Tora! Tora! Tora! (Extended Japanese Edition) (2009)

I'm not a big war-movie buff any more (THE SEARCH FOR PRIVATE RYAN cured me) but this is a worthwhile film if you have an interest in WWII. TORA! TORA! TORA! is a documentary-type film. Think of it as a Stephen Ambrose book recorded live. The film is neither a glorified fifties war-film (IN HARMS WAY, BATTLE OF THE CORAL SEA), nor is it a Viet Nam noir-war film (PLATOON, THE DEER HUNTER). (Neither of which are particularly authentic.)

TORA! TORA! TORA! recreates war from the perspective of news correspondent-participant-observer. The story is presented from both the Japanese and American viewpoints and it is presented like a History Channel film.

It took the film crew several months to film TORA! TORA! TORA! I was living in Navy housing on Pearl Harbor at the time and a number of our friends and acquaintences found part-time jobs acting in the film. "Real" military pilots in-between rounds in Viet Nam flew some of the planes (this was 1969).

Much of the architecture in Honolulu was vintage WWII era or earlier and the rest of the island was relatively unchanged from the 1940s. The terrain looked very much as it had when my father-in-law passed through on his way to Guadalcanel and later Iwo Jima.

I cannot tell you the names of the aircraft (my husband could) but I was told that they used real aircraft from the period including the P40s the U.S. flew and the captured Zeros the Japanese flew. We drove up to Schoffield Barracks to look at the old airplanes lined up row on row. During the filming, one of these old planes crashed in a sugar cane field and burned up before the pilot could be rescued. The daily flights overhead, the real crashes, the reenactment of the destruction in the harbor, the daily flights in and out of Hickam as men and material destined for Viet Nam left and wounded and dead arrived--was all very weird.

Well, this is an excellent film. The new PEARL HARBOR relies on all sorts of technology, but if you want to see how Hawaii really looked in 1941 and how the planes really looked, and how the crews really looked, and obtain some sense of how terrifying it was to be in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 this is the film to see.

I first saw Tora! Tora! Tora! (Tiger! Tiger! Tiger! in Japanese) in 1974, when I was 20 years old on Atlanta's Channel Two. As strange as this may sound, I have always liked movies about World War II. My stepfather had served in the Navy during the war and in fact he had joined the service shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, which is the subject of this 2 hour and 25 minute-long Japanese-American 1970 production.

This movie was directed by several directors including Toshio Masuda and Kinji Fukasuka, but the American version (yes, there is a Japanese version) gives the credit to veteran director Richard Fleischer. Based on Gordon W. Prange's "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and Ladislas Farago's "The Broken Seal", the film accurately depicts the events on both sides of the Pacific leading up to the stunning attack on the U.S. Pacific Fleet on Sunday, December 7, 1941.

Even though it covers an 18-month period between Admiral Yamamoto's (Soh Yamamura) initial planning for Operation Hawaii and the attack itself, Tora! Tora! Tora! (the title refers to the code used to inform the Japanese that the Americans had been caught by surprise) never drags or seems dull. I learned, for instance, that Japanese Ambassador Nomura was a skilled and honorable diplomat who did not know what his country's military leaders were planning, and that he hoped to avoid war. I was also stunned by how General Walter C. Short (Jason Robards) was so preoccupied by the threat of sabotage from Hawaii's 125,000 Japanese inhabitants that he foolishly parked all the bombers and fighters in Hickam and Wheeler Fields in neat rows, supposedly to make them easier to guard but actually making them sitting ducks.

What amazed me about watching this movie is how clueless Pearl Harbor's defenders were on that Sunday morning. Though many people think the first shot of the Pacific War was fired by the Japanese, it was actually fired by the USS Ward on a Japanese midget submarine trying to sneak into the harbor. This happened roughly an hour before the first bomb fell on Battleship Row. I would have thought that the report of an unknown submarine being fired upon in a restricted area would have alerted the whole fleet. Wrong! American officers in Oahu were so certain that the Japanese would be spotted long before they could launch a strike that Captain James Earle (Richard Anderson) asks for confirmation before he tells his superiors. This does not make Adm. Husband E. Kimmel (Martin Balsam) very happy and I thought he was very angry that the Ward's initial report did not reach him in time.

The movie makes clear to the audience that history often hinges on small but significant details. Who would have thought that the fate of two great nations would be decided by a diplomat's slow typing speed, or that a report of a large radar blip off to the north of Oahu would be received with the phrase, "Well, don't worry about it."? It sounds like bad fiction but everything in this movie is based on historical fact.

Tora! Tora! Tora! has incredible battle scenes. Most of the aerial scenes were shot using either vintage planes or realistic replicas (because there are no flying Zero fighters, T-28 Texans were modified to look like the famous Japanese planes). The Navy actually allowed 20th Century-Fox to film in and around Pearl Harbor and rented a World War II era carrier that was to be decommissioned to serve as a stand in for the Japanese carrier. Clever editing, good miniature effects and carefully built live action sets give the illusion that one is actually reliving the Day of Infamy.

The 60th Anniversary Special Edition DVD was released around the same time as 2001's Pearl Harbor. It features an all new 20-minute documentary, director's commentary, the orginal theatrical trailer, and restores the movie to its original widescreen format. It has four audio tracks (English 4.1, the commentary, English Dolby Surround, French Mono), and subtitles in English and Spanish.

Buy Tora! Tora! Tora! (Extended Japanese Edition) (2009) Now

I feel that the release by 20th Century Fox of the Japanese cinema version of Tora! Tora! Tora! on Blu-ray and with an additional ten minutes of Japanese produced scenes warrants further attention directed largely at its historical content. The Blu-ray is noticeably darker and the grain heavier in scenes such as the Japanese aircraft launch from the flagship Akagi in the pre-dawn of December 7. Those watching this scene closely will note that producers have erred in placing Akagi's flight deck island on the starboard side rather than the port side. Akagi and Hiryu were the only Japanese aircraft carriers with islands located on the port side of the flight deck.

Tora! Tora! Tora! is a gripping and mostly accurate account of Japan's treacherous attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 and the events that preceded it. Fox intended that the film would be both historically accurate and balanced. To achieve that balance, Fox arranged for American and Japanese producers and directors to film their accounts of the Japanese attack independently and then blended both accounts into one story. For greater realism, Fox wisely chose to exclude top film stars, such as Charlton Heston or John Wayne, and selected a cast of fine character actors for the American and Japanese roles in the film. The American account appears to have been largely drawn from Professor Gordon W. Prange's authoritative history "At Dawn we slept" and does not shy away from depicting the succession of blunders that should have alerted the American armed forces in Hawaii to the approaching danger.

