention that the movie is based on actual events that took place in Arkansas in the 60's at the Tucker State Prison Farm. Author Tom Murton, now deceased, was, in fact, "Brubaker."Professor Tom Murton, Criminologist Tom Murton, was hired by the then Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, brother to Vice-President Nelson Rockefeller, to come to Arkansas to "clean up" the prison system. Nelson Rockefeller lost the nomination as the Republican Presidential candidate largely due to his role in the September, 1971 Attica, NY prison riot that cost both NYS Dept of Corrections employees' lives and lives of inmates. Law suits for that event were recently settled in the millions of dollars payable to inmate victim survivors and the families of inmate victims. Tom Murton was fired from his job in Arkansas, and Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller was not re-elected. Both Rockefellers largely ended their political careers by mis-handling their prisons. Some sort of legal agreement was reached between the movie maker and the State of Arkansas to not mention this historical connection.

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Dragon (2011)

*This is not a review of the content of the film*

I thought it would be prudent to post this disclaimer on Amazon as it directly effected my decision to NOT buy this version of this movie.

THIS IS NOT THE ORIGINAL VERSION, but rather one that has been edited and shortened by the American Studio handling the domestic release.

Also, changes have been made to some of the music as well.

Now, I'm sure some people don't care about this sort of thing, and you who don't will get an acceptable movie if you decide to buy this. Personally I am a bit of a purist and get offended when some Suits who had nothing to do with making a movie suddenly start cutting bits out and generally messing it about.

If you've got the scratch to spend, you can get the undiluted Chinese release here: Wu Xia Blu-Ray (Region A) (English Subtitled) Donnie Yen

That is all, and may you get much enjoyment out of this film in whatever form you acquire it.

*Unhelpful side note for the curious*:

I am also annoyed by the rebranding of this film as "Dragon." While Wu Xia does technically mean dragon, that is not the context of the title. "Wu Xia" is also the term for the sub-genre of story telling that this film is an example of. Hence, renaming it "dragon" is like renaming a Film Noir titled "Noir" to "Black" for a foreign release, which doesn't make any sense and is stupid. :p

Imagine my shock as I watched this DVD and found out that I was not going to get the normal run-of-the-mill martial art movie. This story actually has layers and depth. Don't get me wrong, there is still plenty of action, but it interspersed with great acting and a solid, realistic storyline. I even found a few plot twists that were totally unexpected. A definite must see.

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My wife and I saw this on Vuudo last night. We loved this movie!. It's a great Kung Fu movie, but it also has a great story to it also. I'm going to add this to my collection, so I will be buying this as soon as its out..

Read Best Reviews of Dragon (2011) Here

love this movie. amazing storyline. would recommend to everyone.

wish it was in English so I didn't have to read the sub titles but other than that I love it.

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I am a huge fan of Chinese Films , if you expected the usual martial arts film you will be surprised as this turns out to be a csi investigation. Donnie Yen gives a terrific performance unlike the last couple of films where he seemed to be acting by numbers. The detective also gives a terrific performance with soul. Lookout for Jimmie Wang Yu's performance I hardly recognised him . Highly recommended

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Pitch Black (Unrated Director's Cut) (2000)

Pitch Black was arguably one of the most overlooked films of the early year. Although the setting of the film could seem routine to a casual viewer(space travelers stranded and bickering on a hostile planet infested with alien nasties), director David Twohy's wonderful use of color and stylistic flourishes more than makes up for any trivial complaints.

For those of you curious about the film's plot, it deals with a group of marooned space "passengers" who spend the majority of their time searching for a way to evacuate a harsh desert planet. Their efforts are unexpectedly forced to quicken however when they discover a particularly vicious type of nocturnal alien ready to emerge to the planet's surface during an eclipse.

Viewers can't help but like the film's villainous hero(played by Vin Diesel of Saving Private Ryan and Boiler Room)who brings to memory Arnold Schwarzenegger's famous role as the Terminator.

The film looks and sounds great and has more than a few moments of nail-biting tension thrown in for good measure. For Science Fiction fans this is a must-see. And as for the rest of you, try giving this fine movie a chance.

You'll thank me when you do.

I rate movies along simple lines. There are classics, there are flicks and there are horrible pieces not worth the film that they were printed on. I sorrily skipped Pitch Black in the theatre. The trailer was horrible. I couldn't make out *anything* about the movie and had no interest in seeing it. Thankfully, on vacation, I was holed up in a hotel that had Pitch Black on pay-per-view and decided to give it a try. I was stunned. Not only did I wish I had seen it in the theatre to truly appreciate the special effects but I enjoyed the quirky dialogue between the characters. I appreciated the seeming abandon with which character upon character is removed from the story line without my abilities of prediction serving me in the slightest. The dialogue is often cheesy. These people are space faring commoners and the movie revolves around the predicamnet they face and not their lives. Their lives form the substance to which I temporarily attached care for each. Short-lived as it may be, this care for the characters extended throughout the movie and left me feeling very satisfied. I recommend this movie as a flick. It should have been seen by all in the theatre but we weren't all so fotunate. Check it out by yourself and if you like it pull the friends around. Give it a chance. Van Diesel is what it's all about. You'll recognize him from Saving Private Ryan. The washed out scenes reminded me of Gladiator and Three Kings. The world as seen through the eyes of the aliens put me back in Fincher's Alien3. While ultimately the plot is fantasy I let this movie take me away, in much the same way we all let Star Wars (the first three) move us and Starship Troopers moved us (appealed to our collective bizarre fascist sensability or something). Have fun with it. I know I did.

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No need for a plot overview: If you're reading the reviews, you have probably already seen the movie that launched Vin Diesel's career. This was the very first Blu-Ray movie that I purchased from Amazon after getting a player last year, and watching it in High-Definition was simply amazing.

