The Moment of Truth (The Criterion Collection) (1964)

The Moment of Truth follows poor Spanish youth, Miguelin, who finds fame and fortune in the ring fighting.......bulls. Director Francesco Rosi set out to fully depict bull fighting with all of its cruelty, danger, and beauty. He definitely accomplishes that task. Nearly everything in the film is authentic. The main character is an actual matador. The bull fights are real. The gore and accidents are too. There is only one professional actor in the film, an actress actually, who plays an actress. And the cinematography gorgeous inside and outside of the ring--I am particularly reminded of the scene where Miguelin walks through a field of female laborers harvesting grain. As the women fling grain in the air, it all falls like strands of gold in the background.

But The Moment of Truth is not for everyone. If you have any protective feelings toward animals, and you are going to watch this, prepare yourself. Like I said earlier, this is a bloody movie, and every time you see a bull die its gory death, you actually did see a bull die a gory death. So while the beauty of the sport comes through, so does the butchery. Finally, it seemed to me that the story was the second emphasis of the film. That's not to say its poorly acted or even without emotional content. The Moment of Truth clearly points out the nightmarish worlds Miguelin, and others in his position, felt forced to choose between. I just mean that, to me, it seemed like Rosi's main intent was to capture the full scope of bull fighting. While that may make The Moment of Truth the best movie of its kind, it also makes it, at moments, feel more like a documentary than a movie. Think about it.

"The Moment of Truth," new to Blu-ray, is an intriguing look into the life of a famous bullfighter, played by real-life bullfighting legend Miguel Mateo, known as Miguelin. Tracing his career's rise and decline with an unswerving focus on the dangerous sport, the movie is gritty, seldom turning away from its less-than-glamorous aspects.

Several Hollywood pictures have used bullfighting and its milieu ( "Blood and Sand," "The Matador," "The Bullfighter and the Lady"), but none has captured the day-to-day drama as well as "The Moment of Truth." Mateo is a charismatic actor, and his dramatic scenes outside the arena come off convincingly, particularly his romantic scenes with co-star Linda Christian.

Though the setting is Spain, the movie is in Italian with English subtitles. Blu-ray bonus extras include a 2004 interview with director Francesco Rosi, new English subtitles, and a booklet containing a critical essay.

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Every moment in Francesco Rosi's film "The Moment of Truth" is electric with life and sometimes death; and the story of a young matador's from an impoverished area of Spain to fame as a bullfighter is intriguing at every turn. Another first class Criterion edition.

Read Best Reviews of The Moment of Truth (The Criterion Collection) (1964) Here

Just finished watching a neglected jewel by renowned Italian filmaker Francesco Rossi: "Moment of Truth" (1965). It's a beautiful, thrilling and realistic poem to bullfighting, showing underbelly as well. There is more to it than just bullfighting: it begins and ends with Holy Week in Seville. It is telling us something about then fascist Spain probably morphing into something else, but always with the boots of Franco's soldiers marching at the side. But the essence of the film is the predominance of real, beautifully photographed bullfighting scenes. It stars the very great torero Miguel Mateo "Miguelín" who executes all of his own bullfighting scenes, thus the movie providing lasting testimony to his art. I am a fan of real bullfighting, not the bloodless variety. All the bull blood here is real and the bulls fight and suffer like they still do. This is not for the SPCA crowd. But it is a glorious film, and the bull fighting is truly exhilarating. Miguel Mateo died of natural causes in 2003. The film's blu-ray edition from Criterion is exemplary.

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I first saw this film many years ago, then had an opportunity to see Miguelin in Pontevedra, Spain in 1965, Unfortunately he was beyond his prime because he was a truly extraordinary matador.

What I enjoyed so much about seeing it again was the beautiful photography of Semana Santa or Holy Week in Spain, something that my wife and I have enjoyed many many times.

My only regret is that it is in Italian, not Spain.

Morgan Smith

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Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006)

Ice Age: The Big Chill was very good and entertaining. Just seen The Meltdown and was thoroughly entertained. Hollywood finally put something out that didn't have a bunch of sex, blood and gore. Wonderful one liners and originality in this. The QUEEN did an outstanding job, and Ray just made it all the better. This would be one for the DVD Library for sure. Kids AND adults both had a great time. Thank you Hollywood for finally having something that was fun.

We went to see Ice Age 2 the day it came out, which generally guarantees an enthusiastic and rowdy crowd. Everyone there was laughing and clapping throughout.

Manny (Romano), Diego (Leary), and Syd (Leguizomo) are back. They've turned the heavily iced area into a camp for kids complete with ice slides and wading pools. But a vulture called Fast Tony (cameo by Jay Leno) warns everyone that the ice is melting and soon their valley will be flooded. So once again, everyone must migrate, fleeing to safer and higher ground. On the way, they meet 3 new friends: two opposums named Crash and Eddie (Sean Scott Williams and Josh Peck), and their "sister"a mammoth named Ellie (Queen Latifah) who doesn't know she's a mammoth. Collectively, they continue on their migration. Syd and Diego try to convince Manny that Ellie can help him keep mammoths from going extinct, and a possible realtionship begins. But flood waters, horrid water creatures, and Ellie's massive identity crisis stumble them a bit along they way. Syd finds respect and reassurance from a secret tribe of sloth's that revere him as the "Fire God". But it's Scrat, everyone's favorite neurotic squirrel, that's the true star of this movie. My kids, and those all around us, laughed their heads off whenever Scrat's crazy acorn antics were on screen. My old asked me today, "Can we go see Ice Age 2 again?". He didn't even say that after seeing "Curious George"! Fun for the whole family.

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As my 3 year old daughter had worn down the video of the original Ice Age by overuse we decided to try Ice Age: The Meltdown as her introduction to the Movie Theaters.

And were we right. The minute the movie started she stopped fidgeting and kept relatively still. (she did whisper the characters names each time they appeared though).

We were all eager to see this sequel and the rest of the family simply adored it. The only con I might have is 'how can they possibly do a number three now?'

This is certainly on a par with Shrek 2, another sequel which didn't let down it's original.

Family entertainment at its best.

Read Best Reviews of Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) Here

The first "Ice Age" flick was hilarious and touching at the same time. "The Meltdown" goes for more slapstick and even a little bit of romance to move its story along. All of the major players return for this second chilly outing. Headed up by the voice talents of Ray Romano(Manny), Denis Leary(Diego), and John Leguizamo(Sid), this particular film is more of a stand alone tale than an actual sequel to its predecessor. You need not have seen the original to follow the storyline.

The plot starts at the end of the Ice Age, where Manny, his pals, and a whole herd of other companions, come to the stark realization that their current home is about to be flooded by melting ice. I noticed shades of New Orleans during Katrina as I watched the herd make their trek to higher ground. The funny thing is that a mammoth, a sabretooth, and a sloth handled their evacuation way better than a mayor and a so-called governess.

Manny also realizes that he just might be the last mammoth on the planet. Enter Ellie, voiced by Queen Latifah. She's a mammoth who thinks that she's an opossum. She even has two opossum brothers, Crash and Eddie, who are gamely voiced by Seann William Scott and Josh Peck. Peck is half of the duo that is Nickelodeon's "Drake And Josh." You'll recognize Scott as Bo Duke in the recent "Dukes of Hazzard" flick and as Stifler in the "American Pie" series. Of course, Scrat is along for the ride and still chasing that acorn he so longingly desires. Ellie and Manny eventually spark a few romantic flames, but Crash and Eddie, as well as the reliable Diego and Sid, provide plenty of laughs during the trek.

As the herd moves onward, two deep sea leviathans take up the hunt in hopes to capture any of the stragglers. They eventually play a key role in the movie. That role is set up by the revelations that Diego is afraid of water and Sid just wants some respect.

While Scrat is fun to watch, at one point he begins to suffer from "Stifler-itus." In other words, he becomes somewhat annoying to watch as the flick progresses. This little bit of a problem is forgivable, however, thanks primarily to the well-written script and the solid relationships built between the original three and their new counterparts.

The animation is definitely on a higher plane this time around. The characters are crisper, colors brighter, and the motion of the animals is more believable.

If you enjoyed the original "Ice Age," be ready for more of the same high jinks as presented in the original. I personally enjoyed the first flick more than this one, but it is a worthy second-helping of Manny, Diego, and Sid that I'm sure will be loved by most fans of buddy comedies and slapstick humor.

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This is a darling movie, one that (believe it or not) caught the fancy of my 14-year-old, over the other PG-13 choices at the theater last week. I hadn't seen the first Ice Age. But he did, wanted to see the sequel-and was not disappointed. Then again, neither was I.

This feature-length cartoon offers fine animal characterizations, beginning with Sid the sloth, whose feeble attempts to teach, entertain-and control-the younger animals in his frozen, but fast-melting valley, opens the film.

Then along come a large male woolly mammoth, Manny and his saber-toothed tiger friend Diego, who encourages Manny to pursue the only other woolly mammoth they have seen in a long long while-a delightful female named Ellie (Queen Latifah), who has grown up with possums-thinks she's a possum-and like her "brothers," hangs from a tree limb at night to sleep.

Since the ice cliffs around their valley are melting, threatening them with an impending flood, the animals must journey to the valley's end, where they hope to find solid ground. Along the way, they experience several near-disasters, including a run-in with finned sea monsters snapping enormous, alligator-like mouths. Even I screamed at some of the surprises.