The logistical problems facing the producers were very challenging. When the film was being made in 1970, computer generated images (CGI) had not been invented. No Japanese aircraft dating from 1941 were available except in museums. So Fox converted American Vultee BT-13 and North American AT-6 Texan basic trainers to look like Zeros, Aichi "Val" dive-bombers, and Nakajima Navy Type 97 "Kate" level and torpedo bombers. The effect was so realistic that one WW II Japanese Zero pilot thought the Zeros used in the film were genuine. The Japanese built complete full-scale replicas of Admiral Yamamoto's flagship Nagato and the carrier Akagi on the beach at Ashiya airforce base. Fox built a full scale replica of the battleship USS Arizona mounted on barges. The Fox miniature department built 29 American and Japanese warship models some as long as 40 feet. The pilots who flew the Japanese aircraft replicas over Hawaii in this film were American. Japanese actors only featured in aircraft close ups.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" is divided by an intermission into events leading up to Pearl Harbor and the actual attack on Hawaii which has been brilliantly filmed, and unfortunately, resulted in the death of one pilot. I agree completely with the views of film reviewer Leonard Maltin who described the film in these words: "Well-documented screenplay shows major and minor blundering on both sides, then recreates attack with frightening realism. Well-made film creates incredible tension. Oscar-winning special effects." (2008)

The historical context of the film is probably well settled. Tensions between the United States and Japan had been rising since the Japanese attacked China in 1937, and were not helped by the sinking and machine gunning of survivors of the American gunboat USS Panay in the Yangtze River by the Japanese in December 1937. The American government had responded to Japan's brutal and unprovoked aggression against China and occupation of French Indochina by a steadily rising program of economic sanctions including embargoes on oil and other military-related trade. The military-dominated Japanese government had already decided by mid-October 1941 to retaliate by attacking the United States unless the United States submitted to all Japanese demands removal of all embargoes and a free hand to seize resource-rich countries across East and South-East Asia. The Japanese government knew that the Americans were highly unlikely to submit to Japan's demands. To distract the American government while it secretly positioned a powerful aircraft carrier strike force for a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet at its Pearl Harbor base in Hawaii, the Japanese government ordered its envoys in Washington to engage the Americans in intensive diplomatic discussions related to American concerns about Japan's aggression against China and occupation of French Indo China.

When it comes to historical accuracy, I have a serious problem with the Japanese contribution to the film. The Japanese account contains two major falsifications of history that appear to be intended to mislead viewers by minimising Japan's and Hirohito's war guilt in relation to Pearl Harbor. With the apparent intention of disguising the treacherous nature of the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor in peacetime and at 8.00 am on a Sunday morning (Hawaii Time), the Japanese producers suggest that Japan intended to submit a 14-part document containing a formal declaration of war to the American Secretary of State, Mr Cordell Hull, at 1.00 pm on December 7 (Washington Time). At 1.00 pm in Washington it would be 7.30 am in Hawaii and half an hour before the Japanese planes were scheduled to strike Pearl Harbor. The film suggests that tendering of this formal "declaration of war" at 1.00 pm was frustrated by decoding and clerical delays in the Japanese embassy in Washington. Such delays may have occurred, but the Japanese document eventually submitted to Secretary of State Hull at 2.20 pm on December 7 (eighty minutes after the first Japanese bomb fell on Hawaii) was not a formal declaration of war. It was not even an ultimatum. It was merely a summary of Japanese grievances and demands, coupled with a blunt announcement that Japan was terminating the lengthy diplomatic negotiations between Ambassador Nomura and Secretary of State, Cordell Hull. On two occasions in the film, Admiral Yamamoto and his staff officers refer to the 14-part document as a "declaration of war" which it clearly was not. Japan formally declared war on the United States several hours after the last Japanese aircraft had returned to its carrier from the smoking ruins of the American battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor.

The Japanese contribution to Tora! Tora! Tora! also falsely represents Emperor Hirohito as a benign figurehead commander of Japan's military who approved the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor because he was powerless to stop it. In a conversation prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor between Prime Minister Konoye and Admiral Yamamoto, Konoye is heard to say: "His Majesty's signature is a mere formality. The Cabinet is responsible for all matters of national policy." Both statements are untrue. Under the Meiji Constitution of 1889, Hirohito could have overridden his cabinet on any issue and refused to authorise the attack on Pearl Harbor had he wanted to do so. The only significant aspect of the added ten minutes for Japanese audiences is a conversation between Admiral Yamamoto and a senior palace official in the Imperial Palace. The palace official falsely represents Hirohito as having been opposed to war with the United States but powerless to stop it. A study of Japanese history, and especially the Meiji Constitution, will reveal that the Meiji Constitution vested full control of the Japanese armed forces in the emperor, and the chiefs of Japan's military reported directly to the emperor and not to the civilian government. The fact that Hirohito was a "hands on" commander in chief with his military attaches active on every Pacific War front and briefing him daily is confirmed by Japan's official history of the Pacific War "Senshi Sosho" and by historian Professor Herbert P. Bix in his authoritative Pulitzer Prize-winning biography "Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan" (2000), especially at pages 327, 329-331, 359, and 387-391.

I hope these historical falsifications contrived by the Japanese producers will not spoil anyone's enjoyment of a film that I still regard as a masterful account of an appalling act of treachery. I deny TTT five stars only because of the falsification of history in the Japanese contribution. I recommend avoiding the 148 minute Japanese release and watching the 138 minute version released originally for American audiences.

Read Best Reviews of Tora! Tora! Tora! (Extended Japanese Edition) (2009) Here

Many films attempt to tell true stories. One of the few that does justice to its subject is Tora! Tora! Tora!, a full-scale recreation of Pearl Harbor and the events leading up to the Day Of Infamy.

Verisimilitude permeates throughout the film, from the full-sized mockups of Japanese aircraft carriers and the battleship Nagano to the Japanese Zero, Kate, and Val aircraft and American P-40 Warhawk fighters to the miniature and full-sized models of American battleships. Much of the combat footage was shot at Pearl itself and surrounding Air Force bases, while miniature work blends splendidly into the action.

The enormous cast captures the exchanges of ideas and arguments among the various players involved in the attack. The most sympathetic player is Admiral Yamamoto. The film very nicely captures his lack of desire to go to war with an America that could not possibly lose a war with Japan based on the comparative industrial power of both nations. Also captured is the greater bloodthirstiness of fellow Imperial Japanese Navy officers, leading to a chilling scene during final pre-sortie debriefing when Yamamoto orders that the First Air Fleet abort the mission should negotiations with America succeed; fellow officers universally reject such an order, until Yamamoto hisses that any officer unwilling to follow should resign at once.

Also captured are the motions of General Walter Short (Jason Robards) and Admiral Husband Kimmel (Martin Balsam), working to second-guess Japanese intentions minus intelligence data available to US Navy intelligence in Washington. Navy intelligence accurately guesses that intercepted Japanese diplomatic messages indicate Tokyo to be preapring for war, but there is never any indication that Pearl Harbor itself will be attacked.

But it is, and the attack is brilliantly recreated. Battleships are hit by torpedos and bombs, planes parked together to prevent sabotage are slaughtered trying to take off, and the result is the greatest naval disaster suffered by American arms.

But Admiral Yamamoto knows that what will result will be catastrophic for Japan, and the film ends with him staring into the sky into the future.

For sheer perfection, Tora! Tora! Tora! succeeds.

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I first saw this film many years ago when it was a movie of the week on network TV. Like any kid, I was interested in the battle scenes, and by the time I'd graduated with a Communications degree, I dismissed this movie out of hand as a faithful, but unexceptional telling of the Battle of Pearl Harbor.

Mea Culpa!! I finally saw this film in widescreen format, and this movie's artistic value magnified ten-fold. The idea for this film was inspired: an American director would shoot the American scenes telling the USA side of the battle, and a Japanese director would tell the Japanese side of the story. Originally the legendary Akira Kurasowa was hired to direct the Japanese side of the story, but after a falling out, Toshio Masuda ended up directing the Japanese side of the film. Richard Fleischer directed the American sequences.