I had already seen Pitch Black on DVD, and based on the sounds and visuals, I figured that Blu-Ray would bring the movie to life. I'm glad to say that I wasn't the least bit disappointed. The colors look amazing, the audio is great, and the level of detail was just unreal. I did read a few comments from other reviewers about the Blu-Ray freezing up on them, but fortunately that has never happened to me. I've since purchased countless Blu-Ray movies, but Pitch Black is easily one of my favorites to watch in HDTV.

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With the release of The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) aka Pitch Black 2, Universal Home Video has decided to try and squeeze a bit more juice from the original film, releasing a Special Wide Screen Unrated Director's Cut edition. Is it worth it, for all of you out there who've already bought one of the numerous previous releases? I'll answer this question later. Pitch Black (2000) was directed by David Twohy, better known to me for his writing credits, specifically the Kevin Costner suck fest Waterworld (1995). Despite that particular credit, he did write and direct The Arrival (1996), which I did enjoy, but when the hole you're trying to exhume yourself from of is Waterworld, you have a lot of digging ahead of you. The most notable star in the film is Vin Diesel as Riddick, and, while not his first film, this is probably the one that really got him and his bald head noticed by the public. The film also stars Cole Hauser as William Johns, an actor I most recall from the 1993 film Dazed and Confused and sometimes get confused with Ben Affleck, who was also in that movie. Also appearing in the film is the delicious Claudia Black, a woman that any sci-fi aficionado would recognize as Aeryn Sun from the popular Farscape television series and Keith David, popular character actor I recognize mostly from John Carpenter films like The Thing (1982) and They Live (1988).

Anyhow, the film opens on a giant ship traveling through space. We see a number of people in cryo sleep, as since we all know, space travel takes a long time, so in order to pass the extended periods of time, people must be partially frozen, like green peas, and then thawed out when needed. Well, something goes wrong with the ship, and various peoples begin popping out of cryo sleep, as the computer, who probably screwed things up in the first place, now needs people to fix matters. But there's no fixing these particular matters as the ship makes a crash landing on a pretty crummy desert-like planet. As the surviving members of the ill-fated cruise extricate themselves from the wreckage, soon begin to learn more of these individuals. There's the Skipper, Mary Ann, the Professor...wait, that's not right...ah skip it...anyway, we do get to meet Riddick, the only passenger chained and bound during cryo sleep, who manages to escape his bonds, to which Johns begins to run around looking for him. As the others begin looking for water, a couple stay behind, one in particular to begin burying those who didn't survive the landing. As he's digging, he finds a hole, decides to stick his head inside, and poof, he's gone, leaving an awful lot of blood behind...where did he go? We see Riddick standing over the hole, to which everyone assumes he killed the man, but we learn pretty shortly afterwards that's not the case. An investigation turns up some pretty hideous (and hungry) creatures that can only venture out when the sun (or suns, as there's three of them on this world) is down. The stranded individuals eventually find water, in the form of a deserted mining camp. Also in the camp is a space skiff, a small ship capable of getting them off the planet and into space shipping lanes where they would most likely be picked up by a passing freighter. Only problem is the skiff needs power to operate, so heavy power cells from the crashed vessel must be transported to the skiff, and the distance is more than a hop, skip and a jump. Oh yeah, night is falling, causing the indigenous inhabitants to stir, and stir they do...by the millions...by the way, did I mention Riddick has some strange modification to his eyes that allow him to see in the dark? You can see where this might come in handy in the darkness of a planet inhabited by big, hungry, scary, carnivorous nocturnal creatures...

So, is this film any good? Being so inundated by B-movie flicks over the many years of my movie viewing existence, I was pleasantly surprised to find this was actually a very good film with better than average special effects. Okay, originality isn't its' strong point, but certain elements within the story makes it better than most, the key being that there is a coherent story throughout. And real, honest to goodness character development, to the point where I became unsure who was actually going to make it to the end of the film. The presentation of the character of Riddick, the anti-hero, was fun, and the notion of fighting evil with evil, as the tag line states seems a misrepresentation, as I really didn't see the creatures as being evil, only doing what they would normally do...the one character I found most annoying was that of Jack, given his whining and such, and sacrifices made to accommodate him. The element about the story I enjoyed most was that very little seemed to be what it appeared to be, specifically with the major characters and plot lines. Things get a bit topsy-turvy as revelations are made.

So, is it worth buying this version if you've already bought a previous DVD release of the film? Probably not...the special features included are commentaries by the director and stars Diesel and Hauser, additional commentaries by the director, the producer, and the guy in charge of the special effects, which were available on previous releases. The list of new features is listed on this website, but I found very little of them really worth my time, so if you already own a previous version (I didn't), you're not missing much. There was a free movie pass included in the DVD case, one for the new movie The Chronicles of Riddick (2004), so that's pretty sweet, give that going to the theater to see a new film has gotten so expensive.

Cookieman108

By the way, did they rename this film The Chronicles of Riddick Pitch Black? Was this done to help people remember it was the first film with the Riddick character? If so, it was a daft manuver...it will always be Pitch Black to me..

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Pitch Black is the story of a ship that crash-lands on a planet that is a scorching desert with three suns. The survivors of the crash include Fry the ship's pilot (Radha Mitchell), Riddick a prisoner (Vin Diesel) and Johns (Cole Hauser) who is guarding Riddick. While searching their surroundings the cast eventually finds some nasty aliens that live in darkness. And it turns out an eclipse is coming also. The story is relatively simple, however there are quite a few plot twists thrown in that keep the viewer constantly guessing. The effects are quite impressive for a movie of such a low budget. And Vin Diesel is one of the best anti-heroes. Keith David also provides solid support as a Muslim Priest.

The cut presented on the Unrated DVD is 3 minutes longer than the rated. There is no more violence then the R-Rated version. It is actually more character development and a few more scenes that only serve to add to the film. The picture on this DVD is quite impressive. Just watch all the colors that the three suns emit when they are walking along the horizon and you will see how impressive this DVD is. The sound is also very impressive. Especially the DTS track, just watch the opening crash scene with it on and get ready for a full on surround workout with amazing depth and clarity.