The story also highlights the importance of friendships, and families, no matter how they are formed. A wonderful film, for kids and grown-ups alike.

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Vanishing Point (1971)

The story begins at the end, where we are shown a roadblock of monstrous proportions, and a white 1970 Dodge Challenger rocketing toward it. From there the tale begins, backing up two days to give the rest of the story. An interstate chase is on for the driver of the Challenger, whom we know nothing at all about. As the story unfolds, the identity of the driver is rationed out in flashbacks and news reports, slowly bringing into focus the nature of the character. At first, we naturally assume the driver to be a simple car thief, as does law enforcement. Gradually, we learn that the driver is not a thief at all, he is simply delivering the car. He is a decorated Vietnam veteran who joined the police department after his honorable discharge, married a beautiful girl, and then lost her in a surfing accident. Not long after, he stopped a senior officer from beating and raping a young hippie girl, and was dishonorably discharged from the force. We also learn that his high-octane burn across the desert is to satisfy a simple wager: if he makes it from Denver to San Francisco in less than 15 hours, he doesn't have to pay for the amphetamines he bought to keep him awake for the trip. He is guided along the way by blind disc jockey "Supersoul" (Cleavon Little), who speaks to the driver (whose name is we learn is Kowalski (no last name given, via the AM radio in the Challenger. Supersoul is Kowalski's invisible guardian angel, advising him of the cop's attempts to stop him, at least until some local rednecks bust into the radio station with a storm of rocks and racial epithets and beat Super Soul and his engineer into submission. As Kowalski rockets across the blasted desert landscape, he encounters numerous crackpots and visionaries, all of whom seem to offer another piece to the puzzle that Kowalski's life has become. From prospectors to faith healers, outlaws to newlywed hijackers, we are given a glimpse into a world that exists far from the beaten track we all travel each day. As Kowalski hurtles toward his date with the destiny that was mapped out for us at the very beginning of the film, each rumor and news report seems to contradict the image of him that is being played out by the police of several states, elevating him to something of a folk hero among a growing legion of fans and supporters.

This movie knocked me out from the very beginning. For those die-hards, yes, there are plenty of car chases and stunts to satisfy most fans of car/action films. But that's not the whole story, by any measure. For this is the story of one man, not a mythic legend, or even a regional folk hero. Why does he do what he does? He simply has nothing left to lose or gain. How many men returned from Vietnam at least a little disillusioned by the world they came home to? How many have had their lives mapped out neat and pretty, only to have the blind monkey wrench of fate turn their worlds upside down? Here is a man who is perfectly willing to sacrifice his freedom, his safety, and possibly even his life to win what amounts to a ten-dollar bet, at best. When Kowalski finally arrives at the roadblock, the inevitable conclusion to his odyssey, he takes the only road he knows, a path which had been set for him ever since the beginning.

On a cinematic level, the influence of Vanishing Point is far reaching, indeed. The story of a jaded ex-cop who has lost his wife, his hope and, to a degree, his humanity, was taken and nitro-injected in George Miller's Mad Max (1979) and the Road Warrior (1982), as Max Rockatansky (not too far a reach from Kowalski) has his life violently ripped out from under him, and thus turns to the open road. At first for revenge, but then because it is the only world he can exist in, a place where jungle law prevails. By then, Max is nothing more than a shell, a ghost of a human who haunts the blighted landscape propelled by a hunger not even he can understand. One of the most effective plot devices is that of not giving the protagonist a name until well into the film. Joel Schumaker used this technique very well in his good movie Falling Down (1993), not giving Michael Douglas' character a name until the final act of the film's story. By doing this, we are allowed to see the character as a sort of everyman, someone whom we may know, or may even be. We are then free to observe the goings-on at a much more personal level, knowing all too well that the story being played out upon the screen could, given the right circumstances, be any of us, and to that end, possibly even all of us. By the time we learn that the character is someone, it's too late. They are already a part of us, bound by destiny and experience. Also of note is the using of a disc jockey to provide a running commentary on the nature and exploits of the protagonist (as well as provide a reasonable source for the music in the film), a device used, to lesser effect, in Walter Hill's The Warriors (1979). Lastly, although film characters have been bumping into oddballs in the desert for years, Abbe Wool's wonderful Roadside Prophets (1992) stands out as the protagonists wander through the desert, encountering numerous wisdom-dispensing desert dwellers, each contributing their ideas, ideals, and experiences in a way that lends toward a larger collective ideology wherein a greater truth resides.

This is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Do yourself a huge favor and check it out.

After seeing this movie in '71, a year before obtaining my driver's licence, it truly influenced my driving skills and my love for high performance American horse power. Seeing the movie now almost a hundred times over, I know the dialog word for word. This is a cult classic to be shared with those 70's era Mopar fanatics who too have seen this movie in it's various cuts at the local driveins. (And attemped to drive just as fast as Kowalski did after they left the drivein). Having the sound track on LP(vinyl) and the movie on VHS, I can revisit my obsession with this film and sound track when ever I feel the need to reassure myself for need of controlled speed. Remember, they used several Challengers during the filming and you can see some of the different cars throughout the film if you have a sharp eye. For those who can fix the frame of the movie just after Kowalski makes impact and someone is spraying water on the wreckage, they can see the the car is a white Camaro. Look at the vent windows on the door frame. Challengers did not have these! For those with a really sharp eye and a large screen can see the Camaro script on the truck lid also. For those newer viewers, sit back and enjoy a pre Dukes of Hazzards true car chase. It doesn't get any better than this. (Unless we can get it on DVD along with a CD version of the excellant music sound track! Hint, Hint!)

Buy Vanishing Point (1971) Now

This is a classic movie that is as much social commentary as car chase. I remember watching this on a Saturday matinee on my local television station (long before the advent of cable television) and was mesmerized.

I recently purchased the VHS version and it was just as sweet twenty years later.

The premise isn't much: the main character, former member of society now riding on the fringe, has to get a car to San Francisco in 15 hours. Load up on amphetamines and off we go. The 'plot' is merely a vehicle for the ride.

The car chase scenes are great and realistic (none of the special effects laden hocus pocus you see today) and the cinematography of the West is beautiful. The characters, from the DJ who plays mystical guide to the helpers the driver meets in the desert, show life on the fringe. I'm sure on some level this is a mystical, metaphorical journey of sorts but to me it is simply fun to watch.

The soundtrack is absolutely great. It is kind of the O Brother Where Art Thou of the 70s -the one that missed the radar. It isn't music you hear on the radio and it certainly isn't mainstream in any fashion but it sure is good.

I give this five stars quite simply because of the cinematography, the cast of characters and the music. Well worth the visit. They just don't make films like this anymore.

Read Best Reviews of Vanishing Point (1971) Here

What's not mentioned on the cover or in any of these other reviews is that this copy must have been transfered by or remastered from the original negative. I've never seen this film look so good except for when i first saw it on T.V. back in the 70's. Everthing is better, The sound, The picture, The action, And i think even the plot is made better by this upgrade. If you already own one of those other copies of this movie, Buy this one, You wont be disapointed.

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Absolutely the best car chase movie ever made! Ex cop, ex race driver Kowalski takes his 440 Dodge Challenger in a mad dash from Denver to San Francico for a reason only he knows! With the aid of blind disc jockey, "Super Soul" he outruns the "Big Blue Meanies" through 4 states, reliving his tortured past and meets an interesting array of people along the way! The movie is fast paced, helped along by one of the best movie soundtracks ever put together, with music from Kim Carnes, Jerry Reed, Mountain, and a whole lot more! The movie begins showing the almost ending and flashes back to Day One! Even when you get to the ending again, it leaves you wondering if there could be a sequal! Barry Newman as Kowalski, Cleavon Little, (Blazing Saddles) as "Super Soul are perfect! I saw this movie 25 times in the theaters in 1971, and still enjoy this movie on video as much today! I give it, 2 Thumbs Up and 2 Big Toes up!

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Waterworld (Blu-ray + DVD) (1995)

A few years after Waterworld was released on video ABC aired an extended cut on public television. I have been waiting for a long time for the extended edition to be released and now it finally has been. While watching it I relied something that shocked me that is the ABC version, the cussing is gone, the violence is soften and some scenes have been cut out, and no Helen bare back shot. Even some of the sound effects and music has been changed. After doing more research I found this to be true. Instead of revising a 'true' extended edition Universal just put the ABC version on here (without commercials of course) and just added a 5.1 soundtrack to it. What a waste of money this was/is. I guess that's why it is only 15 bucks, I would have gladly spent 50 bucks for an unedited extended cut.

First off, I love the premise of the film and the musical score by James Newton Howard. It took me about two complete watches until I finally began to enjoy it. I liked how they used very little special effects and actually built everything you see on the water. The lack of CGI sets, vehicles and explosions are what caused Waterworld to be one the most expensive films ever made. Almost everything on screen was built by man, which is great in a world full of digital effects taking over the story in most flicks. This is one that I watch at least twice a year and it is worthy of any DVD collection.

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With so much other crap being released these days for a quick buck, can we PLEASE get this re-released as a decent DVD version complete with the Extended Edition that's shown on cable and television from time to time. I would love to spend my money on it. Who is with me?