Fleischer does a fine job, but Masuda is absolutely brilliant. The Japanese side of the story is the more compelling side of the story, but Masuda truly does a masterful job of setting forth scenes of eloquence and power in telling the story of highly motivated people whose actions will doom their country.

Despite truth being stranger than fiction, Hollywood all too often needlessly flushes historical truth down the toilet ("JFK" anyone?). Fortunately, this powerful story is meticulous in its historical accuracy. With a compelling muscial score and great special effects, especially considering the age of this film, this is a film which should appeal to movie lovers and history buffs both.

IMPORTANT!! This is a film which can ONLY be appreciated in widescreen/DVD format. The dogfight sequences, the impressive sets and much of the drama is lost in the version formatted for TV, resulting in the butchering of a masterpiece.

Treasure Planet (10th Anniversary Edition) (2002)

*** Spoiler Warning this review might reveal surprises in the movie ***

First off for a frame of reference, I'm a 30-year old male and a sucker for Disney movies in general.

When this movie came and went to the theatres in a flash, I heard so much bad about it, how it was the worst Disney movie ever, that I actually didn't go see it in the theatre. I regret that now. First time I actually saw this movie was on a 14-hour flight from Los Angeles to London, and I fell heads over heels in love with it!

I adored the original Novel "Treasure Island", and I believe that Treasure Planet lives up to it. The central theme of Treasure Planet, in my mind, is the boy, Jim, who grows up with only a vague recollection of his father who in the movie appears like a shadow in Jim's faded childhood memories.

I think this particular "flashback" scene was very powerful, it featured the absolutely brilliant "I'm still here" track by Johnny Rzesnik, and led the viewer to fully understand Jim's childhood, and to share his teenage frustration and delinquency that stems from his father abandoning the young Jim and his mother. Possibly, I might a bit biased in this respect, since I can strongly identify with this situation as my own father was "married to the sea" when I grew up, and i can admit that i blubbered like a baby during the flashback sequence.

This is right in line with the core message of the film. A young, reckless and frustrated boy who is taken under the wing of the Old Salt, who becomes his new father figure. He learns how to take orders, work hard, grow, face adversity, and eventually become a man by making tough choices. An excellent message in this day and age, if you ask me.

I also loved the theme the producers chose. A type of anachronistic retro-futuristic design, where we in the future still use old, creaking, wooden, pirate ships, but with ultra futuristic systems. The movie also suspends the viewer from reality in many flavorful ways for instance when the spaceship travels through the universe, it encounters a pod of whales. Or how Jim takes a dhingy "comet surfing".

I think this film provides excellent entertainment, suspense and has a great message for kids. But as an adult, I think I also got a kick out of this GREAT and CLEARLY UNDERRATED Disney flick.

SEE IT!

Treasure Planet was not a blockbuster hit like its predecessors, through no fault of its own. It is one of Disney's rare cult classics, gathering a small but rabid following of fans who praise its beautiful, revolutionary art direction, including the use of fully-mapped CGI environments upon which the characters were animated, and the fun, genuine voices of the all-star cast including Emma Thompson, David Hyde Pierce, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It is a true Disney story with its young protagonist, Jim Hawkins, growing from a sullen teenager to a brave, hard-working young adult in one amazing adventure through space.

The story was pulled from Robert Louis Stevenson's swashbuckling masterpiece Treasure Island, in which the young Jim Hawkins grows to care for his mentor John Silver and is therefore devastated to learn that his teacher is in fact a pirate in disguise, looking to mutiny along with the rest of the crew. The story is translated to sci-fi amazingly well, using a 70-30 ratio for the mise-en-scene of the whole thing. 70% is true to its original tale; characters wear 18th century fashion, the architecture of the spaceport is all Georgian, and the ship on which they travel is a beautiful three-mast schooner with a few modifiers for the journey. 30% is sci-fi, with laser guns, giant holographic treasure maps, and a crew of exotic aliens ranging from cute to downright scary.

(Detractors of the movie quickly point out that the ship is not closed, and how could they be breathing in space anyway? The directors, Ron Clements and John Musker, revealed in the 'Art of...' book that the universe where they live does not work with the same properties as ours. There is air and weather in space, as well as nebulas and dying stars to make the journey treacherous.)

Treasure Planet as a whole deserves more credit. It features all the basics of a Disney classic: a handsome, sympathetic main character; a diabolical antagonist who you come to care for as much as the heroes; a bumbling sidekick and his leading-lady love interest; and the slightly-annoying Third Act Addition character. The story carries as much heart as, say, Lion King or Pinocchio. The art is truly stunning; just sit back and watch the colors of space swirl across your TV screen, or the subtle-but-perfect facial expressions of the characters. Clements and Musker admit much time and thought was put into the eye movements of the characters, trying to make them look as real-life as possible.

Last but not least, I need to mention and rave about the score. James Newton Howard really seemed to throw himself into making the soundtrack as beautifully classic as possible, with a full orchestra really setting the mood for a pirate tale set in the 1700's. It has several moments of pure adrenaline, pure bittersweet happiness, and pure longing for your own ship and crew to take to the stars.

The picture quality for the Blu-ray is sound. The transition up from standard def did not result in the sparkling white of the drawn lines that afflicted the Beauty and the Beast Blu-ray; everything here is crisp and clear and smooth, and the upscale resulted in the most vibrant colors I've ever seen from this movie. The background of space in its swirls of blues and purples and the warm and cool colors of the digital lighting from fire to nighttime are better than they've ever been. The CGI parts of the movie were also upgraded with the release; one of the detractors of the film was that the brand-new computer graphic technology looked janky or amateur. Not anymore. Now it fits seamlessly into the 2D world and you barely notice it.

The sound of the movie blew me right out of my living room. Granted, I do have Bose speakers, but I've watched my DVD of Treasure Planet plenty of times, and never before has it sounded so grand and clear. It was clearly tinkered with, to give even more life to this movie. I heard background noises that I've never noticed before, like the conversion had made them better.

The ONLY, ONLY ONLY ONLY, problem I had with this release was that the special features have all been seen before. The only new parts were introductions to each section of feature (art direction, characters, animation, development, etc.) by Laurie Metcalf, the actress who voiced Jim's mother Sarah Hawkins. The interviews with the creators and directors were all on the DVD, and they're included on the Blu-ray in standard def, with black borders and pixellated images reminding you that you're watching featurettes from 10 years ago.

Regardless, this is a Blu-ray worth buying and treasuring forever. Since I never, ever believed it would come out in 1080p glory, I'm about to fall to my knees and kiss Disney's boots. You will not regret giving this larger-than-life movie a chance, and I'm willing to bet you will find it a welcome addition to your Disney Blu-ray collection.

Buy Treasure Planet (10th Anniversary Edition) (2002) Now

Leave it to Disney to come up with a way to update Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale "Treasure Island" into a science fiction epic. The studio that brought you the unforgettable live-action film version returned to the source material once again with the idea of taking the adventure into deep space and to other worlds. Unfortunately, moviegoers weren't interested in "Treasure Planet" when it came out in 2002. The film underperformed at the box office but was still nominated for a 2002 Academy Award in the category of Best Animated Feature.