The extras however are not as impressive as the sound and video transfers. There are two audio commentaries, one with Twohy, Hauser and Diesel and another with the FX crew and Twohy. The first commentary is more casual were as the second is a technical one. Other than these two commentaries there is nothing of great value on the rest of the DVD. The 20 Minute Pitch Black Rave Event is a waste of space and should be avoided.

This is quite a good Sci-Fi film that is much better than Supernova and most movies that came out in 2000. The Unrated DVD presents the film with an excellent video transfer and two amazing soundtracks with limited extras.

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Monty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition (1979)

I suspect most fans of this film and Monty Python in general already own a copy on DVD. The bonus features in this new double-disc edition definitely make it worth the repeat buy. Most of the features from the Criterion edition (two commentary tracks, five deleted scenes, radio ads) are here. (The nice 1979 BBC documentary "The Pythons" is the only feature from the Criterion version missing from this new set.)

The new hour-long documentary included with this edition is worth the purchase alone. All five surviving Pythons are interviewed and offer a lot of insight into the film, from its conception, to the controversy surrounding its opening (in the US and in the UK), to its lasting standing as the Pythons' greatest work. (Yes, I know, many fans like "Grail" even more.) I'm always pleased to see up-to-date interviews with the team, now all in their sixties.

The other significant feature is an audio reading of the original script, recorded with all six members several months before filming began. This is much more enjoyable and watchable than you might expect, illustrated onscreen with storyboard drawings and script pages. The reading is 20 minutes longer than the film, and you hear some bits that never made it past this stage.

And the film itself, of course, is a treasure. A hysterically funny, yet thought-provoking satire whose target is group-think in general, and not merely religion or superstition.

This is the 4th iteration of this movie that I have owned. My first was on VHS, then came the Criterion LaserDisc, which was followed by the Criterion DVD edition. I really wasn't expecting much of an improvement over the Criterion DVD since this is an older movie. Regardless of what version you own, if you are a Python fan, you are in for a HUGE surprise with this latest edition on Blu-ray. The picture is near perfection with only a couple of scenes where I noticed the tiniest bit of film grain. Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was the remastered sound elements. After trying the different sound choices, I found the PCM soundtrack to be the best. I really wasn't expecting the sound to be that great for this movie, but BOY was I surprised. Sony has truly outdone themselves with this latest high def remastering of Life of Brian. This is the absolute best I have ever seen or heard of this zany film. There are details in the picture that I have NEVER seend before, and I have seen this movie MANY MANY times. If I had to complain about anything, it would be that the special features were not in HD, but that is not that big a deal since everything else about this title is just spot on.

There are many who would say this movie is a sacrilege. As a Christian, I would disagree with such a statement. I have heard some say that this movie is making light of Jesus' ministry, and especially his crucifixion. They are missing the whole point. I think this movie illustrates how some people will blindly follow religious leaders, or will just go with the crowd without really questioning what they're doing, or why they're doing it. The scene where Brian is mistaken for Jesus and chased by the crowd is a good example. When his sandal falls off, some take it as a sign that they should remove their own sandal, while some choose to follow the Holy Gourd of Jerusalem. How can anyone NOT see the humor in that??? Also, what if there really were some in the far back of the crowd at the Sermon on the Mount who couldn't quite make out what was being said??? I have seen this movie countless times, and at no point is Jesus ever actually made fun of. Even the crucifixion scene is obviously not a slight on Jesus' own crucifixion. He is not the only person to ever be crucified, since there were countless others who suffered this horrible form of death. The crucifixion scene obviously is not about Jesus' crucifixion since there are much more than three men being crucified. Of course, I'm sure there are those who would disagree with me. If you do find this movie to be offensive, then simply don't watch it. After all, this is still a free country. To those of you who have longed for a pristine version of this classic Python piece, you MUST get this one on Blu-ray. I will be waiting patiently for Sony to deliver a comparable version of the Holy Grail on Blu-ray soon.

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You have to be a genius to be this silly. Monty Python has done a fantastic amount of research into Jewish history and the birth of Christianity to make a total mockery of the hypocrisy found in people who claim to practice these religions. As a deeply spiritual man, I found this film completely unoffensive. This film doesn't poke fun at those who are a part of their religion because of an informed, knowledgeable decision, but rather at those who believe what they believe despite all evidence to the contrary and can't offer any valid explanation for it. Most people have probably been embarassed by people of that sort even in there own religion. Anybody who thinks that Monty Python's sense of humor is stupid isn't smart enough to understand the vast amount of research they must have done to turn verifiable history into such a ridiculous commentary on unchanging human behaviour. From the political issue made out of Stan's irrational desire to be a woman so he could have babys (You haven't got a womb. Where's the fetus going to gestate? You gonna put it in a box?) to the embarrasing meeting where the PFJ finds out that maybe the Romans aren't so bad (Okay, they did provide the roads, the aqueduct, public sanitation, education, the wine, etc.) to Pontius Pilate's speech impedement (Who do you want weleased? And no more Wudolph the Wed-nosed Weindeer.) followed by his best friend's linguistic problems (Thampthon of Thithily the Thaduthee thtrangler wanted for theveral theditious crimeth) to the finale of optomistics on crosses singing "Always look on the bright side of life." If you don't get this epic joke and at least appreciate some of what they deleted to keep the plot tight (DVD--Criterion Edition only) I feel sorry for you. But I'm not your judge. Review this film for yourself.

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...and blessed are the Pythons, the crackerjack British comedy troupe creating one of the most funniest movies I have seen in a long time.