Read Best Reviews of Waterworld (Blu-ray + DVD) (1995) Here

"Waterworld" has become a classic of sorts, although some may say for all the wrong reasons. It received a beating in the year leading up to its release for its bloated budget, a then staggering $200 million. Much of these costs were incurred due to the shoot being closed down after tropical storms devastated the outdoor sets, and then again when Costner's wife left him during filming, as it was rumored he was caught with some local women and extras. It was assumed this was going to be a bomb of "Cleopatra" proportions, complete with a bankrupted production company and an embarrassment to Universal Studios. The film was nicknamed "Fishtar." However, much to the surprise of everyone, the movie opened to decent reviews and ended up recouping its production costs and turned in a tidy profit with its worldwide gross. Its various home video releases have also sold very well. The movie inspired a wildly popular ride/attraction at Universal Studios Florida. The movie is not exceptional, as it is essentially "Mad Max" on the water, but it features a strong performance from Costner and a very fun and entertaining turn by Dennis Hopper as "The Deacon", the film's villain. The action as directed by Kevin Reynolds(The Count of Monte Cristo, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) is no short of spectacular and the dazzling special effects hold up nicely. For me, the scenes which resonate are those between Costner's Mariner and Helen (Big Love's Jeanne Tripplehorn), and Enola (Napoleon Dynamite's Tina Majorino) on the boat as they become a makeshift nuclear family. This is where the film should have concentrated more energy as it emerges as the most compelling element of the story.

The blu-ray presentation of "Waterworld" is quite excellent. It has seen many incarnations over the years from VHS and several DVD releases, but this hi-def master is the one to own. The VC-1 encode is razor sharp, with excellent contrast, and a nice veneer of film grain, giving it a nice theatrical presentation. There are so many details to catch in the set design and I was able to see many I had not noticed before on the Mariner's boat, the Atoll, and the Valdeez, all of which are exceptionally rendered. The breathtaking cinematography pops off the screen, the colors having never seen such vibrant imaging. No evidence of DNR (used abusively in past home video releases), aliasing, or edge enhancement. The film does have some ringing in some scenes, especially aerial shots of the Mariner's sailboat, as the netting gives off too much shimmer, but it's hardly a distraction. Even better is the DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack which beautifully detailed, as we can hear every ripple and wave in the surrounds, and the action, special effects, and explosions rock the listening area with powerful rumbles from the subwoofer. James Newton Howard's brilliant score is rendered with gorgeous clarity and dialogue is crisp, clear and well-prioritized in the center channel. For fans of the movie, this upgrade is a no-brainer.

The special features are nonexistent, only a SD theatrical trailer and BD Live functionality which has nothing to offer. Most disappointingly, the extended cut of the film is not made available in this set. Both versions are included in the SD DVD set, but for some reason, Universal did not take advantage of BD's overarching feature...superior capacity and include both versions. Granted the extended cut is also censored for content as it has been shown on television, but a director-approved cut would have made this release a bit more of an event.

Given the bargain price on this one, I say grab it, as fans will love this presentation, but even if you are revisiting the film, it is a different experience away from the hype and bad press, and it is, in the end, a very entertaining and fun action adventure film with terrific special effects, and serves as a nice piece of escapist entertainment. This blu-ray presentation gives a nice excuse to have another look.

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This is the second movie that I have purchased produced by Universal Studios, which included a extended/director's cut that was simply a production of an edited version that was shown on broadcast television. It differs in some significant respects to the actual theatrical version with regard to the deletion or altercation of some dialogue and other scenes considered too explicit for television networks. This is a lazy and sad attempt by Universal Studios to produce a extended/director's cut. Most studios, when releasing an extended/director's cut, include ALL the material included in the theatrical release with the additional scenes cut seamlessly into the movie. Moreover, the sound and picture quality on this extended edition is also noticeably worse than on the theatrical version disc. If I wanted the version that was broadcast on television in that form, I would have videotaped it when it was on. I will seriously consider whether I will purchase another extended edition from universal studios given the little effort they seem to put forth and the little care they seem to demonstrate in pleasing their consumers and fan base.

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Coraline (2009)

This movie, yes is a little creepy. It has a moral, which is the point. The grass is always greener on the other side. The moral is the grass is not always greener and things are not always what they seem. I watched this with our 12 year old daughter. She was fine with it. Not sure that a child of 10 or younger would understand it. We love this movie. The person who commented about the 3D effects is wrong. They must have watched that non Blu-Ray 3D, with the paper glasses. This is the version for 3D TV's and Blu-Ray players.

I am only commenting on the 3D aspect of it....not the story itself.

I have several movies in 3d and for me this is bright & colorful. Story is well done but unfortunately nothing really leaps out of the screen at you except for a few instances. I did not think that I was going to like this but watching this in 3D really changed my mind.

I did not really care for Alice in Wonderland or A Christmas Carol. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Despicable Me are pretty good but this I found to be more of a visual treat.

I must say that out of all that I have -Saw 3D and Clash of the Titans-Resident Evil... just do not hold up against CGI movies. IMAX does great stuff but those are not movies.

From start to finish Coraline is a visual feast and I would recommend this for anyone that has a 3D television.

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Universal Studios Home Entertainment have announced the US DVD and Blu-ray Disc release of Coraline on 21st July 2009. Based on the book by Neil Gaiman, this stop-motion animation written and directed by Henry Selick follows an adventurous girl who finds another world that is a strangely idealized version of her frustrating home, but it has sinister secrets.

Available on single-disc DVD, two-disc Collector's Edition DVD and Blu-ray Disc, all include both the 2-D and 3-D version of the main feature and come packaged with 4 pairs of 3D glasses. Features are outlined below...

Single-Disc DVD

* 2-D and 3-D Presentations

* 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen

* English, French and Spanish DD5.1 Surround

* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles

* Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais

2-Disc Collector's Edition DVD As above plus a bonus disc with the following content:

* Digital Copy of Coraline 2-D Version (Expires 07/31/2010)

* Deleted Scenes

* The Making of Coraline

* Voicing the Characters

Blu-ray Disc This is a Blu-ray Combo release which comes bundled with a standard-def DVD that includes the 2-D version of the film (AV specs as per the DVD releases), audio commentary, and a Digital Copy of the film. Features include:

* 2-D and 3-D Presentations

* 1080P 1.85:1 Widescreen

* English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio

* French and Spanish 5.1 DTS Surround

* English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles

* U Control Picture in Picture (2-D Feature Only)

* U Control Tours and Voice Sessions (2-D Feature Only)

* U Control Picture in Picture Animatic (2-D Feature Only)

* Deleted Scenes

* The Making of Coraline

* Voicing the Characters

* Creepy Coraline

* Feature Commentary with Director Henry Selick and Composer Bruno Coulais

* D-Box

* BD Live My Scenes Sharing

* BD Live The World According to Henry

* Disc 2: DVD with standard-def 2-D version of the film, audio commentary & 2-D Digital Copy of the film (expires 31st July 2010)

Read Best Reviews of Coraline (2009) Here

I was let down when I saw the paper glasses that it comes with. I was expecting clear, transparent 3D glasses but the glasses that it comes with have Pinkish and Greenish lenses.

But after watching the movie with glasses I found that they worked pretty good. I haven't seen Coraline 3D in theatres, but I was blown away with some of the 3D scenes. The glasses do take away the bright vibrant colors (not too much though, Coraline's bright orange coat and Blue hair were still vibrant) but add a completely new feel and mood to the movie that's very appropriate for it.

Some people have said that only a few selected scenes are in 3d. I didn't feel this at all. The entire movie was in 3D. Maybe a couple close up scenes where there wouldn't be too much depth to begin with may be 2D, ( I don't know) But the rest was completely 3D.

I watched the movie on Blu-ray and on an HD TV. That's the only way to get the best picture possible.

There are almost 2 different version of Coraline. The 3D and the regular versions. They both create two completely different experiences. When watching in 3D, you feel like you've been transported into a different world that's gloomy and dark. In 2D Blu ray, you get to observe the same world with rich details that aren't visible in the 3D.

So this is defiantly worth buying. The 3D is not as good as the theatres but still works splendidly.

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This uncommon animation starts with tween-aged angst, the kind that demands independence but still wants mom and dad close by. Her busy parents don't have much time for her, though, and her new, remote home doesn't offer much reward for her explorations (other than some rather kooky neighbors). So, even if it's not wholly conscious, Coraline wishes for a nicer place and parents that pay more attention.

As the movie's tagline says, "be careful what you wish for." Like Alice down the rabbit hole, Coraline finds a secret passage to a more magical place. Soon, however, the magic turns dark. That's where the brilliant animation really comes into its own. The stop animation (or at least the look of it) bring to mind Tim Burton with a macabre touch of Brothers Quay. You know your child best skittish ones might find some of the imagery a bit much. Still, kids' stories (like Alice in Wonderland) have always had dark edges. That deliciously spooky sense, plus some great animation, really set this movie apart from the usual.

-wiredweird

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Raging Phoenix (2009)

I wasn't expecting much from JeeJa Yanin's original film ("Chocolate"), but her physical talents were showcased in spectacular fashion and won me over despite the shortcomings in terms of scriptwriting. That film grew on me more and more after repeat viewings, but there still was room for improvement in the pacing and storyline elements. Enter "Raging Phoenix", which not only avoids a sophomore slump for JeeJa, but actually surpasses "Chocolate" in total entertainment value.