Thanks to every movie on the planet receiving the high definition treatment, audiences get the chance to give this entertaining film another chance with the release of "Treasure Planet: 10th Anniversary Edition." It's hard to believe the movie came out 10 years ago. It was the first to be released in IMAX and regular theaters on the same day. The movie is also of importance as a shining example of 2D hand drawn art used on top of 3D computer animation.

Not much changes in "Treasure Planet" as far as story and characters go. It still revolves around Jim Hawkins (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who discovers a holographic treasure map that supposedly leads to a pirate's loot on a far-off planet. Hawkins and his mentor Dr. Doppler (David Hyde Pierce) embark on a trek across the stars on a ship whose crew is made up of dangerous aliens led by a mutineering cyborg named Long John Silver (Brian Murray). Can Jim and the rest of the loyal crew of the ship find the treasure and collect it before the traitorous buccaneers do?

This will relate to fans of sci-fi both young and old. It takes the great classic tale and successfully makes it relevant to kids in the 21st century used to watching "Star Wars," "Star Trek," and other movies and TV shows that take them to other worlds. The pacing of the film is good and the story will keep the viewer's attention.

The high definition transfer of the film is magnificent. The picture is crystal clear and filled with bright and vivid colors that keep your eyes glued to the screen. The 5.1 surround further brings to life James Newton Howard's musical score and the anthemic pop songs of Goo Goo Dolls' John Rzeznik. The explosions, laser shots, and flying ships will jump out at you from all over your home entertainment center with this great audio mix.

Special features for the film include 43-minutes of production featurettes introduced by actor Laurie Metcalf and a "behind-the-scenes" one entitled "Disney's Animation Magic." There's also comprehensive feature commentary with co-directors/co-writers Ron Clements and John Musker, producer Roy Conli, and supervising animators John Ripa, Ian Gooding, and Glen Keane. Three unfinished deleted scenes are included with introductions by directors Ron Clements and John Musker. A 17-minute "R.L.S. Legacy: Virtual 3D Tour" and the six-part "DisneyPedia: The Life of a Pirate Revealed" featurette are here as well.

The "Treasure Planet: 10th Anniversary Edition" gives movie lovers a second chance to see this excellent example of how hand drawn and computer animation can co-exist. The story is complex enough for adults yet simple enough for children to take in. A great feature film and plenty of bonus material make this a recommended buy for Disney and sci-fi fans alike.

Read Best Reviews of Treasure Planet (10th Anniversary Edition) (2002) Here

Walt Disney was fascinated with the story of Treasure Planet and had actually opted to do it as the first full length animated film. He then realized it didn't need to be animated and did Snow White. He kept thinking about a way to do Treasure Island as an animated movie and eventually made it as the studios first live action film. Now, the Disney team has come up with a brilliant way to do it as an animated film. They set it in space and it is my favorite film version of Treasure Island. I know it did horribly at the theaters, but so did Cinderella and look at how well known that is. You will love Treasure Planet if you liked the book or the live action version. The best part would have to be B.E.N, a crazy robot on Treasure Planet who is clearly missing a few pieces and is voiced by Martin Short. Plus the ending was so cool and original! Definately not the typical cute musicle Disney is known for doing in the past.

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It's always a gamble when you adapt a timeless classic like Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." It's even especially dicey when you take the story out of its original setting and time. In this case, Walt Disney studios try to give the old swashbuckler a futuristic sci-fi spin in TREASURE PLANET, a film that partially succeeds in that task. Set in a future time on a far off planet, the familiar story of heroic cabin-boy Jim Hawkins and the charming pirate Long John Silver is given the space ace treatment. Instead of the one legged pirate we know, Long John is now a cyborg. The Squire and Doctor characters who lead the treasure expedition are combined into one eccentric type (David Hyde-Pierce), while the ship's captain is a no nonsense feline voiced by Emma Thompson. Finally, the castaway Ben Gunn is reimagined as a run-at-the mouth robot (Martin Short), who has lost his memory chip. The animation is stunning and many of these characterizations work for the most part. The one exception is the cyborg Silver. Played with an Irish brogue and charm, I found it hard to really see this character as being totally capable of evil, as is his counterpart in the original book. Indeed, it's hard to take this softie seriously at times. Part of the attraction of the Long John Silver creation is that he is a balance of good and evil. He becomes a character we like, even as we loath his deeds.

Other than that, this film is suprisingly faithful to the book in the basic plot, and it deserved better than what the critics gave the film when it was first released. Overall, this is a version that I would recommend, despite the fact that there are better adaptations and better portrayals of Long John Silver elsewhere.

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Scream 2 (1997)

Scream 2 begins at a movie theatre, were a movie called 'Stab" (based on the book "The Woodsboro Murders" which in turn was based on the killings in the first "Scream" film and was written by Gale Weathers) is playing. Two college students (Omar Epps and Jada Pinkett/Jada Pinkett Smith from The Nutty Proffesor) are murdered by yet another killer clad in black and wearing a "Father Death" mask. The next day, Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is horrified to hear this on the news and runs to her new boyfriend, Derek (Jerry O'Connell) and her old friend from the first film, Randy (Jamie Kennedy) for protection, but no matter, she is soon attacked by the killer and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox/Courteney Cox Arquette from Friends) is on the case like a lightning bolt. This annoys Sydney, but she has bigger things to worry about. The body-count is beginning to rise, and anyone is a suspect! Is it Derek ("Hello, Billy Loomis!"). Is it wounded deputy Dewey Riley (David Arquette),who seems to immediatlly show up right at the time of them murders? Is it Randy, who may have seen one to many movies and gotten brainwashed? Is it Gale, the annoying reporter who always in on the case? Is it Mickey (Timothy Olyphant), another movie freak? Is it Cici Cooper (Sarah Michelle Gellar), who defends the right to have violence in movies? Or, is it another reporter, Debbie Salt (Laurie Metcalf from Rosseanne)? Now, this mystery is going to be murder to solve!

Scream 2 is an excellent thriller and wonderful sequel to a smash hit phenomenon, Scream (1996) which was also a great movie. Scream 2's great becuase it, like 1994's Wes Craven's New Nightmare, has the courage to talk about things most horror movies would avoid. Scream 2 asks the question "Do violent movies cause our violent actions?" Wow, that's a good question. Scream 2 asks the question, and leaves it up to us to answer the question. That's the courage of this film. It's got guts.

Of course, people not looking for a real point and who just want slasher entertinment will adore this movie. Is it gory? Yes, quite. Lots of blood and goo (and brains). Some of the deaths include, stabbings in the head, guttings, regular old stabbings, a fall from a second story building, slit throat, and a pole through the head. Lots of blood and gore which is impressivly done. Also, the acting is swell. All the actors returning from the first are excellent, and the new cast is good, too. The writing from this movie is good, and once again, Wes Craven makes the film look very good. All the actors are on key, thnks to him, and he still has that style from the first.

Th Scream 2 is available in two DVD releases. If you get the film separately (and not in The Ultimat Scream Collection box set) you get a pretty mediocre DVD. The picture is OK, though non-anamorphic and stretched out on widescreen TVs. The sound is a great 5.1 surround in which dialouge is clear and the music and sound effects are booming in action scenes. But where this disk really lacks is the extras. All you have is one trailer for Scream 2 and a few recommendations. Big dissipointment.