The Life of Brian has long been one of my most favorite comedies, and no matter how many times I watch it, I cannot help but break out into raucous laughter at the insanity of this film. Truly blasphemous, truly hilarous, John Cleese and his troupe of merry men leave no stone unturned poking fun at anything and everything religious. From brainless mobs finding shoes as signs from God, to a lisping Roman emperor, to the classic cruxifiction song, this movie is not for the religious light-hearted.

Even better, this Criterion Collection version has so many extras, the true fan will be preoccupied for many hours enjoying it all. Especially wonderful were the deleted scenes and the running commentary by members of the troupe. Also, I appreciated the subtitles. For once I was able to get more of the jokes due to the British accents hard to understand with this untrained ear. If all DVD's were this rich, I'd be a happy camper. You are getting your money's worth for the price!

Rent or buy "Life of Brian Criterion Collection" immediately!!

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This movie is often decried for being sacrilegious. Quite the contrary! It should be seen by every Christian, as it so illuminates Christian history. But in a supremely enjoyable and funny mannermaking it, along with Princess Bride, the top comedy ever. Unless one feels they can not laugh *along with* God, there is nothing offensive in this movie. Here you get to learn why there are so many splits in the church, as people in the very beginning follow the holy shoe or the holy cloak. Or the fight that breaks out in the first scene of the movie (the only one depicting Jesus) over whether, when Jesus said "Blessed are the peacemakers," he meant cheese-makers or everyone in the dairy industry. How can one not see here a reflection of Christian misinterpretation and subsequent divisions through the ages? In truth, I know of no other work that in such a light-hearted manner shows me truly who I am.

Monty Python is always great acting, and even better writing; The consummation of British wit. They take reality around them, and twist it, to show us the reality that lies beneath. Some brief unfortunate gratuitous nudity is easily endured. Watching this movie provides innumerable quotes for future use. ("Splitters!" "What have the Romans ever done for us?") And the final song, which I can't describe for risk of spoiler, and also following reviewer guidelines, is worth the price of the entire video.

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16 Blocks (2006)

Jack Mosley (Bruce Willis) is an aging, rundown, alcoholic cop who, at this stage of his career, finds himself at the bottom of the totem pole. Thus, he gets saddled with the menial errand of escorting smalltime thief Eddie Bunker (Mos Def) 16 blocks from the precinct to the courthouse, where Eddie will testify in a grand jury. But what begins as a routine assignment for Detective Mosley becomes a desperate bid for survival as the bleary eyed, hung-over cop and his charge find themselves under relentless attack by focused, well-armed assailants intent on making sure Eddie doesn't make it to his court appointment.

16 Blocks is a thinking man's action thriller. Even though, on the surface, it looks like a suspense film, a case could be made for it to be considered a character study picture. Amidst all the frenetic bullets and chase sequences, you'll find many moments of casual interaction, as leisurely enacted by Willis, Mos Def and even Morse. Willis and Mos Def, in their mismatched buddy roles, put in some character acting and have several scenes where they just have conversations (some on point, some non sequitur), in between the chases. Mos Def's motormouth character, in particular, spends an inordinate amount of time just riffing about suits and signs and bakeries.

Bruce Willis continues his recent trend (see Hostage) of portraying jaded, burnt-out cops who end up seizing one last shot at redemption. He excels in playing this type of role: tired, world-weary, kicked-around, maybe even a little corrupt, but, ultimately, someone not to be eff'd with and someone who can be depended upon to doggedly do the right thing (Bruce seriously needs to patent this character). Jack Mosley, as played by Willis, is laconic, paunchy, shuffling, stuck on the bottom rung career wise, and has a dire craving for alcohol. But the audience never doubts he'll man up when the chips are down.

I'm a fan of Mos Def, from way back when he was just a hip hop artist. Don't get me wrong, he was and is a great rapper. He flows and rhymes with insight and intelligence. And he's great as the host of HBO's Def Poetry. His natural, off-the-cuff style of acting is making folks sit up and pay attention (check out Brown Sugar, The Italian Job, and Something the Lord Made). With 16 Blocks, he comes out of left field with his jazzy interpretation of Eddie Bunker: verbose, optimistic and a bit quirky. The only negative in his portrayal is the grating fashion in which he channels the nasal voice of comedian Eddie Griffin. Other than that, Mos is solid.

David Morse is great as the main villain. He injects his Det. Frank Nugent, Jack's crooked current supervisor and ex-partner, with equal doses of complexity, cynicism, and immorality. Nugent's been around the block, knows the ropes and could care less about minimizing collateral damage. Yet, a part of Nugent still cares for his former partner Mosley and regrets having to put him down. But, in the end, he's gotta do what a dirty cop's gotta do.

Director Richard Donner gauges the tempo of this movie just right. Not too plodding, but not all out action, either. Oh, the action scenes are plentiful and charged with enough tension but they aren't break-neckedly constant. There is ample breathing room in between the pursuits, a pace which nicely suits Willis's middle-aged, gimpy-legged hero, as he actually gets a chance to take in oxygen, in between exchanging gunfire and platitudes.

The sparse Special Features consist of an alternate ending not seen in theaters, several deleted scenes with wiseacre commentary by Richard Donner and his screenwriter, and a theatrical trailer. A film commentary would've been nice.

16 Blocks is a well-meaning movie that is introspective and thoughtful, yet strives to give the fans their money's worth with its done-by-the-numbers shoot-em-up violence. There is a worthy message here trying to make itself heard, thru the voice of Eddie Bunker, that Pollyanna of a crook. The movie has a top-drawer star at the top of his game, who seems, in fact, to get better as he ages. And it's got Mos Def, who I firmly believe will be heard from for a lot of years to come. Three and a half stars and a solid recommendation.

Veteran director Richard Donner (the first and best "Superman" and "Lethal Weapon") does an excellent job of moving things along in regards to the plot as well as crisply addressing the psychological, moral and social implications of his characters actions in the terrific "16 Blocks." And it helps tremendously to have Bruce Willis and Mos Def in the leading roles.