One way it does this is to allow JeeJa to express her camera presence and charisma. This was surprising to me personally, because her previous role in "Chocolate" was so introverted and robotic that it was essentially impossible to determine whether or not this girl could steal a scene without beating someone's brains in. In "Raging Phoenix", however, she really cuts loose during the opening half as she jokes around, engages in some funny dialogue, and participates in some light-hearted fight scenes involving drunken styles of martial arts. That one-vs-many boat brawl is now wait for it a boat-load of fun. JeeJa exhibits a natural likability that her fellow countryman Tony Jaa severely lacks. Don't misunderstand me, because I am a fan of Tony's films, but he has some serious limitations as all of his screen presence is earned through his (phenomenal) physical skills. JeeJa, on the other hand, portrays her character in a way that is very endearing. In other words, I'd love to have her as a younger sister. This charm is a major reason why this film is so entertaining. When the action scenes are bridged by good "non-action stuff", that's a huge plus.

The mood gets more serious when the kidnapping plot line is fleshed out more, but even here the film stays attention-grabbing with an interesting twist involving drug dealing. Now, I'm not saying that the script is incredibly strong. It's not going to win any awards in that realm, nor is it as strong as more dramatic action films like "Kill Zone" (2005), but it does build anticipation for the finale and establishes characters a bit more than usual. In addition, "Raging Phoenix" one-ups "Chocolate" by introducing a very strong lead antagonist during the latter half (played by Roongtawan Jindasing Asian Pacific Women's Bodybuilding Champion). This lady is one tough son-of-a-gun who proves incredibly difficult to take down, which automatically makes things a bit more exciting than having JeeJa beat down random stuntmen the entire time.

Which brings us to the action scenes. There are some one-vs-many scenarios early on, but that shifts decisively towards one-on-one and two-on-one battles afterward, which results in some outstanding fist-a-cuffs. The cavern hideout finale lasts a solid 30 minutes, and Roongtawan Jindasing hands out a great deal of damage to JeeJa and her buddies. It escalates to the point of making one's hairs stand on end, especially when JeeJa gets her second wind and slugs it out in EPIC fashion. That sequence must be an instant classic (at least in terms of girl vs girl mayhem). Heck, this entire film is an instant classic.

If you liked "Chocolate", you need to see this. If you didn't like "Chocolate", you need to see this anyways. It's truly an excellent action film, and quite possibly the best girl fighting movie ever made.

To sum up the film: Very cool action set pieces; bloody awful story. We knew there was gonna be imense pressure for Jeeja Yanin's sophomore work to equal or surpass her debut film CHOCOLATE and, to be honest, RAGING PHOENIX carries a whiff of trying too hard. Jeeja Yanin in CHOCOLATE played a mildly autistic debt collector and so it makes sense to have her switching it up in this one. She plays Deu, one of those party girls who have too much free time on her hands. The film opens during a spectacularly bad series of moments for Deu. She gets kicked out of her rock band, gets spectacularly liquored up, and then gets abducted by a girl and by and I guess this is the Thai sense of humor at work a chubby transvestite. She's saved by a melancholy dude named Sanim who along the way fends off a bunch of goons on pogo stilts sporting wicked sharp blades this, by the way, doesn't at all seem contrived. Really. Deu ends up joining Sanim's tiny band of inebriated martial artists, and these guys specialize in "Meyraiyuth," a form of drunken Muay Thai boxing which incorporates breakdancing. We learn along the way that Sanim and his friends are seeking an elusive organization of kidnappers. It's not too long before Deu picks up drunken Muay Thai boxing. In fact, it may be best to overlook the inordinately short amount of time it takes Deu to pick up impressive fighting skills. Personally, it's even more challenging for me to buy into Jeeja Yanin's pretending to be this girl who, at the start of the film, can't fight at all.

Likewise, it's best not to dwell too much on the kidnappers' target victims. It all has to do with certain women exuding a particular scent, and these women are taken so that their tears could be extracted and sold as a curative for staggering sums of money. It's all pretty "What the f---?"

Like in Tony Jaa's movies and I wonder if we'll always be comparing JeeJa Yanin to Tony Jaa? RAGING PHOENIX has a sketchy plot which is there solely to frame the crunching slugfests. What sort of sinks the picture is that things often get bogged down in superfluous plot exposition and forced melodrama. When no one is getting a sharp knee to the face, the pace slows downs to a snail's pace. There are also times when our girl sounds really shrill and when I was thinking that maybe she was better off in CHOCOLATE when she barely had dialogue. She's not as wooden as Tony Jaa. In fact, Jeeja does demonstrate expressiveness and personality (dug her drunken Muay Thai when she first goes off on her own). I blame a screenplay that's listless and the shoddy direction and the fact that this is a Thai martial arts film, a genre which tends to ignore trivial details like good acting and fine execution of story.

We're here strictly for the martial arts stuff, so how was that? Just when I was thinking that THE REBEL's Veronica Ngo was the new lady sheriff in town when it came to buttkicking heroines, here's that wisp of a girl Jeeja Yanin once more kneeing opponents in their painful parts. There are several fight sequences here, and the first two has our heroine taking a back seat to French-Vietnamese martial artist "Kazu" Patrick Tang.("Sanim") and his crew (comprised of members of a B-Boy band in real life). These sequences are really nifty, if unrealistic. The first fight, against the pogo stilt henchmen, demonstrates Kazu's athleticism. The second is the big drunken Muay Thai boxing showcase, and it's cool to see our guys popping and locking and breakdancing while handling their business against some more evil henchmen. The music playing in the background amps you up, too.

Jeeja Yanin gets in the act in later encounters and her character even challenges one of Sanim's guys into a duel by the beach but, really, it's not until the final 30 minutes that the real Jeeja Yanin comes out to play. Her brutal beat down of two formidable martial artists is an electrifying highlight. But then to top it off, she takes on the menacing female leader of the kidnappers in a rematch (her previous tussle with her, over a lattice of shaky wooden bridges, ended somewhat in a draw). The film's Big Bad is played by Roongtawan Jindasing who is a champion body builder in real life, and she looks mean enough to wipe the floor with you and me and Shaquille O'Neal (and while she's wearing a bikini bra, no less). And, in the department of "That's Really Gonna Leave A Funky Bruise," JeeJa Yanin's devastating finishing move on Jindasing will drop your jaw. Yanin does her own stunts again, and it's crazy insane to see her acrobatic moves and observe the impact her blows have. Just when I'd thought I'd seen everything Muay Thai had to offer, Yanin demonstrates a series of electrifying maneuvers. I almost don't mind the sometimes glaringly obvious wire work.

This rating thing is pretty subjective. I'm compelled to give this film 3 stars out of 5 (breaks down to 5 stars for the fighting, 1 star for the crappalicious story content). Except that if you already knew going in that the story would get the back seat treatment and you only showed up to see JeeJa Yanin pummel thugs anyway, do you then only rate this for the action bits? I dunno. I say, 3 stars.

Last thing for me. Seriously, what awful ungodly brew was in that jug that everyone had to drink to cement their team membership? It's got me curious.

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When Tony's away, Jeeja will play...or at least try to take over the title of best international action hero, a feat which seems wholly obtainable with Thai cinema gurus Prachya Pinkaew and Panna Rittikrai on her side. Not since the advent of Michelle Yeoh and Cynthia Rothrock has it seemed feasible for a lady to establish herself over the top stars of the day in the realm of martial arts films, but not only did the petite powerhouse Jeeja Yanin draw considerable first blood with her debut in Chocolate a few years ago, her follow-up film here may very well be the single best entry to fill the void of the Jaa-free landscape. Is it without flaws? of course not. But it's still one of the most exciting features I saw during the year of its western release.

The story: troubled indie rock & roller Deu (Yanin) is rescued from the Jaguar Gang an underground circuit specializing in kidnapping young women by the leader of a small opposing gang (Patrick Tang, Bangkok Adrenaline). Trained by him and his colorful cohorts in their unique style of martial arts Meyraiyuth Deu is recruited as a member of a counter-effort to find out where all the other kidnapped young women disappear to and what fiendish purpose they are used for...

The movie's glaring fault is its narrative. Though it evens itself out as the film goes along, the opening 35 minutes or so are an unwelcome rush of events, happenings, and information that could have easily been spread throughout the first half of the picture. Viewers not devoted to action are likely to turn the movie off before the plot even gets rolling on account of this overload. Additionally, the film's 'twist' what the kidnappees are used for elicits a resounding "yeah, right" from all but the most passive viewers, considering how the movie delves into sci-fi territory after more or less playing it straight for the first hour. Production values are pretty strong for the most part (some of the 'underground' sets aren't entirely convincing) and the acting's about as strong as it's going to get for this movie, so count your blessings.

Yes, do count them, but people who appreciate raw physical talent will run out of fingers to list the highlights of the film's ample fight scenes. Love or hate choreographer Panna Rittikrai but don't ever say his work's unoriginal: the man who made his name finding ways to kick butt in manners audiences have never seen outdoes himself yet again with roughly eight jaw-dropping brawls. The fighting style alone is worth the rave: calling the fictional Meyraiyuth method a synonym for capoeira is nonsense, considering its evolution throughout the movie beginning as a crass mixture of drunken boxing and breakdancing, it takes on elements of capoeira for the middle act before becoming a completely untaggable hodge of muay Thai, kung fu, and judo. Jeeja struts her stuff, but she's perfectly complimented by the likes of Patrick Tang and first-time stars like Nui Saendaeng, Sompong Leartvimolkasame, and ex-policewoman Jindasing Roongtawan as the evil mastermind all of whom deserve their own starring vehicles as far as I'm concerned. Up until now, I was convinced that the Cynthia Rothrock/Karen Sheperd encounter in Above the Law constituted the single best fight between two women in all of cinema, but the Yanin/Roongtawan finale easily puts that one to the test: what we have here is a new standard that will be very, very difficult for other movies to live up to.