However, if you get the truly awesome DVD box set you've got an exclusive Dimension Collector's Edition of the movie. It's really great. First off, the widescreen format is anamorphically enhanced for widescreen TVs (which is nice) and the sound is the same booming 5.1 Surround and it's just as good as the other disk. Then.... we get to the extras! First is a nice and informative commentary by Wes Craven, producer Marriane Maddelini, as well as the director of photography. Writer Kevin Williamson is no where to be heard on this track. This is a shame, because he brought a great wit to the track on the first Scream, but this commentary is still very good. Lots of interesting information to be found here! Also, we have a nice documentary on the making of the movie, some production notes, a few music videos, and lots of trailers and TV spots. A very nice supply of extras.

Scream 2 is a great movie, and getting the box set is worth it for the Collector's Edition.

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Scream 2 is on a par to its predecessor. Its as scary as part one and dialouge is more witty. The cast members are also eye candies to viewers. Even I was actually quite surprised when I noticed Rebecca Gayheart, Heather Graham, Jada Pinkett and Sarah Michelle Gellar have small roles in the movie.

The story continues as another killing strikes again after the horrific events in part one. All the 3 main characters have grown to a more serious and the writers put a more in depth personality rather than one-dimensional. Sidney (Neve Campbell) have grown more stronger this time. She's no more the "I-Am-Helpless" lady. Gale (Courtney Cox) seems more sensible and less sacarstic to get whatever she wants. Infact, she outgrown herself and her character are more in depth. Same goes for Dewey (David Arquette) no longer the idiotic hobo but a macho man.

Some of the guest roles are interesting too but rather too short. Sarah Michelle Gellar is on example who own her death scene. Its the 2nd best chase sequences in the Scream series and Sarah's 2nd best in all of her horror movies she's in (1st being I Know What You Did Last Summer) (1st being Rose McGowan death scene in Part one and Drew Barrymore's gutted scene). Jada Pinkett smith opening scene was a jaw dropper as well.

This movie is well crafted just like the 1st and the story line doesn't gets confusing for viewers. The writer's just keep it simple and stick to where part 1 left off and also twisting some characters which you didn't expect them to be what they are.

This is one of the most entertaining horror flicks of the year 1998-2000.

Scream series is definitely original, lots of slapsticks and lots of eye candies for viewers to google at and have them playing a guessing game of who lives and who dies.

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i watched the first scream movie awhile back and thought,"i need to see what happens in the sequel!" In scream 2, a new set of murders are being played out at local college based on the fictionial movie 'Stab',which is the basis of the first set of murders in woodboro. sydney from the first movie goes to school there to start fresh after learning that her boyfriend and another friend killed her mom(they might've raped her or made it appear she was raped), framed her mom's lover cotton weary, savagely murdered their friends, including their principle and a camera man. oh, they kidnapped her dad in attempt to frame him for their crimes. but now, a new killer is taking up the ghostface mantle. who is the killer this time around? i not saying anything but all i can say is watch it from beginning to end.

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Personally, I thought that Scream 2 was NOTHING in comparison to the orginal SCREAM.

The first Scream was clever,entertaining and had humor in the right places.

This Scream I thought was pretty cheesy with the jokes, the script and the acting. It almost seemed to be mocking the original movie.

You never really got to know the characters in this movie so you felt nothing through all of the "tense" scenes.

They could have done a great job with this movie but it just turned out to be pretty mediocre.

If you're even a little critical of movies then you probably shouldn't watch this.

Though I gotta give them credit for the slight twist at the end.

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I purchased this film for use in a Halloween Week Movie Extravaganza. Adult viewers (20+ y.o.) of all ages found this film entertaining, funny, satirical, and interesting. Older folks did not like the strong graphic violence but this was off-set by the challenging "who is the murderer?" puzzle presented in the film. The casting is excellent. The actors line up nicely with the stereotypical characters of the story. The only thing I would change would be to use the alternative scene involving the students talking about the influence of films on behavior conducted by the stereotypical college professor. The film has a superior soundtrack. BUY THIS FILM. It is worthy of inclusion in your Library.

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Across the Universe (2007)

Julie Taymor once again uses her considerable innovative magic to create a film that not only is mesmerizingly beautiful to watch, but also a 'semi-documentary' about the world changes that occurred in the late 1960s and early 1970s as young people for the first time spoke out against the war in Vietnam, the death of Martin Luther King, and the senseless mayhem that extended from the battlefields of Vietnam to the streets of America, all set to the significant, timely music of the Beatles. It sounds like an impossible juxtaposition of themes and ideas, but in Taymor's hands it succeeds.

Opening in Liverpool, England (where the Beatles began their impact on music and thought) we met Jude (Jim Sturgess), a working class boy with the gifts of an artist who decides to set off on a sea journey to meet the father he has never known. Once in New York he meets Max (Joe Anderson) and Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood) who represent the wealthy class, but who both show roots of rebellion against the comfortable norm and an objection to the war that is festering like an abscess in the rice paddies of Vietnam. Jude meets his janitor father in a union that is anticlimactic, and in disappointment he falls in with Max, living the artists' life in the Village with free-wheeling singer Sadie (Dana Fuchs), her beau/guitarist JoJo (Martin Luther) and their newest tenant Prudence (T.V. Carpio), an Asian girl trying to find her place in a confusing world. The group eventually bond with music and rebellion mixed with free love and the passion that they can make a difference, while around them racial crises are at a peak and the draft tags many of the young men (including Max) for the war they cannot condone. From all of this turmoil the story builds to a climax leading to some very touching scenes that convey the spirit of the times and the overriding importance of love and understanding in a world torn apart by political and racial crises.

The cast is strong with each of the actors singing their own versions of various Beatle songs very well (the division between singing and spoken dialect favors the former). But the real magic comes from Julie Taymor's mixture of hallucinogenic visuals, wonderfully choreographed crowd scenes, and ingenious movement from reality scenes displayed on the television to the reactive scenes of the world as viewed through the eyes of the youths and the lyrics of the songs. It is at once touching in its ability to recreate a particular period of history and wholly entertaining in the inventive use of music/dance/visual effects/drama. This film is important now and will only increase in stature as a document of that troubled but exciting time in the history of the world. We can only wonder why the youth of today are not responding to the Iraq War in a like manner, or, more uncomfortable to consider, why we, now as adults, can't muster the same degree of distress about the myriad traumas that are still happening 'Across the Universe'. Grady Harp, April 08

If it were possible to go into the mind and film the imagination, if one could actually get a glimpse of a creative spark and present it as a movie, the end result would look something like "Across the Universe." Here is a film so vibrant, colorful, and imaginative that it practically flies off the screen. It's not something you simply watch; this richly detailed musical fantasy is something you fully experience, from the stunning visuals to the brilliant soundtrack. Few films have successfully incorporated previously written song material into an original story; one notable exception is Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge," in which songs by Elton John, David Bowie, Madonna, The Police, and many others were interwoven. "Across the Universe" gets its inspiration from the music of The Beatles--every song fit the story so naturally, it's almost as if they were specially written for the film.

But as much as I enjoyed it, I can't help but feel that I'm the wrong person to review it; not only have I never listened to the music of The Beatles, I also never lived through the 1960s. "Across the Universe" explores the dynamic atmosphere of that era, from the artistic movements to the social unrest to the turbulent political climate. I can't pretend that I know what the filmmakers were saying or why they were saying it, and I certainly don't know what point The Beatles were trying to make. But I can still appreciate this movie. And I do; "Across the Universe" thrives on energy and ingenuity, and it isn't afraid to tell a simple yet effective love story through music.