Willis: gutted, disheveled, disgusted with life and his job as an NYC detective, Jack Mosley... swigging out of a 5th of Canadian Club at 8 AM, limping from an injured leg, looking and acting every bit as a man who has given up on life and waiting for retirement so he can put a bullet through his head. But there is a lot more going on in Jack's head and Willis is very much up to the task of giving him a truthful inner life that both grates on your nerves as well as touches your heart.

Though hampered by a cartoon character voice, the excellent Mos Def gives small time crook Eddie Bunker emotional weight and depth. Eddie's motto? "People can change" ...a mantra that will resonate all through this film.

Donner has tackled some weighty emotional and social issues here: redemption by way of the truth, save a life and that life becomes your responsibility...themes not usually associated with this type of police action picture. In fact"16 Blocks" reminds me very much of Sidney Lumet's sublime "The Verdict" in its juxtaposition of the casualties of basic human nature and its failings and the morality or lack thereof of Justice.

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Resting heavily on the shoulders of THE GAUNTLET (Clint Eastwood, 1977), 16 BLOCKS gives us a standard Bruce Willis action film and does so admirably. Not overly so, but a positive nod is deserved.

Jack Mosley (Willis) is an old, alcoholic cop who's always done "the right thing" for his department. And now he's assigned to take a fast-talking thug named Eddie (rapper Mos Def) just 16 blocks for a court appearance. Trouble is, though, Eddie is scheduled to testify against some crooked cops who live and breath right in Jack's backyard. Jack is unaware of this and soon discovers he's got much more than just a simple escort job on his hands. People (cops mainly) are trying to kill Eddie. Jack quickly has to make a decision: protect Eddie and "do the right moral thing," or let his fellow brethren have their way with him and "do the right thing for the department."

Willis plays the aging cop well. He grumbles and drinks and generally hates what he does. The dirty New York offices and streets were shot well and gave an overall sense of the uncleanliness of Jack's life (including his past, which comes up toward the end of the film).

Mos Def plays the irritating convict and his grating voice bugged the crap out of me. He sounded very nasal and whiney but, in contrast, this added a strange upbeat quality to a film that could've gotten too dark.

I also like the fact that Willis isn't trying to play the "young stud" anymore on film. He's getting older and I'm happy to see him in roles befitting his age.

The alternate endings on the DVD are worth watching, too. Personally, I would've gone with an alternate ending rather than the one seen in theaters. But maybe that's just me...

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"16 Blocks" is directed by Richard Donner, who helmed the "Lethal Weapon" movies (I know he did the first one for sure) and has, essentially, a story you've seen before. People on the run from something and have to be somewhere by a certain time, everything holds them up and they eventually pull through. While "16 Blocks" runs slightly different then that, it's basically what I said. Turns out though it's one of the most entertaining, funny, and smart action films I've seen this year thus far. In another role as a down-and-out cop, Bruce Willis is spectacular. He catches the tiredness perfectly. Willis plays Jack Mosley, a drunken detective who mopes around and seems like he's ready to retire. As he's leaving the station, his lieutenant tells him he has to pick up a petty criminal and drive him 16 blocks to court, the guy who was supposed to drive him apparently got held up. The guy is Eddie Bunker

(Mos Def, 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"), who is testifying against a bunch of crooked cops. After two hitmen fail to kill Eddie and Jack finds out that the cops are involved, they begin to run. Heading the chase after them is Detective Frank Nugent (the always spectacular David Morse, 'The Green Mile'), an ex-partner of Jack's. As I said, the movie is very entertaining. There's a scene in the film that takes place in a bus that's reminiscent of "Dog Day Afternoon" and at this same scene, the movie momentarily loses it's footing; but quickly regains it. Looking beyond the story, the performances are great too. Mos Def puts on a Mike Tyson voice for some reason, but manages to deliver a charming performance; Willis is playing a character he played in "Sin City" but he's still great; and David Morse is always great. As for the (actual) ending...It's smart, surprising, and redeeming. The alternate ending is good, but it was a good choice that they didn't put it in the movie.

GRADE: A

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My boyfriend brought this movie home because a coworker told him it was preety good, there began my skepticism. However within the first 5 minutes I was HOOKED.

The theme of the movie is based upon the good cop bad cop premise, however what sets this movie apart from all the other cop flicks is the raw emotions of the charcters. MOS DEF delivers a superb performance, his role as Eddie gave just the right amount of emotion and innocent humor that put this movie in the 5 star catagory for me. Bruce WIllis of course never dissapoints with his cooler then ever demeanor. Just when you are like oh damn its all over for them there he goes in true Bruce Willis stlye, calm cool and collective.

Buy this movie you wont be dissapointed. You wont be bored at all during the journey through 16 Blocks.

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The Image

Radley METZGER's THE IMAGE (also known under the more exploitative title THE PUNISHMENT OF ANNE) is without doubt not everybody's cup of tea. Based on an infamous French bestseller this movie is shocking in its relentless depiction of a weird triangle relationship between a mature woman, her submissive young girl friend and a curious author.

Please note: If you feel uneasy when you see graphic sex, humiliation, degradation, bondage, whipping and urination, then do not watch this film. On the other hand, this is no raincoat brigade movie. Instead it is a masterly crafted piece of art with outstanding cinematography, a beautiful score and fine actors (Yes, everybody here can act better than most mainstream academy award winners.)

Regrettably the rough SM scenes could easily distract from or obscure the motivation of the characters.

THE IMAGE has an unusual book-like structure with chapters (no, I'm not refering to the DVD chapters). According to the liner notes the film is very faithful to its literary source. I liked the social setting of the film it takes places among educated, eloquent and wealthy jet set people. And the film makes good use of its nice Paris locations. I found THE IMAGE very compelling viewing. I just didn't like the fitting room scene too much, because it seemed like a rather cliche porn situation to me.