I could go on about this one, but it eventually boils down to this: casual viewers will probably hate the plot and deride the length of the fight scenes, while action appreciators who aren't intimidated by the sight of a woman kicking butt will have plenty of reason to cheer. Fans who lament the loss of Tony Jaa will, in a pinch, find a suitable replacement in this young lady from Bangkok and her new vehicle; if you sat through the silliness that was Ong Bak 2: The Beginning, you can certainly stomach this one.

Read Best Reviews of Raging Phoenix (2009) Here

Okay, I'm going to get straight to the point. The first 15 min or so starts off kind of corny and slow but let me tell ya, after that, your mouth will drop to the floor. The action is so intense, I'm talking no wires no stunt people. This is real kick but action folks. So, if your into the real thing, check this dvd out. Every bone in Jija's body should've been broken! Jija is for sure the next female Ong Bak. Can't wait to see her in more serious rolls though.

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I liked the funky twists and turns of the story line. Its contempory style of young actors.. I have to give it to the actors and actresses in this for their MEGA contribution of athletic ability, coreography and staminia. Liked the parkour freestyle, not a CGI movie If you ejoy martial art scenes....You will enjoy this movie!

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Return of the Living Dead (1985)

Before we start. I want to affirm that I love this film. Great script, great performances, great soundtrack, great directing.

Also, regardless of the negative feedback I give this DVD, we are unfortunately obligated to buy it, if we ever want to see a special edition DVD.

Ok, here goes. Yeah it looks great. But it just felt wrong. I couldn't place the reason. I thought maybe it was a visual matter. But I quickly realized that what was bugging me was the soundtrack. It was inexplicably, utterly mangled.

Will someone tell me why? Why were the vocals for whole songs removed? I am sorely disappointed and angered by this. I am outraged by the George Lucas style of re-working your film for DVD, and abandoning the original theatrical cut. If you feel the need to improve your film, fine, provide an alternate cut, or additional scenes, or whatever, that's great. Give me the option on the menu to see the "improved version, or the regular cut. But don't alter a classic, and not even mention it and try to pass it off as the original.

There are so many examples of this butchering, that I can't name them all. I only watched it once last night, and am at work now, but a few definitely come to mind.

#1 The scene where Trash and Suicide and the gang are speeding towards the cemetery used to have the Damned song Dead Beat Dance as the background music. Well, not anymore! You get the inital maniacal laugh, and then nothing, a completely different song. Why?!

#2 The scene where the zombie says: "send more cops", with a thick new york accent. A classic scene right? We all loved it right? Well did you notice that they changed the voice? Did you notice that is was awful in comparison, and not nearly as funny? Was there a good reason for this sacrilege? Has Dan O'Bannon lost his mind, or was this the studios fault? In the end credits, where the best-of scenes replay a second time, we hear the "send more cops" line in all its original glory. So I know I am not imagining this.

#3 What's his name, the Pathmark guy (no slight intended, his performance was excellent), takes his own life by placing himself in the crematorium. In the original version of this scene is accompanied by the song Burn the Flames, which sports a haunting guitar solo at the exact moment the door shuts and we hear the man's tortured screams. It is actually one of my favorite scenes in the film. The haunting music enhances the sadness of the moment.

But not anymore. Now the music is faded out in a particularly unartistic way, and the scene plays silent. Sorry but this is a disgrace. I waited years for this film to be re-released and I feel betrayed. The soundtrack was perfect the way it was. In a different film it would not be as a big of a deal. But when you are the ONLY zombie/comedy/horror film with a punky soundtrack, and a damned good one, and everyone loves you for it, you don't go around meddling and altering, deleting and rewriting, compiling and defiling.

It go to the point where I held my breath with every song change, worried sick that they would ommit lyrics or do away with the track altogether. Waves of relief washed over me when I reached the scene where the zombies are attacking the funeral home (and our heroes are furiously nailing doors and windows shut)and I discovered that the Cramps song "Surfin Dead" was left intact. Thank god, or the devil, for that one.

Could I be wrong? Did I miss some sort of soundtrack feature, where mistakenly clicked something off or on? Or is the sad fact that this movie has been permanently altered...?

After over a decade of being out of print (do to legal wrangling in regards to the film's punk rock soundtrack that is prominently featured throughout the film) the classic 1980s zombie film that turned heads with it's dark humor, witty script, and original zombie design is now available on DVD!

Freddy is a typical early 1980s punk rock fan who, on his first day at work at UNEEDA Medical Supply, learns that the movie "Night of the Living Dead" was based on an actual event involving zombies and that UNEEDA one day came into possession of one of the zombies which is now being held in a cylinder in the basement. A non-believing Freddy is shown the container just as it explodes, filling the supply company's building with a toxic green gas. The gas causes the sole human body in the body to come to life (as well as freeing the zombie from it's cylinder prison) and after failing to destroy the zombie the tradition way (cutting of it's head) they take it to the local crematorium to be cremated. Unfortunately this makes things MUCH, MUCH worse as the smoke laced with the toxic chemical mixes with storm clouds that rain down on the city at night and resurrecting the bodies buried inside the town's cemetary where ironically Freddy's fellow punk-friends are having a little party.

The kicker for Return of the Living Dead that makes it a classic film and makes it one of the most well loved zombie movies is the fact that the film's zombies aren't your typical movie zombie. They are smart (luring police to the crematorium after killing off several cops who come to investigate all of the strange activity going on), are fast and agressive instead of slow and dumb and the zombies have the most hilarious banter involving their thirst for brains that can have even the most squeemish movie viewer laughing.

Featuring a great punk rock sound-track and a great mix of humor and violence, this film has sadly been out of circulation for over a decade do to the it's punk soundtrack. Now it's back on the market on DVD. This is a must buy DVD for any true horror fan....

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Re-animated corpses, swearing, blood & gore, full-frontal female nudity, iconoclastic jabs at American culture, and lots of gallows humor--what more could a horror fan ask for?

Any genre fan who has a morbid sense of humor is sure to enjoy 1985's THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. In the same vein as other tongue-in-cheek horror shtick such as the Chiodo Brothers' KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE and Sam Raimi's ARMY OF DARKNESS, this one's specifically a spoof of George Romero's classic and highly revered zombie film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD. Director/Screenwriter Dan O'Bannon, probably best known for having penned the original ALIEN movie, does a fantastic job of lovingly poking fun at the Horror and SF genres while at the same time satirizing everything from the U.S. Military to Punk Rock. This movie is not only funny, it's got plenty o' "brains"!

And you can't beat the financial value of the DVD edition. Not only does it cost less than a lot of other full-length, widescreen DVD thrillers--including some that are hardly worth the plastic and aluminum it took to make 'em--but it also includes these cool extras: an optional audio commentary by O'Bannon and production designer William Stout; both the G-rated and R-rated theatrical trailers; over 5-minutes of various TV spots; some storyboard-like production stills; and a really cool "Designing the Dead" featurette, in which O'Bannon and Stout discuss the evolution of the final look and feel of the movie (lots of great shots of Stout's EC-Comics-like designs for the zombies offered in this one).

Read Best Reviews of Return of the Living Dead (1985) Here

"How was your day,dear?" "Usual,crap." I love that line. This is my absolute favorite movie of all time and I am extatic to hear that is finally coming out on DVD. The reason why I love it so much...couldn't tell ya. It's just one of those movies that keep you forever. I loved it. It's a unique zombie flick. With the portrayal of younger adolescents, I think it gives the movie a certain edge that no other zombie, or any other horror film for that matter, has ever had. Past, present and I will boldy say future. With combinations of laughs, scares, and gore, it surpasses every horror movie ever made. The character of Suicide and Trash are my two favorites. Unfortuanately for me, they are the first two to be devoured by brain starved zombies. But I always looked at it this way, Trash got what she wanted..."A bunch of old men to surround me. And start bighting, and eating me alive." I see. Trust me, if you are an avid horror fanatic like myself and love zombie films, check this one out! And if you are in to Punk music at all, the soundtrack for the movie rocks. With bands like The Cramps, The Damned, The Flesheaters, and TSOL, you'll be in pure heaven...Or hell. Whichever you prefer! I give this movie 2 THUMBS UP...and one half eaten brain!!!

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This cut of the film sucks: The soundtrack has been reedited and remixed. Its not the same as the version we grew up with. The songs have been edited. Most notably the creepy song "Burn the Flames" played when

James Karen cremates himself has been almost totally removed. This stinks.

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Little Big Man (1970)

Advertised as a comedy when originally released, LITTLE BIG MAN is much, much more than that. Director Arthur Penn's sweeping film depicting the clash of the Indian and white cultures will have you chuckling one moment, then shaking your head sadly at man's inhumanity to man the next.