The plot focuses on Jude (Jim Sturgess), a young dockworker and artist from Liverpool. He travels to America in search of his father, who was stationed in England during the Second World War. Jude is led to Princeton University, and it's there that he meets Max (Joe Anderson), a freewheeling college student with no apparent goals and no apparent desire to reach any goals. The two instantly click, and for a while, they have a lot of fun. So does Max's sister, Lucy (Evan Rachel Wood), a college freshman whose clean-cut appearance masks a progressive mind. As soon as life in New Jersey gets boring, Max and Jude decide to leave for New York, where the Bohemian life can be lived to the fullest. They take residence in a small apartment, already inhabited by Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and her band.

After a while, Lucy joins the group, much to the dismay of her conservative parents. She and Jude quickly fall in love. But as the social climate gets more intense, their relationship gets more complex. The Civil Rights Movement is in full swing, as is the Vietnam War; such unrest cannot be ignored. Ever since losing her high school sweetheart to the War, Lucy's political views have taken a sharp turn to the left--she's now a militant activist, dedicated to bringing about social reform and an end to war and violence. Her feelings only grow stronger when Max is drafted and shipped off to Vietnam. All this puts a strain on Jude and Lucy's relationship, and it only gets worse when Lucy begins collaborating with a radical organization. Can their love survive this turmoil?

Woven all throughout is a myriad of songs, all of which perfectly capture the emotional impact of a given scene. When Max and Jude first meet, "With a Little Help from My Friends" accentuates their high-spiritedness. The drama of "Let It Be" overflows during a race riot, in which a young boy is killed. Confusion and frustration overwhelm as Jude and Max sing "Strawberry Fields," and images of dripping strawberries make an especially strong impact. A love-struck cheerleader named Prudence (T.V. Carpio) sings "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" with regret, knowing that the girl she's dreaming of will never feel the same way. The power of "I Want You" is felt as Max is dragged through an army recruitment center; dancing, squared-jawed soldiers are prominently featured, as are half naked draftees. At one point, they forcefully carry a miniature Statue of Liberty into the jungles of Vietnam.

The four most creative song-numbers feature cameo appearances. Joe Cocker sings "Come Together" just as a guitarist named JoJo (Martin Luther McCoy) enters the city. It's a highly choreographed sequence, featuring a chorus line of prostitutes and office workers. "I Am the Walrus" is a psychedelic trip featuring Bono as the leader of a busload of hippies. Eddie Izzard plays a showman named Mr. Kite, whose circus--"The Benefit of Mr. Kite"--is a bizarre mixture of the fantastic and the frightening, featuring a cast of blue-skinned performers that are anything but human. Salma Hayek appears as a nurse during Max's rendition of "Happiness is a Warm Gun." As he lies on a hospital bed, he tries to get a handle on the fear, anger, and physical pain that have been holding him back.

By the time we hear "Hey Jude" and "All You Need Is Love," the sentimental side of the story hits us like a ton of bricks. And that's exactly what we want. One of the simplest pleasures imaginable is to be young, in love, and free; this movie does a masterful job of giving the audience that same feeling, if only for a little while. "Across the Universe" is one of the most delightful, inventive, and refreshing films of the year, a perfect blend of music, story, and character. To see it is to be emotionally rejuvenated.

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There have been several movies that have tried to make the music of The Beatles a central focus of their reason d'existence. Some like The Beatles' own A Hard Day's Night and Yellow Submarine are perfect, some are not (the dismal "All This and World War Too"). Even the camp classic Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was so bad it was worth seeing because of the music. Heck, even the forgettable I Am Sam raked in a killer soundtrack thanks to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

But they've got nothing on "Across The Universe." Taking the turmoil and tumult of the sixties and re-imagining it through the lyrics of Beatle's songs, it is a trippy, hallucinogenic ride that is a visual and sonic feast. Jude (from Liverpool, naturally) comes to the US to find his American soldier dad (Robert Clohessy, a regular from Oz The HBO prison drama) only to collide with rich kid renegade Max and then to fall for his sister, Lucy. Suddenly, they find themselves in NYC with a Janis Joplinish landlady, Sadie, and her Jimi Hendrixian boyfriend, Jojo.

The sixties then take their turn into the war, and the drama unfolds as Jude falls for Lucy ("I've Just Seen a Face"), Max finds himself drafted ("I Want You") and Lucy falls under the spell of the anti-war movement leader. Each point is often brilliantly illustrated, and director Julie Taymor tosses subtlety out the window for several of the film's best sequences. In particular, when Prudence sings "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as a lament for a love that can't speak out loud, football players fly through the air and collide as she walks through them. When Max gets to his indoctrination and the exaggerated GI Joes march in "stomp dance" style to "I Want You," it's breathtaking. While the narrative occasionally falters, the visuals and set pieces never do.

Of course, there is the music. While there's nothing earth-shattering here, all the actors acquit themselves just fine. The small handful of cameos are great, especially Joe Cocker singing "Come Together" as three different characters, and Bono playing the Ken Keasey Electric Kool-Aid guru Dr Robert on the magic bus, promoting his new book titled (heh heh) "I Am The Walrus." (I could have done without Eddie Izzard's "Being for The Benefit of Mr Kite," even if the sequence is sufficiently madcap.) But this isn't a sloppy kaleidoscope like the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 1978 Soundtrack was; other than the three men mentioned prior, there are no stars here. In particular, Sadie (Dana Fuchs) and Jojo (Martin Luther McCoy) give dynamite performances, and other than Evan Rachel Wood, the cast is relatively unknown.

I really can't say enough about the pleasure I got from "Across The Universe, and it may be the first time you walk into a theater humming the songs. I was skeptical at first, because many of the reviews I'd read were not kind. But I have a feeling many of them were written by folks of a more tender age, lacking the comprehension of the times portrayed on screen. One of the most fun things about this movie was catching the goofy Beatles' homages sprinkled in the film's dialog (favorite, when Prudence sneaks into the Sadie's communal apartment and someone asked where she comes from, Jude replies "she came in through the bathroom window").

This is also a recommendable movie for one other reason. It isn't. When I say 'it isn't,' I mean, not a sequel, not a rip-off of a TV series (old or new), not a remake and some lowbrow teen sex-romp. There isn't anything cloying or coy, and while the movie is certainly political, the politics you get from it will be what you read out on your own. "Across The Universe" is as relevant today as it was when when The Beatles sang "But if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain't gonna make it with anyone anyhow." Grab your popcorn, sit back, relax and float downstream.

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As someone who was literally a child of the mid late 60's & and a student of the time period, I first want to thank everyone who had anything to do with the making of this film! Your timing could not of been better! You helped me to remember the fervor, passion and idealism that made up the mid-late 60's. It's been many years since I have burst out sobbing in a movie theater! Thanks for helping to lift the fog a bit! As an activist, you have collectively given me some badly needed renewed vigor!

I also feel so very, very sorry for all the critics of this movie who don't have a clue about what all this means, or whose hearts have grown so hard with such bitterness, cynicism or despair; or have just simply sold-out; or plain no longer care! All your ranting and raving and nay saying won't do a thing to take away one moment of the adventure, creativity, experimentation, excitement or passion that made this time in history so great!