Some words about the DVD: SYNAPSE did a real great job with the transfer. One can't praise the picture quality high enough. The uncut film is presented widescreen.

Unfortunately there aren't too many extras: the director's filmography, an isolated score and five trailers of Radley METZGER movies: SCORE, THE LICKERISH QUARTET, CAMILLE 2000, THERESE AND ISABELLE and CARMEN BABY. Kudos to Stephen R. BISSETTE for his insightful liner notes. I recommend to read it before you watch the movie, because it really enhances your understanding of the film despite some spoilers.

Arguably the finest S/M movie ever made, Radley Metzger's 'The Image'(aka The Punishment of Anne) tells of Jean, a writer who meets an old friend, Claire, at a party and is soon drawn into her world of S/M along with her slave, Anne.

Based on the French novel 'L'image' by Jean de Berg, a nom de guerre for Catherine Robbe-Grillet, this may be Radley (Score!, Therese and Isabelle, The Opening of Misty Beethoven)Metzger's best film. Beautifully filmed and acted and very erotic.

The dvd transfer of the film is absolutely stunning. The picture is pristine and the colors leap out at you. The new stereo mix is great. The original mono track is also included. There is a Metzger filmography and a few trailers for his films included as well. Kudo's to Synapse for releasing this gem of a film and doing such a great job on it!

If your up for some primo euro-erotica at its finest, look no further!

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The Image, also called The Punishment of Anne is widely regarded by people on the Internet as Radley Metzger's best movie. I agree with that assessment. He is an interesting director whose characters are always intelligent people who outwardly lead normal lives in society while privately pursuing out of the ordinary sex lives, such as libertines, S&M, homosexuality, especially lesbianism, prostitution, and so on. If memory serves correctly all of his movies take place in racy locations such as Europe or South America. In other words he isn't doing Desire Under the Elms or something in a sleepy rural community. It's always in a castle, or penthouse, or mansion, or beach house, etc. All of his movies could be considered art movies that are not intended for a general audience. This particular movie involves lesbianism, S&M, humiliation, dominance/submission by well-to-do people in contemporary Paris. It is a VERY faithful adaptation of the book of the same name by Jean de Berg. A thirty something male author attends a party at a socialite's house in Paris where he encounters an old friend, a woman his own age from his upscale social class (she has a Wellesley accent by the way), who is showing off her new pet. Anne, a very beautiful young blonde woman is completely under the older woman's spell and will do anything to prove it. Our hero is then invited into their world for a series of mind games, etc. divided into episodes that take place in different locations, sometimes in public, sometimes behind closed doors over a period of weeks I believe. Like all of Metzger's movies it is very well made and very beautiful. I liked the book and the movie as well. If you are interested in this kind of subject material you'll like this movie.

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THE IMAGE is a disturbing, erotic, scary, elegant movie that probably only Radley Metzger could have made. Most directors of 'erotica' concentrate on gynecological close-ups to the exclusion of all else; Metzger's hallmark has always been to tell a story and explain the characters and their situation without ever resorting to the patronizing smirk, relying as much on the actors' eyes as on the dialogue. The S&M scene is as alien to me as peanut-butter-and-pickle sandwiches (which I am also told some enjoy), but in THE IMAGE I can see the gamesmanship, the role-playing and the unspoken psychological leveraging that makes it all so compellingly complex. Would I show this film to Grandma? Uh-uh. But then, that's just MY grandma, yours may well have a side you never suspected. This film is hot, fascinating, and, in this gorgeous and UNCUT (thank you, thank you!) video transfer, stunningly beautiful as well.

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`The Story of O' directed by Just Jaeckin and `The Image' directed by Radley Metzger are both based on famous and critically well received French erotic novels written, I believe, in the 1960s by Pauline Reage (a pseudonym) and Jean de Berg respectively. In turn, the two movies are both considered masterpieces of erotic moviemaking. Yet the latter is clearly better than the former, in spite of the fact that the two books are, to my mind, roughly equal in quality. I may even believe that `The Story of O' is superior as a novel to de Berg's fiction.

While both are of a very high quality, they approach roughly the same subject in very different ways. In `The Story of O', everything is seen and told through the eyes of the submissive, `O'. In `The Image', everything is seen through the eyes of the bystander become dominant, Jean. That does not mean that `O' can tell us nothing of the dominant psychology or `Image' tell us nothing of the submissive psychology. In fact, it is one of the strengths of `The Image' that it probably tells us more about true psychological submissiveness than the movie, `O'.

The primary problem with `The Story of O' film is that while its source is certainly a very well constructed fantasy, the director does not hide this fact and play it as reality. This may be comparable to our not taking the confrontation between Gandalf and the Balrog at the bridge in the mines of Moria (in `Lord of the Rings') because we know this is all a fantasy. The power of great fantasies is that they allow us to totally suspend disbelief for the course of the experience. In Jaeckin's commentary, he states over and over that this is all a fantasy and was intended as such by author, Reage. But, one of Reage's great skills was to minimize the improbable aspects of the story to sustain the sense that this plot is actually being played out by real people.

The second problem for me with `The Story of O' is the fact that it did not improve on my imagination while I was reading the book. Going back to that other fantasy, `Lord of the Rings', one of its great successes is the fact that at every turn, it improved on the constructs of my imagination. The black riders, the Uruk-hai, and Shelob were all far scarier than what I read, and the reading was pretty scary. At but one scene does the film outdo my imagination.

The third problem, which the movie shares with the book, is the improbability of a woman's so easily moving her affection from one dominant to the next. The book's original ending makes great use of the chasm this reliance on a master opens at the submissive's feet. The movie squanders the great original ending in a muddle of alternatives.