Dustin Hoffman as the ever industrious Jack Crabb takes this movie on his shoulders and carries it superbly. To say that the actor shows some "range" in this role is the epitome of an understatement: from portraying an adolescent teenager to a fragile 121-year-old-man (phenomenal makeup job), from snake-oil salesman to mule skinner, Hoffman brings Jack's fascinating life to splendorous glory. And Hoffman is funny--darn funny--with a wonderful knack for physical comedy.

In addition to Hoffman, LITTLE BIG MAN offers other savory treats. Richard Mulligan is absolutely delightful as a narcissistic General George Armstrong Custer--the stunning Faye Dunaway positively wicked as naughty Mrs. Pendrake. Chief Dan George, who portrays Old Lodge Skins, Jack's adopted Cheyenne grandfather, delivers countless one-liners, yet lends a quiet, heartfelt dignity to his role. In fact, this is a movie one will wish to savor again and again--a beautifully crafted, well-made film that is timeless in its ability to entertain.

--D. Mikels

I remember seeing the original theatrical release of Arthur Penn's "Little Big Man" in the early 1970's. Now over thirty years later it has been released in DVD form and it is a film, that is both funny and tragic as ever.In the film, 121 year old Jack Crabb (played humorously by Dustin Hoffman) recounts his life (in narrated backflash) growing up among both the Cheyenne Indians and the white man in the old wild West.We follow the Crabb character as he goes through various phases as a Cheyenne warrior, a medicine show conman, a gunfighter, entrepreneurial business man, drunkard and finally a mule skinner/U.S. Army scout. Crabb is a man trapped between two cultures. He hilariously stumbles through the old west trying to find a place among his own kind, even though his heart is still with the Cheyenne Indians who adopted him. The movie leads up to Crabb's eventual, critical participation in the 'Battle of Little Bighorn', otherwise known as 'Custard's Last Stand'.The film is humorus as it shows how little people change over history. Just as today, people of the historical old West were driven by such things as love, lust, vanity, power and money.Unfortunatly they also were driven by bigiotry, hatred and violence.One of the main themes of "Little Big Man" is the terrible, almost genocidal treatment of the American Indian at the hands of the U.S. government.It's somewhat ironic, that the Cheyenne in the film refer to themselves as 'the human beings', yet the white men seem to treat them as anything but that. Arthur Penn (director of "Bonnie & Clyde") has created a sprawling, well directed, historical tapestry of a film, which makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time.The movie is a star vehicle for the then young, Dustin Hoffman. Like "The Graduate", this film shows off, what a wonderful comic performer Hoffman can be.The large cast has many standout performances. Faye Dunaway is hilarious as Jack's religious, yet lascivious, adoptive mother, Mrs.Pendrake. The same goes for comic actor, Richard Mulligan, who puts in a very funny performance playing General George Armstong Custard as a pompous egomaniac, who's vanity leads to his imfamous place in history.But by far, one of the best performances in the film comes from Chief Dan George, who play's Hoffman's wise and mystical, yet somewhat scatological adoptive, indian grandfather.The character is intersting, because he always seems to be able tell us the obvious truth of the moment.He understands that this time in history is the begining of the end for his people. I love the speech he makes in which he explains, that "there are endless amounts of white men, but only so many 'human beings'" (indians).Its's a shame Chief George didn't get an Academy Award for his wonderful performance.The DVD for this movie has a good picture and sound transfer, but is absolutly bare bones in extras (not even a trailer). Still, it is great film, which I highly recommend.

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"Little Big Man" from 1970 is one of the truly all time great epic westerns.I first saw it in the theatre back in the early '70's and was really impressed.I later added it to my video library back in the '80's first on Beta then later on VHS.The movie loses some of it's epic scope when transferred to the small screen ,however it's still powerful. Directed by Arthur Penn(the classic "Bonnie&Clyde from 1967) and based on the novel by Thomas Berger, it stars Dustin Hoffman as Jack Crabb.The story is told by Jack as a 121 year man to a writer who is interviewing him and he narrates throughout the story. In the beginning of the story we see the aftermath of a battle with white settlers after an Indian attack.Jack and his sister are captured by the Cheyenne braves.His sister escapes but he is adopted and raised by the tribe who call themselves "the human beings". As Jack grows into a young man he proves himself in battle and is given the name "Little Big Man" by the elder of the tribe "Old Lodge Skins" (well played by actual Native American ,Chief Dan George),and what was most impressive was the fact that Chief Dan George wasn't a professional actor.Jack is given that name because his size is little but his bravery is big.Old Lodge Skins becomes Jack's adopted Grandfather and their relationship is at the center of the story.

The movie features a first rate supporting cast including Martin Balsam as Mr.Merriweather,Faye Dunaway as Mrs.Pendrake, Jeff Corey as Wild Bill Hickok,Richard Mulligan as General George Armstrong Custer and Aimee Eccles as Sunshine.The story has many funny moments,sad moments,and intense moments, something not found in many westerns or many movies for that matter.Chief Dan George was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role.A movie with a similar theme came out 20 years later in 1990 called "Dances with Wolves" directed and starring Kevin Costner which won several Academy Awards.Some found that film to be as good as "Little Big Man",some didn't.The tagline on the movie poster for "Little Big Man" read,"Being the adventures of Jack Crabb,either the most neglected hero of the American West or a liar of insane proportions." Judge for yourself.

Read Best Reviews of Little Big Man (1970) Here

One of director Arthur Penn's finest films, Little Big Man combines satire with tragedy with a deft, sure hand. The screenplay by the talented Calder Willingham and direction are sharp as nails and actor Dustin Hoffman manages to pull off a coup playing Jack Crabb from teen years (it's actually Hoffman's voice you hear dubbed in as a young teen)to old age (with marvelous make up by Dick Smith). Is Crabb telling tall tales (ironic and appropriate given his small stature and his Indian name)or did much of what he speaks about occur? It doesn't really matter as the telling of the tale is so marvelous.

BLU-RAY:

There is dirt and debris that crop up. There are also occasional scratches. Colors are a bit subdued but the film has always looked that way--this isn't a movie that flashes bright colors on screen. It's a pity that this catalog title didnt fet a bit more love in this transfer but it does improve on the DVD. The aspect ratio here is 2.36:1 vs. the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 so it's a tiny bit off but very close to the original.

Detail is a huge improvement over the previous DVD and a moderate amount of depth is provided with the high def transfer.

The original audio soundtrack is presented in mono and it's a nice, clear presentation.

The only extra we get is a theatrical trailer. That's a pity because an interview with Hoffman on the making of the film and/or a documentary with interviews done before the death of director Arthur Penn would have been nice to privde some insight into the production of this deft satire.

THE DVD:

Penn and his collaborators use Jack as a social mirror reflecting the injustice, brutality and pettiness of the wild west. Staying true to the spirit of Thomas Berger's marvelous novel, the cast and crew manage to distill much of the essence of Berger while sacrificing some of the less important details. The loss is, surprisingly, not really felt for many of those who read the novel. The superb supporting cast includes Martin Balsam, Jeff Corey (in a funny, perceptive cameo as Wild Bill Hiccock), Faye Dunaway (as a religious hypocrite who lusts after her adopted son Jack), Chief Dan George (he has some of the funniest lines in the script)and the late Richard Mulligan playing a vain nearly psychopathic General Custer.

The digital transfer preserves the original aspect ratio of the film and the nearly flawless print shows very little digital compression problems. This disc is enhanced for 16X9 widescreen TVs. The 139 minute production is presented on a dual layer disc for maximum picture quality. I didn't detect any analog artifacts (or at the very least very few). The color is fairly true to the original release as far as I can tell. The sound presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and Stereo Surround has some compression problems and sounds a little bit flat but that could be due to the original recording as well. The packaging says nothing about the sound being remixed for 5.1 so it's difficult to say how much restorage and changes were done to the soundtrack.

The drawbacks to this disc are few but important. There's no extras included. I'm sure the original theatrical trailer was available as were interviews with the stars and director during the film's original release. None of these vintage interviews are included. My guess is that Paramount chose to use the budget tp insure a high quality print and good sound. That's fine but it's a pity as Little Big Man is every bit the classic (and deserves the same treatment)as Casablanca, Patton and Dr. Strangelove. Paramount has been somewhat reluctant with many of their releases to DVD to provide extras (witness Chinatown, any of the Star Trek film releases--with the exception of the recently reissued films) Sure, there have been exceptions (The Godfather series)but most of those exceptions have been few and far between. If Paramount can't do justice to these classic films perhaps they should do an initial release and then license them to a specialty house (like Criterion or Anchor Bay)to provide a special features packed edition. Interviews with Dustin Hoffman and Faye Dunaway would have enhanced this classic film. Perhaps neither one of these surviving cast members was interested in participating.

Little Big Man is one of Penn's finest films along with Night Moves and Bonnie & Clyde). I'm happy to have it available in such a beautiful transfer but wish that more time and care had been taken to provide fans and film buffs with extras.

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Comedy.... Action.... Drama.... War... and Romance is another great combination in a film top with serious issues. "Little Big Man" starts you off in 1970, with a reporter interviewing Mr. Crabb (Dustin Hoffman, in one of his great performances), the sole white survivor of the Battle of Little Big Horn, a wrinkled visage who is 121 years old at the time of the interview. In the course of his tall tale about the taming of the west, he recounts his career as a Cheyenne Indian, a bible thumper, a snake-oil salesman, a gunfighter, a drunk, and just about everything else one could be in those days. Since he was a white man raised by the Cheyenne, and spoke both languages fluently, he moved back and forth between the two worlds.