I also what to thank the brilliant filmmakers for paying homage to so many important cultural icons, organizations and events of the period: Walter Cronkite, the greatest broadcaster of the 20th century. Baba Olatunji, the Nigerian Drummer and social activist, his double looked like he came right off the Drums of Passion album cover! I can now see him smiling from heaven! The tremendous scene with Bread and Puppets, a living, breathing, direct link to 1960's radicalism, warmed my heart! You even went up to their stronghold in Glover, Vermont, to film part of the scene! Bravo! The SDS (Students for a Democratic Society), which did not advocate violence, and the much smaller splinter-group that morphed into an organization advocating extreme measures, called the Weather Underground. The brave Martin Luther King, Jr. and his intervention in a labor dispute, which cost him his life. The historic occupation of the Ivy League, Columbia University by its students protesting both the Vietnam war and the intense poverty that surrounded the school. Ken Kesey and his legendary bus. The Jimi Hendrix & Janice Jopplin characters who show such dignity, and a passion for music. And, of course, the Beatles! Their music reaches deep into my soul. You gave me insights into the meaning of their tunes that after all these years never crossed my mind!

I also enjoyed being bathed in all the very colorful special affects. The 60's and early 70's were a time of outrageously bold colors and design. Something brilliantly portrayed in Across the Universe! The only film I intend to purchase on DVD that has been released this year!

Rehearsing With Gods: Photographs and Essays on the Bread & Puppet Theater, Bread and Puppet Theatre (Theater) Volume 2, The New Radicals in the Multiversity and Other Sds Writings on Student Syndicalism (Sixties Series), Drums of Passion

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(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)Across the Universe (Two-Disc Special Edition)

I love music, and I love the Beatles. I also love movies, even the sometimes pretentious art movies. But I'm really picky when it comes to musicals, and generally don't like song remakes that don't add something new. So where does that leave me with "Across the Universe?" I love it and hate it all at once!

The Good

The music in this movie is mostly really good semi-acoustic versions of late Beatles songs. And believe me, the music is really good. If you love the Beatles, even purists may appreciate the updated versions to many of these songs. Some (such as Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds) were better off the first time. Across The Universe [Deluxe Edition]

This movie was nominated for Costume Design at the Academy Awards, yet it could have gotten a bunch of technical nominations including Art Direction, Cinematography and Sound. While most people ignore those categories, I think they all matter a lot. Technically this is a very hard movie to make. It sounds great and looks great.

The Bad

The story and the songs have almost no relationship to the original songs that are used as the skeleton for the movie. Musicals are hard enough to like. Even though the music is very well done as far as adaptations and remakes go, the transitions can be annoying with dialogue taken from song lyrics. And the way some of the characters are flatly filmed singing / talking will make you remember those terrible Gap commercials. So while there are some cool elements, the end result feels somewhat cheesy sometimes.

Also, some of the people here seem to have been chosen for their singing more than their acting, because the supporting cast is spotty.

Not to mention, for those who don't like art movies or the Beatles, I can see how this could be annoying.

Somebody like me should have seen this in a movie theatre, because as a DVD the grand scale of some of the scenes seemed lost on my very modest sized TV.

Conclusion

If you like art films, musicals, the Beatles, or lust after one or several of the stars, you will like this. If you like movies that have a logical plot and great acting you may have trouble with this one.

This movie very much seems like it was made to be watched while high. It got better towards the end and earned an extra star for creativity. It's still very good in certain ways but it's bound to annoy some people.

Check it out!

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Brave New World (1998)

Update classics as Shakespeare and you distort the feel along with the message. It was written for a period and the more you deviate the more you lose the point let alone the ambiance. Update "Brave New World" and you threaten to do the same. However the use of today's technology and making the primitives just unruly people (shades of Logan's Run) did not actually distract that much and may even have been the original intention.

The movie uses well know actors that fit the characters (Peter Gallagher as Bernard Marx and Leonard Nimoy as Mustapha Mond). The scenery is and sci-fi technology is well done and believable.

With all of this there is a great letdown when the story line is not followed and the sting and impact is missing from the book as the story was changed into just a contemporary social commentary. The book by Aldous Huxley is based on the day's example of genetic engineering or a least a little alcohol to create people that were happy in their station. The character John hangs him self in exasperation. In this teleplay rewritten by Dan Mazur and David Tausik the Brave new World is just a society of sex-crazed drudges and John just trips and accidentally falls to his death. There are several other watered down differences.

Purists are bound to hate this and ask why the effort. Others may find this teleplay interesting enough as entertainment.

Animal Farm

A made for TV film that boasts wonderful acting and a script that both visualizes and honors the thought provoking work (of great depth), which provides the title.

Leaving the plot description for others a thought:

It is evident that the team responsible for this film treated the content very seriously, this is a work of love.

This film had somehow found itself buried under years of lesser films, and seen by too few but it is a gem.

A recommended choice for viewing and a buy if ever it appears on DVD.

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I agree that this was a very nice adaptation of Brave New World. Nimoy is fabulous, perfectly cast, if not quite true to the book, and the story of John the Savage and the depiction of the culture was spot-on. It is VERY useful for classroom work on the book.

Highly recommended and wondering why it isn't available on DVD?

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I first saw this movie on TV and was moved by its great adaptation of a great book which I have already read. Now Im seriously wondering why in the heck its not on DVD. My TV will not play VHS and my VHS player is out in my garage, gathering dust. It really needs to be on DVD. So I cannot even buy it on VHS for the above reasons, but really loved the movie as shown on TV. Anyone know how to request it be released in at least a DVD format? If so I will be the first to sign up. This book is hard to adapt to TV so I think it was well done. Now lets get it out on DVD.

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synopsis: humanity divided from alphas to deltas. a higher up("alpha") in the futureistic aryan-like subculture, or superculture, and his hotish accomplice(also an "alpha") find redeeming qualities in a man from the part of society this superculture chooses to ignore. put to very good music(which i continue to search for), this was and continues to be my most prized recording from the sci fi channel. it was a tired 2am gamble which paid off. i only wish i could get it on dvd. i have come to hate sci fi channel programing, but this was a true find, with great redeeming qualities, such as leonard nemoy, good music and a confidant plot. and best of allLEONARD NEMOY!!!!!!

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Battle Royale (2012)

With the emergence of "The Hunger Games" phenomenon of the last few years, the inevitable comparisons between that franchise and the cult novel "Battle Royale" by Koushun Takami have been plentiful. Sure, the two do share strong thematic and narrative similarities, but each has a distinctly unique vibe and explores the back story behind the violence in a different way. The film adaptation of "Battle Royale" by director Kenji Fukasaku garnered almost instant international notoriety in 2000 for its disturbingly bleak portrait of kids set upon one another in a violent death match. Despite being banned and reviled by many, the story's visceral and emotional punch was hard to deny. It was nominated for numerous Japanese Academy Awards including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Director and Best Screenplay and won that country's "Popularity Award." The rumor that Hollywood was flirting with an American remake has been circulating for years, but some seem to think that the film adaptation of "The Hunger Games" might have hurt the likelihood of this occurrence. In any event, I never had high hopes that an American interpretation could rival the original.

"Battle Royale" is being released in two incarnations, a film only DVD/ Blu-ray or "The Complete Collection" DVD/Blu-ray.