`The Image' easily sidesteps the last problem by being a very simple `menage a trois'. And, while the submissive is asked to perform with outsider, Jean, she is always devoted primarily to dominant Claire. As far as improving on my imagination, I will only say that from what you think you are seeing on the screen, director Metzger is pulling no punches and Mary Mendum playing the submissive is about as convincing as I can imagine in her role, in comparison to `O''s actress, Corinne Clery, who sometimes seems to be simply working through the boredom in some scenes.

Part of the reality of `The Image' is based on the immediacy of all the settings. Like some films by Woody Allen and Martin Scorsese, where New York City is almost as much a character in the movie as the actors on the screen, several locations in Paris are important contributors to the lush, overripe feel of the film. In contrast, `The Story of O' could have as easily been filmed in Quebec or Sidney, and no one would have noticed the difference.

On the other hand, while the two films are of roughly the same lengths, `The Image' spends a lot more time conveying the relationship by showing its fruits rather than by talking about it.

Both movies are easily 1000% better than any other movie on these subjects, but `The Image' is clearly the better of the two in a very small field.

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Class of Nuke 'Em High

Let me start off by saying that this is one of the better Troma films but not better than the toxic avenger.Nuke em high is about a nuclear power plant that leaks into Tromaville high causing students to mutate.Thats preatty much the plot without taking about the createns, but this is a Troma movie so who cares about the plot.Fans of Troma will love this but those who don't might want to look eleswhere.Followed but two sequels that shouldn't have ever been made.

I am not going to review this movie on here but I can say one thing about it and that it is one of Troma's best films. Ok with that said I am going to go more into a comparison between the 2 formats and if it's worth the upgrade. Well first off the DVD version is in the 1:33:1 (Full Screen) aspect ratio which sucks if you have a HD TV and the blu-ray is in the 1:85:1 (Widescreen) apect ratio which is great if you have an HD TV. Now when it comes to the picture quality I have to say that the Blu-Ray does look better, it's not perfect but does look better. The audio also seems to be better. Overall I would have to say that if you are a fan of this film then I suggest you pick this one up!

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Rating: 5-"This is a special rating for bad films that are fun to watch. Because they are inherently difficult to rate, they receive 5's because there is much that is terrible about them, but much that is often unintentionally amusing as well. Or they can be bad films made to be bad or camp. They may have intentional merits, also. Everyone should stay away except for connoisseurs of enjoyably bad films."

At various times good, bad, enjoyable and irritating, Class of Nuke 'Em High is a grade C film that was intentionally made to be a grade C film. The plot concerns a nuclear power plant that's run by a whole team of Homer Simpsons. Not only are they having periodic mini-disasters, but one of the employees has been growing marijuana in a restricted outside area and selling it to kids at the local high school, which is only a quarter mile down the road. The high school kids are exposed to nuclear waste both through the marijuana and through a water supply contamination, and it turns some of them into pulsating radioactive superheroes, disintegrates others, and for the former honor society, it turned them into an overacting group of Mad Max rejects. There is one scene in the movie which is especially bad where supposed actor, Brett Weston, playing a corpse gets gang raped by a bunch of covermounters and can distinctively be seen smiling as he recieves wave after wave of punishment.

A lot of Nuke 'Em High is supposed to be funny, and much of it is. Some of the stuff that's supposed to be funny is simply irritating-this goes for the Mad Max rejects most of the time. Movies like this tend to work better when it's not so obvious that they are trying to spoof genres. When they are trying, it has to be extremely funny in order to work. When they aren't trying-when the filmmakers are trying to make a decent film given their budget, and it still comes out bad, the little unintentionally funny bits are enjoyable. It's the difference of laughing at a faux pas as opposed to watching a bad comedian tell a cheesy joke.

The nuclear plant setting, with a wonderfully fake looking matte painting for exterior shots, is unfortunately underused-the plant employee characters were enjoyable, funny and there was a lot more potential for them. Several other auxiliary characters should have been used more, also, but the two goody-two-shoe protagonists are well cast and do an admirable job.

Classified as horror, Nuke 'Em High doesn't even approach that genre for a large chunk of the first half. That's too bad because it works best when it's violent. The scene with the old lady carrying groceries, the alleyway brawl, the coup d'etat in the principles office, the bathroom fight scene, etc. are all among this films best.

Recommendation: Overall, Nuke 'Em High is a mixed bag, and my evaluation while I was watching it continually vacillated between "bad bad" and "good bad." Troma films fans are bound to enjoy this to some extent, although most fans are more than likely already familiar with this Troma staple. Other than Troma fans, approach this film only if you enjoy cheesy B and C movies. It's not the best "turkey," but it is tasty enough for Thanksgiving.

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Class of Nuke 'Em High. It's a title that I've loved for a very long time due to its weirdness, gross-out gore effects, and humor. This is not a film to take seriously, but you should already know that seeing as how it's part of the famous (or infamous?) Troma library. I recently sold my DVD copy of the film in order to "upgrade" to Blu-Ray. I realize that not EVERY Blu-Ray is going to look and sound like Iron Man, but the quality of the Blu-Ray print leaves much to be desired. In all honesty, the print was rather ho-hum. It appeared to be of no better quality than an old DVD of the film. I'm not sure if this is simply a combination of the film being low budget to begin with and that the original print really isn't very good, or if this release was simply rushed to cash in on the Blu-Ray craze. But that's the thing with Blu-Ray...sometimes I'm absolutely amazed at how well an old title can look on Blu-Ray (a superb example being American Werewolf in London), but other times (such as this) I just have to ask myself what the point was of releasing this on Blu-Ray. This is an essential film to own (if you're into movies like this), but not an essential Blu-Ray to own.

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I have seen this film many times and never get tired of it. I would mention the plot,but who cares about the plot in a film like this? For some reason,this isn't as respected as The Toxic Avenger,and I wonder why. The laughs in this film are nonstop and any comedy fan should check this film out.