His story is great when it is being funny. I laughed at the sight of Dustin Hoffman dressed as a gunfighter. He really was the fastest gun in the West, and also the surest shot. Only one little thing kept him from achieving gunfighter immortality. He didn't like shooting at any living things.

Thankfully this was produced before the forces of political correctness could bowdlerize it. Today this would be watered down to avoid the epithets and stereotypes that add color and authenticity to this wonderful film. It is a obvious precursor to `Dances With Wolves', but also to a movie where the influence is less patent like `Forrest Gump' where famous persons are infused into a historical comic-drama. Numerous interesting characters infuse the picture: the epicene (though lustful) sister, the wise, yet pixilated Indian grandfather (played brilliantly by Chief Dan George), the unconscionable General Custer, the libertine Mrs. Pendrake (Faye Dunaway) and of course Dustin Hoffman's own character.

A funny and sad study of a wild time in history mixed with modern sentiments. A tall tale that resonates with truth.

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The Blood Trilogy (Blood Feast / Two Thousand Maniacs! / Color Me Blood Red) (1965)

Herschell Gordon Lewis is one of those rare directors who is so inept and clumsy that his films become wildly entertaining. He and others such as Ed Wood and Doris Wishman consistently made terrible movies that, while incredibly silly, are still engaging through and through. There are plenty of bad directors who made a few films that are fun to watch and there are plenty of bad directors who made films that are just pure tedium, but most every HGL film is a treat for those of us who enjoy the finer points of exploitation cinema.

"Blood Feast" is easily HGL's most infamous film one that most gore fanatics know quite well. Although it's a bit tame by today's standards, it hasn't lost its edge. There are some incredibly bloody scenes and they're surrounded by some of the worst, most wooden acting anyone has seen outside of "Plan 9 from Outer Space". It turns even the most bland dialogue scenes into laugh riots.

"Two Thousand Maniacs!" is not amongst my favorite HGL films, but it does seem to be fairly popular with most fans. It's basically a remake of "Brigadoon", (yeah, HGL has a PhD in literature honest) but this time with hillbillies and gory, violent deaths. It's a nice crossover between HGL's hillbilly films and his gore films.

"Color Me Blood Red" is another classic. The blood is plentiful, as is the campy atmosphere and typically awful acting. Any HGL fan will enjoy this.

Just like Something Weird Video's "Herschell Gordon Lewis Collection" (which I also highly recommend), there are plenty of extras. HGL and his partner on these three films, David Friedman, provide great commentary tracks, both hilarious and informative. We also get some trailers and a few shorts. Overall, excellent extra features. SWV did a typically excellent job with this.

This collection belongs on the shelf of any serious exploitation cinema collector. Buy it and enjoy!

It would be easy to pass this up as being a package of movies that was put cheaply together for a quick buck if you didn't know better. Don't make that assumption.

These are three examples of early gore from the pioneers of the genre, Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman. While not exactly Oscar-worthy, they have their place in cinema history. The transfers on the Blu-ray discs aren't exactly reference quality, but they're fine for these films, and probably far better than they ever looked on drive-in screens. In some scenes, you could argue they look TOO good. The main audio tracks are PCM mono.

BLOOD FEAST If you ever wondered where modern horror started, look no further than this cult classic. A caterer puts together a feast using body parts of his victims. Filmed on a budget of $24,500 (according to Friedman in the commentary), it is one of the most horribly acted movies you will ever see...yet there's something appealing about this film even today. The gore, cheesy by today's standards, was like nothing ever seen before in its day. The movie became a sensation at drive-in circuits around the country and birthed a segment of cinema that simply hadn't existed previously.

TWO THOUSAND MANIACS After making names for themselves with "Blood Feast", Lewis and Friedman made "Two Thousand Maniacs" with triple the budget. A small Southern town celebrates the anniversary of the Civil War by tricking some Northern tourists into town and killing them in various community events. Most of the actual residents of the shooting location were all too happy to participate in filming, which made the movie look far bigger than it was.

COLOR ME BLOOD RED A frustrated artist can't find his color...until his girlfriend accidentally cuts herself. After creating his masterpiece with her blood, he needs more to continue painting. You know where this is going.

Watch them all twice...once without the commentary, then once with. Lewis and Friedman provide some great stories, especially if you're a fan of drive-ins and understand the history of exploitation cinema. And don't miss the extras "Follow That Skirt!" (possibly the best thing on the disk) and a vintage short about cutting meat called "Carving Magic!".

For the asking price, this is an outstanding value.

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Blood Feast

Herschell Gordon Lewis made Horror history with 1963's BLOOD FEAST, widely considered to be the first "gore" film. In the years before the MPAA, filmmakers were only limited from showing excessive nudity on-screen. With no rules preventing anyone in the movie industry from depicting gratuitous violence or horrifying bodily dismemberment, H.G. Lewis and business partner David F. Friedman embarked on a series of films that exploited these loose regulations in an attempt to compete with the major studio releases in the drive-in circuit. The two did not ease in to this newly established genre with just a few missing limbs or a severed head, but (literally) covered the screen in blood and butchery from start to finish. This simply had never been done before, and even to this day, BLOOD FEAST continues to serve as one of the most shocking and gruesome films in the genre.

Mrs. Fremont is throwing a dinner party for her daughter's engagement, so in order to impress her guests, she has hired the exotic caterer Fuad Ramses to put on an extravagant feast! What she doesn't know is that Fuad has worked up a special menu made from bits and pieces of the missing girls from around town, which he will be serving as the main course in an Egyptian blood feast to appease the goddess Ishtar!

PSYCHO, this is not; Lewis' listless direction shows all of the style and finesse of an early stag film (another genre with which he was fondly familiar). BLOOD FEAST tastefully implies nothing, and instead plasters the screen in one lurid image after another, using as few camera set-ups and shots as possible for the minimal amount of coverage provided. Lewis and Friedman would tap Playboy playmate Connie Mason to star as the beautiful young bride-to-be, who would return for their follow-up 2000 MANIACS the next year. Mason, along with her fellow cast members, produce truly horrible performances, but the roles are so poorly acted and outrageously over-the-top that they give way to the highest level of camp. As if the subject matter was not forward enough, Lewis' editing clearly demonstrates his lack of concern with plotting or characterization, as the camera holds on the disfigured remains of Fuad's victims much longer than it ever does for any of the characters in the film.

Using gallons of red paint and nearly an entire butcher's shop of animal entrails, BLOOD FEAST offers everything from a beach full of splattered brains, to a torn out tongue, a hacked off leg, and more in eye-popping color film stock! While this may not seem like much, the method in which the murders are filmed and the absolutely absurd amount of bright-red blood make these moments as memorable as they are completely revolting.

Herschell Gordon Lewis, the "Godfather of Gore," has left behind a bloody trail of influence in the wake of this seminal shocker. BLOOD FEAST has had a profound effect on countless young filmmakers, and will continue to live on in the annals of Horror for many years to come.

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Two Thousand Maniacs

A conveniently placed detour sign on a remote country road lands a group of Northern vacationers right smack dab in the middle of Pleasant Valley's Centennial celebration. The jovial Mayor Buckman invites the newcomers to participate in each of the town's festivities, but what the visitors don't know is that they are being lead to the slaughter as part of the locals' bloody revenge for a Civil War defeat! Herschell Gordon Lewis' drive-in classic TWO THOUSAND MANIACS is a vast improvement over his first gorefest, BLOOD FEAST, complete with a highly imaginative plot and several of the most memorable executions in shock cinema. Of the many carnival games the travelers 'participate' in, the bloodiest include a spiked barrel roll, a four-way horse race, and a smashing game of Hit the Target! The outrageously over-the-top acting and absurd dialog only add to the film's campy charm, but Lewis' no-budget approach to filmmaking only produces the same flat results in terms of the actual production. Regardless, TWO THOUSAND MANIACS is the Godfather of Gore's greatest film, and an early milestone in the history of splatter pictures.

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Color Me Blood Red

His third gore film in three years, COLOR ME BLOOD RED is the last of the three pictures that make up Herschell Gordon Lewis' original 'Blood Trilogy.' It is also the most sophisticated of any of his films, and one that is likely his most personal. It tells the tale of Adam Sorg, a struggling artist that only finds success after he begins painting in his victims' blood! The theme of the tortured artist is taken to absurd new heights (or lows, rather) in this gruesome black comedy. Lewis instills his frustrations with his own lack of critical acclaim through his preferred medium, while commenting on how his only means of receiving any recognition in film was to include more blood and gore. Surprisingly, COLOR is even more visceral than either of the other entries in the series, containing everything from the disemboweling of a model to a brain-splattering shotgun blast to the face. Gordon Oas-Heim also provides an intense performance as the lead, closing out the thrilling climax with a bang! While it rarely ranks as a favorite among fans, this truly is one of Lewis' better films.

-Carl Manes

I Like Horror Movies

Read Best Reviews of The Blood Trilogy (Blood Feast / Two Thousand Maniacs! / Color Me Blood Red) (1965) Here

I just got my blu ray in and popped it in the player, so excited to finally see these wonderful H.G. Lewis films in HD, but to my REAL shock and horror they have cropped the image at the top and bottom for that fake widescreen look and it really effects the picture! The picture IS otherwise brighter and clearer than the previous "Something Weird" dvd release but there is just too much cropped off at the top and bottom. For all you H.G. Lewis purists beware!