Film Only: This includes the Director's Cut of the film. First, the story is about a future Japan whose economy is in collapse and whose crime rate is spiraling out-of-control. In an effort to temper this uptick in violence by the juvenile population, the government has sanctioned an annual contest. In the movie, forty-two middle school aged students are dropped off and left to battle one another for survival. They are armed and coerced into fighting, for there can be only one winner left alive. As often as I've seen this movie, it never fails to shock and disturb me as it is exceptionally intense and powerful. Some complain that it isn't as "good" as the source novel (which is a pretty common argument with most translations from the page to the screen), but I think this is a daring and audacious film that succeeds fully on its own merits. I'm not, however, a huge fan of the Director's Cut. I don't think the extra footage adds appreciable value to the movie and I don't love the extended finale. This version has no special features.

Complete Collection (4 discs): The four discs are (1) Director's Cut of the film (see above), (2) Theatrical Cut, (3) 2003's "Battle Royale II" and (4) Bonus Content Disc. While I would certainly consider the original "Battle Royale" as a classic, its sequel is less so. It carries the same concept over to a new class with some variations on the original theme, but the major difference is that an underground plot by an unexpected terrorist cell plays a large part in this year's action. It's solid enough, I like it. It just lacks the emotional kick of the first film.

Bonus Disc Content included in Complete Collection only. This is on a standard DVD even in the Blu-Ray set (but all three films are on Blu-ray). The Making Of BATTLE ROYALE, BATTLE ROYALE Press Conference, Instructional Video: Birthday Version, Audition & Rehearsal Footage, Special Effects Comparison Featurette, Tokyo International Film Festival 2000, Battle Royale Documentary, Basketball Scene Rehearsals, Behind-The-Scenes Featurette, Filming On-Set, Original Theatrical Trailer, Special Edition TV Spot, TV Spot: Tarantino Version. It's a lot of Bonus Material, but it has been used on Special Edition International versions of the DVD and is not new to this set. Blu-Ray films have 1080p video and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtracks. KGHarris, 1/12.

Before you type out a retaliatory positive reviewread on!

I want to start off by saying I absolutely LOVE Battle RoyaleIt is most certainly on my list of favorite movies. HOWEVERthis 'Director's Cut' is total garbage.

Sadly, as with the case for many 'Special Edition' DVDs, Battle Royale: Director's Cut adds unnecessary footage that does nothing to enhance the film. The end is extending by 8 minutes or so and delves into a sort of epilogue and series of dream sequences.

The Battle Royale wiki explains the changes here: (...)

No attempt was made to clean up the subtitles: I can ignore misspellings and incorrect conjugations however at one point the subtitles ran off the screen. The subtitles in the added scenes were far worse than that of the rest of the movie.

I am not bashing Battle Royale; I want people to buy the regular version and forget that this Director's Cut is even an option.

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(2008 HOLIDAY TEAM)"Battle Royale" is a superb film, subtle and sad and over-the-top and loud all at the same time. The story is often compared to "Lord of the Flies," but that is a bit of a misnomer. "Lord of the Flies" was about reverting to primitivism, whereas "Battle Royale" is a futuristic cautionary tale in the tune of "1984" and "Brave New World." The caution at work here is the threat of absolute bureaucracy, and the dangers of the loss of the value of life and respect in a rules-dominated society. This is a threat quite apparent in modern Japan.

The actors in "Battle Royale" all deliver excellent performances, including the amazing talent "Beat" Takeshi Kitano playing the appropriately named "Kitano." The film was not directed by Takeshi however, so it lacks his beautiful visual style. It does however feature one of his riveting paintings. There is a good range of responses from the various actors playing the students, from outright suicide, to panic, to a drive to win to a drive to help. Unfortunately, the character of Kazuo Kiriyama (the machine gun boy) is woefully underdeveloped, and instead of the fierce, cold genius of the book he is a somewhat characterless villain.

While a violent film, I wouldn't characterize "Battle Royale" as an action film per se. Anyone looking for a Hong Kong-style action film should realize that Japan and China are quite different countries with different approach to movies.. "Battle Royale" retains the quietude and patient pacing that is the hallmark of Japanese cinema, and which leaves some viewers bored, who are used to a quicker pacing. The bloodshed, while in great quantity, is also more cartoony in nature, which is also more typical of Japanese films, which does not favor a naturalistic approach.

I think some familiarity with problems in modern Japan (ie: school violence, overwhelming bureaucracy) gives some necessary perspective to this controversial movie, and helps frame it as more than exploitation. It is a political statement, with a subtle message underlying the overt violence. Along with this, knowledge of Japanese culture deepens the understandings of certain scenes, such as when Kitano performs the prescribed exercises, and the training video shown at the beginning. Without understanding, these scenes might come off as merely quaint or odd.

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Very good movie. I strongly reccomend this movie to anyone who enjoys strange movies, because you've never ever seen a movie like this.

It's the future... Kids have stopped going to class, and are becoming pests. So the government has started a new program called the "BATTLE ROYALE SURVIVAL PROJECT." What happens is that one class of 9th graders a year is chosen by impartial lottery to go onto a deserted island. The kids then get 'voted off' the island. And by 'voted off' I mean they kill each other. Each kid gets a bag, inside is food, water, a map, and a random weapon. With this weapon, they are ordered to kill each other until one remains.

This movie has everything. Violence, plot, character development (somewhat -enough to satasfy me), and an amazing story. It'll keep you on the end of your seat, or couch, or whatever.

Oh, and if you go out and see the new Tarantino movie, KILL BILL, the actress that plays Liu's bodyguard is one of the kids from Battle Royale.

Buy this movie. I can't stress it enough.

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this movie has alot of qualities that i liked from the start. the way the students tried to find a way around the game, the social interactions of the students, and the question of could you kill your best friend. the movie goes smoothly from the start, with everyone on the bus, and then comes to on the island. i even have a soft spot for kitano, the cookie eating teacher. the cast did a superb job giving the book characters life and keeping to the plot. and the fact that it didnt save characters that you get to like made it sad, yet, gave the sense that the students really were trying to survive. the one thing i like to point out is the way the students' clicks fell apart after one or two days. some worked better as a team, while others got ripped apart at the seams.

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Goonies / Gremlins / Gremlins 2: The New Batch (2013)

Three great classic movies, the reason for writing this brief review is that I don't understand the Jan 2013 release date?

This is selling in my local Wal-Mart for $10

Do yourself a favor, grab a bargain for Christmas.

This is a review for the Bluray disk. For anyone who loved any of these movies, the quality of the transfer is almost perfect. You have an occasional scene that is not that great but even the original film look crappy at that same point. So worth it. I mly really wanted Goonies and Gremlins 1, think of part 2 as a bonus. My son liked 2 better so glad I got this 3 movie set.

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Nice to re-live your childhood with these flicks and to see the clean-up on blu ray.

Ended watching all 3 in one day!

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I hate, hate, hate watching Goonies on TV. They always cut out most of the early and middle character building stuff that has cause the story to have such endurance. The Blu-ray version is a life saver.

Gremlins is just a great deal of fun.

Gremlins 2 is actually fairly hard to track down, getting it was honestly a cheap bonus for getting the two movies I really love.

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2 good movies for the pirce of one!!! and i say 2 because the 2nd gremlins blah. but so worth it for the others

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