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Trinity and Beyond - the Atomic Bomb Movie

If you are a Cold War history buff, or if you can still remember the days when you participated in those drop and cover bomb drills while going to school, then you must see "Trinity and Beyond" on DVD. Filmmaker Peter Kuran has meticulously weaved together previously classified government footage of the numerous atomic bomb tests which were conducted at the height of the Cold War. Many of these secret films were painstakingly restored to level fully compatable with the DVD format. The images of the bomb blasts exhibit a stark and shocking beauty as superheated gases and fallout expand into the atmosphere. Another unsettling segment shows a mannikin "Ozzie and Harriet" family in their home. They are completely decimated during a bomb test to determine the effects of nuclear warfare on the civilian population.

This documentary has a magnificent score performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra and is perfectly in-sync with the awe, beauty and destructive power of the atomic bomb blasts. The DVD version boasts a wealth of extra features for even the most die-hard DVD connoiseur. These extras include a fully interactive menu, a photo slide show, a separate CD track of the orchestral score, and even a 3D segment of an atomic explosion with 3D glasses included. After viewing the 3D segment, you may feel like taking a de-con shower!

The narration by William Shatner is both informational and unbiased. Despite the interviews with Dr. Edward Teller (Father of the H-bomb) and others, "Trinity and Beyond" leaves it to the viewers to decide the ingenius foresight or the foolish arrogance of the scientists and soldiers who have harnessed the energy of the atom. This movie is also a powerful reminder of our past history. How ironic it would be to repeat this chapter again, especially in light of recent allegations that China has stolen America's most secret nuclear weapon designs.

"Trinity and Beyond" is not just another dry documentary. If you have invested a small fortune into your home theater system and DVD player, then rest assured. This DVD version of "Trinity and Beyond" will make your investment pay-off handsomely. Get this DVD now...and prepare to RUN, DUCK and COVER!

Forget hollywood special effects, This movie has the most powerful images that i've ever seen. I never realized the full extent of the horrific testing that was done by the U.S. and other nations. This really is a historical documentary of the development of nuclear weapons, so don't expect much scientific analysis or explanation. But it is a very well-made documentary with comprehensive footage of the various military nuclear projects, interviews with the nuclear scientists, historical newsreels, and of course tons of footage of A-Bombs and H-Bombs being detonated all over the place (in the upper atmosphere, underground, underwater, shot out of a canon, etc.) I really can't say enough about this interesting and visually striking movie. The images are enough to put anyone in awe and fear. The soundtrack is also great, and it accompanies the horrific images very nicely.

Also, this DVD has some other nice features. The best is the short 3D movie, which explores one specific Nevada test site. I really liked this feature, It has some really cool footage which is even more striking in 3D. The photo slide show was also cool. The unedited bomb explosion wasn't that great, but it was alright. The total presentation of the DVD is certainly very nice, and the movie itself is simply amazing. I would highly recommend this product. 5 STARS!

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I would just like to start off by saying that this is BY FAR the best documentary I have ever seen and probably ever will see. I ordered the DVD (You should too!!) right after I saw it. One thing to remember...no matter how much of an A-bomb maniac you might be, no matter the dozens of documentaries you've seen, YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THIS FOOTAGE. One and only declassified images and videos from dozens of nuclear research and detonations. The score mixes seemlessly with the images to take your breath away at the sight of the huge, towering, yet beautiful behemoth of the mushroom cloud. Includes surface, underground, low atmospheric, undersea, and high altitude detonations, including the one that disrupted radio communications for 8 hours and damaged electrical circuits with it's Electromagnetic Pulse. This film is not too scientific for ANYONE!! Buy it, watch it, and memorize it, but for heavens sake, learn from it too!! Don't ever forget it!! But then again, you won't want to!!!

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"The Atomic Bomb Movie" is the most impressive, visually stunning and well-assembled film ever made on the history of the nuclear bomb and the various tests that followed after the end of World War 2. It is a documentary made with real passion for the subject, the information and visual records. This is obviously Peter Kuran's baby (listen to the commentary track where he speaks about the awakening of his interest in nuclear testing and the eventual production of this film with the awe and wonder of discovery), every aspect of his dedication to the project is evident in how much information he gives us, the detail in the assembly and most of all, in the painstaking restoration of old military footage documentating numerous tests. Visually this is one of the most incredible films you will ever see. One can only watch in astonishment at the size and destruction and yet beauty we find in the shots of tests ranging from Bikini island to even outer space. For many a lot of what the movie shows will be shockingly new (for me the biggest surprise was indeed the information about nuclear bombs being detonated in space). Kuran takes inside of the effects of a nuclear blast, so much as to show us exactly what an attack scenario would be like if you were inside your home and a bomb was dropped. And all this is done with incredible clarity, a lot of the old footage has been lovingly polished to a gloss and rarely do any images look old or scratchy. All this is framed with William Stromberg's rich, epic score that marches and pulses with great gusto. "The Atomic Bomb Movie" is that special kind of documentary that is perfect for classroom exhibition but also an awesome experience for normal home viewing. Kuran has done a service by assembling this film because it is important to preserve this information for future generations. In his commentary Kuran stresses the importance of not letting people forget about the history of nuclear testing, so it doesn't repeat itself. Do not miss this film, it is important and unforgettable.

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It is quite hard to rate this documentary. On the one hand the footage is cleaned up so well and the sound quality so fantastic. On the other hand the narration leaves you with so many unanswered questions. The movie is so matter of fact yet the issues, in reality, go to the very core of every human life.

I enjoyed watching the stunning visual display but would have liked less music to get a more real, and life like, feel of what it is like to be near an atomic blast.

Some of the unanswered, and unasked, questions would be what is currently known of the effects of all those tests, under water, under ground, high in the stratosphere, and just above ground? What kinds of radiation was released and how long does it last and how can it effect life today?

I am giving this documentary three stars but I still suggest it. I suggest it along with some other documentaries to fill in the gaps that this one leaves. The Atomic Cafe is a good place to start. No one beats the technical skill of this documentary however.