Want The Blood Trilogy (Blood Feast / Two Thousand Maniacs! / Color Me Blood Red) (1965) Discount?

It wasn't that long ago that going to the movies was a different experience. There were few multiplexes, and most theaters showed double features. When you went to the movies, you had to clarify that it was a "walk-in" theater because drive-ins were a popular alternative. It was a time when there were many low-budget movies produced by minor studios and making limited runs; these were a more charming version of the direct-to-video schlock that is made nowadays. H.G. Lewis was pretty successful at these low budget movies, especially with horror: Lewis was a pioneer in the field of gory movies, producing grisly movies decades before Jason, Freddy and Michael would make it standard film fare.

The so-called Blood Trilogy is actually three separate movies; the name was given in later years when they were released and shown as a set in theaters. The first film is Blood Feast, the tale of a madman killing young women to prepare a cannibalistic feast in honor of Ishtar. Lewis's formula is often the more blood, the better, but often the actual act of violence isn't really shown, only the result. We see the villainous Fuad Ramses making his attack, and we see the dead body, but we rarely see the actual stabbing (or other act). By many standards, this is a pretty awful movie: the acting is amateurish and the writing and sets are not much better, but it (and its two companion movies) has an Ed-Woodish appeal to it: it's in that so-bad-it's-good category that easily develops a cult following. It is also pretty much the first truly bloody movie, so even if flawed, it is a breakthrough film.

Two Thousand Maniacs is the best movie in the set, the tale of an isolated Southern town that lures unsuspecting Yankees to participate in a special celebration, which turns out to be the anniversary of some Union atrocities. Now, the residents are out to exact their own unique form of revenge against the North with murders taking place in a carnival-like atmosphere.

The final film is Color Me Blood Red, a take-off on House of Wax and Bucket of Blood with an artist achieving success through murder. In this case, it is a painter who discovers the color he needs to achieve his vision can only be gotten through blood. He apparently doesn't think of using animals (there wouldn't be much of a movie in this case). Instead, he starts with his girlfriend and moves on to people who wander too close to his home.

All three movies are pretty short and come with entertaining commentaries by Lewis and his producer which make it clear that they knew these were never going to win any Oscars. There are also trailers, a gallery of ads that show how these movies were promoted and a short subject on meat carving that features a very young Harvey Korman. Thanks to the movie Juno which shows a small clip from Lewis's The Wizard of Gore, it is likely that Lewis will get some renewed interest. The Blood Trilogy set is a good way to be introduced to him with his first three horror flicks.

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I'm a Cyborg (2006)

In 2006, the South Korean surreal comedy film "I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK" from director Park Chan-wook was released.

With Park's work with "JSA", "Oldboy" and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" attracting many international fans, Park wanted to try something much more different, more on the arthouse side by creating a film that would have a surreal dreamlike feel. Because of its surreal nature, the film did well in Korea during its opening weekend but quickly plummeted in sales by its second. Lauded by viewers who felt it was a wonderful, symbolic and unique style of film, those who are followers of Park's more violent and serious works were a bit dismayed by the film as somewhat incomprehensible. Also, the film would mark the first theatrical role for Korea's hot pop star Rain and would bring in an audience not used to seeing this certain style of film.

"I'm a Cyborg" is definitely a film that one will either love or hate and most that I've read disliking it was more because of the film's surrealist take and not coming up with a clear-cut ending. While those who lauded the film enjoyed the symbolic nature of the film, it's smart use of imagery and Park Chan-wook's ability to step away from the style of film's that he is accustomed of doing and doing something else, whether or not his fans approve.

VIDEO:

"I'm a Cyborg" is presented in 1080p (Anamorphic 1:77:1) on a BD25 Disc. The film showcases the vibrant colors of the film. From the vibrant colors of the outdoors to the glowing of Young-goon's toes, there is a good amount of detail featured on the Blu-ray disc. I didn't notice any major compression issues or combing. Blacks were nice and deep and for the most part, very good picture quality.

AUDIO & SUBTITLES:

"I'm a Cyborg" is presented in Korean Dolby Digital 5.1 but also two lossless audio tracks. One in DTS-HD MA and the other in Dolby TrueHD 5.1. The film tends to utilize various sounds especially during the dream moments of Young-goon. From the sound of her becoming a robot and firing machine guns on everyone around her, to thunder in the background or the hint of crowd ambiance at the mental hospital, there is a good use of surround channels and dialogue is clean and understandable through the center channel. But because this is a BD25 disc, I was a bit surprised to see three audio tracks, especially two lossless audio tracks (DTS-HD and Dolby TrueHd codecs) included.

Subtitles are in English and found no major typo's or errors. Subtitles were easy to read.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"I'm a Cyborg" comes with the following special features:

Please note: This is an all-region Blu-ray but there are times when the special features for a UK Blu-ray will not work on a REGION A Blu-ray player. For "I'm a Cyborg", I was unable to play the special features on a Magnavox Blu-ray player. Usually, I'm able to play it on a PS3 Blu-ray player but in this case, I was unable to access the special features at all.

* Making of

* Exclusive Interview with Director Chan-wook Park

* Music Video

* Original Theatrical Trailers

JUDGMENT CALL:

"I'm a Cyborg" can be seen as a film about love or a film devoid of love until two people who have mental problems find comfort within each other.

And this is not an easy description to make because typically, when you discuss a film that utilizes characters with mental problems or deal with some sort of insanity, one tends to think of a film with a darker storyline. But director Park Chan-wook avoids the banality by giving these characters some depth by using dreamlike-states as a way to show the viewer of what kind of mindset these individuals are having.

From Young-goon's thoughts of killing all hospital workers, to another patient who feels she can fly with her special socks, many may watch this film and enjoy it almost like a comedy but when the second half of the film rolls in, "I'm a Cyborg" becomes more of a film of two people who literally have nothing but each other.

Although the viewer is not explained how things got so bad with Young-goon or Park, you pretty much take their mental illness as what is and wonder if they will eventually get better. And because of their mental illness, those around them have literally shunned them but for both of these main characters, they start to realize that they are not alone and they have each other. Park knows that she is not a cyborg but he doesn't try to prove her wrong, he supports her no matter what.

And it is true that the film's ending may be a bit disingenuous. One may not feel they are getting any closure to these characters but it's all about the symbols shown in the film. I've read many write ups from viewers who have problems enjoying the film because there is no romance or some sort of fitting climax nor a fitting ending. But my feeling is that both of the main characters in the film have mental issues that border to near insanity. Can these two individuals even comprehend what a relationship or a bond is? In a typical movie sense, we are not going to get any liplocking or passionate love making, director Park Chan-wook did a good job in not following the usual path in featuring two people with mental illness. They discover things in their own way, good or bad.

Young-goon believes that Park has powers to help her achieve her goal as a cyborg, Park feels that he cares for her to support her and her mindset of believing she is a cyborg and bet there for her. It may seem unusual but if one loves another, they are willing to do what they can to maintain that love and Park does it his own way, especially a touching moment in order to become healthy.

With that being said, "I'm a Cyborg" won't be for everyone. Aside from it's surreal nature, some may find the violence scenes to be a bit overbearing. There are several times where Young-goon is seen imagining herself turning into a robot and gunning down all the hospital workers. It's a scene that doesn't surprise me (coming from director Park Chan-wook) but I'm sure it may be a bit too graphical to some viewers and although a dream sequence, for those expecting a romantic comedy, this is more of a dark comedy and not for those expecting a blossoming romance.

I have to give credit to both main talents Su-jeong Lim and Rain. Su-jeong Lim playing the part of Young-goon and her portrayal of a girl with a mental illness but also a character that believes she is a cyborg but yet having human emotions that she has difficulty separating from. Pop star Rain does an effective job playing the main lead Park Il-sun. It's quite interesting as other Asian pop stars tend to get music based or romantic comedy type of roles for their first job and often at times, they are more or less taking on a supporting role. But for Rain to take on a major lead role, especially a character that also has a mental illness but at the same time, aware of his emotions towards Young-goon was also well done.

As for the Blu-ray, a very solid Blu-ray release from Tartan Video. Beautiful and vibrant picture quality, clear audio but unfortunately, utilizing two Blu-ray players, was unable to access the special features. But still, considering its price and it is an all-region disc, it may work on other Blu-ray players and for its price, definitely makes this Blu-ray release worth checking out.

Overall, "I'm a Cyborg" is a film that one would consider it a true masterpiece by Park Chan-wook, while others may feel that the film doesn't suit Park Chan-wook at all. Needless to say, I personally feel that it was great for the director to undertake a different style of film that he was known for and his story captures the life of these two main characters who have nothing, no one but each other to count on and possibly find a purpose of living.

If you are a viewer who has a difficult time understanding the ending, I have only one hint to give you and that is too look closely on what is connected to the antenna on top.

"I'm a Cyborg" is a well-done film and most definitely recommended!

I am not reviewing the movie (I bought it as a gift for my brother who loves Park Chan-Wook movies) but was impressed by the timely arrival. I received the item within about two days or ordering it. Good job Amazon! My brother loved the movie and I look forward to watching it soon!

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