My fave version. Bit of a choker really. However, on the DVD I got (which also had the 50s Howard Keel version on it), the audio and visual were out of sync for most of it.
There are many of these old films that are oddly hard to get hold of for a decent price, and then you have to get the American DVD shipped in.
This weekend I saw a pair of movies that had great potential but ultimately didn't deliver the goods. First up is Mine, with Armie Hammer as a U.S. marine in an unnamed Islamic country (the locals are Berbers, but it looks like Iraq) who steps on a landmine and spends the majority of the film standing there. This could have been a truly tense film--sort of like Buried, which Ryan Reynolds spends buried alive in a coffin--but it's intercut with soap-opera-ish scenes of the marine's back story and a lot of mystical folderol where he talks to dead people and people who may or may not be there.
Next up is the sci-fi thriller Life, which is atmospheric and has great special effects, but the story--a space ship that takes in a strange new life form that grows up and then starts killing everyone--is VERY familiar. And there's Ryan Reynolds again, this time in the John Hurt role. All in all, an OK movie if you've never seen Alien.
The Reef. Australian thriller featuring (drum roll)... a Great White shark. Great entertainment if you like this sort of film. If you don't - stay well clear.
My fave version. Bit of a choker really. However, on the DVD I got (which also had the 50s Howard Keel version on it), the audio and visual were out of sync for most of it.
There are many of these old films that are oddly hard to get hold of for a decent price, and then you have to get the American DVD shipped in.
It's amazing how expensive some old films are on DVD.
Just recently my Dad has asked me to find some old movies, mostly war films, and I have been shocked. I'd expected them to be a couple of pound in the bargain bin but they weren't !!
The Circle. Wow--Emma Watson! Tom Hanks! What could go wrong? Everything. One of the most poorly-written, poorly-acted (and therefore poorly-directed: how else do you get so many bad performances from such good actors?), cheap-looking major films I've seen in a long while. And it becomes about the 10,000th movie to rip off the ending of A Face in the Crowd. This is based on a well-received novel and the author (Dave Eggers) had a hand in the script--I almost want to read it to see if it's over-rated hackwork or if the movie is a travesty of a fine book.
Vox clamantis in deserto
Sir MilesThe Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 26,620Chief of Staff
78/52 - an in-depth look at the shower scene from Psycho...amazingly informative and entertaining...although for all of you that struggle with the editing in QoS, you will hate this )
The Circle. Wow--Emma Watson! Tom Hanks! What could go wrong? Everything. One of the most poorly-written, poorly-acted (and therefore poorly-directed: how else do you get so many bad performances from such good actors?), cheap-looking major films I've seen in a long while. And it becomes about the 10,000th movie to rip off the ending of A Face in the Crowd. This is based on a well-received novel and the author (Dave Eggers) had a hand in the script--I almost want to read it to see if it's over-rated hackwork or if the movie is a travesty of a fine book.
I've had this in my list for ages but keeped hearing bad reviews.
It's amazing how expensive some old films are on DVD.
Just recently my Dad has asked me to find some old movies, mostly war films, and I have been shocked. I'd expected them to be a couple of pound in the bargain bin but they weren't !!
Were they on the Criterion label? Those are always expensive, but Criterion do a good job of restoration and including useful bonus content. They often show up used if you're patient, I often see Criterion dvd's in used book stores or used cd stores.
There seem to be other labels that specialise in more obscure, older films, and they're no cheaper. I guess maybe the demand for such old, obscure films is so small there is no economy of scale in manufacturing them? i.e. the dozen-odd people who are interested have to share all the cost.
There are lots of cheapie public domain dvd's of early Hitchcock, or Max Fleischer cartoons, but you get what you pay for with those cheapie public domain labels.
78/52 - an in-depth look at the shower scene from Psycho...amazingly informative and entertaining...although for all of you that struggle with the editing in QoS, you will hate this
Hitchcock's allowed to experiment with wacky editing, he's proved he understands how to tell a story using more conventional techniques, personally invented some of the storytelling techniques we take for granted, and has been successfully incorporating clever experiments into his films since the 1920s.
One good post here recently argued the opening of QoS would be a very boring car chase if it weren't for all the confusing edits. Maybe that filmmaker was not so competent to begin with, he was using his tricky editing to mask an otherwise inferior scene.
That's certainly not what Hitchcock was doing with his shower scene! That'd been a shocking scene if it was done in one take with one camera angle ... except it probably wouldn't've got past the censors.
I do quite like that QoS scene because of its impressionist feel, it's almost how it would feel being in that car chase. Others chase scenes are aesthetically pleasing but distancing, I mean the Bell Lotus chase in TSWLM. That Hitchcock doc is great stuff btw.
It's not just Criterian films, though they did a good job of redoing The 39 Steps (Hitch again) while the normal DVD of that you might pick up is piss poor. Criterian used to be only in the US market but now they're UK too I think. I have a region free DVD player but it's hard to get a Blu Ray that's region free, Panasonic used to do one and it pops up on amazon from time to time for about £250.
It's odd because of course you get any old records and 78s played on Radio 4, usually Sunday late eve bafflingly when all the care home residents are long tucked up in bed. There's no embargo on music, but the only old movies that get shown on telly are the usual same old classics: Casablanca, Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Great Expectations... and Bond, of course. I like them all, but I don't want them on all the time. Other excellent old films just never get a look in for some reason, it's very odd, don't know why. There's an untapped treasure trove out there and you can't believe anyone profits on the quiet as most people don't even know about them so it's not like they're forced to fork out on DVD instead. There's no decent pay to view Sky channel doing these little-shown old films either, so I just can't figure it out.
It's amazing how expensive some old films are on DVD.
Just recently my Dad has asked me to find some old movies, mostly war films, and I have been shocked. I'd expected them to be a couple of pound in the bargain bin but they weren't !!
Were they on the Criterion label? Those are always expensive, but Criterion do a good job of restoration and including useful bonus content. They often show up used if you're patient, I often see Criterion dvd's in used book stores or used cd stores.
There seem to be other labels that specialise in more obscure, older films, and they're no cheaper. I guess maybe the demand for such old, obscure films is so small there is no economy of scale in manufacturing them? i.e. the dozen-odd people who are interested have to share all the cost.
There are lots of cheapie public domain dvd's of early Hitchcock, or Max Fleischer cartoons, but you get what you pay for with those cheapie public domain labels.
I can't remember any specific labels but the second hand route proved far more fruitful.
My Dad has now discovered a whole new world going through the second hand collections at bookshops and markets ... we watched 'The Last Samurai' recently from one of his purchases and there was no problem with the quality.
You're probably right in that the demand is so small it's not viable for the company's to produce huge amounts.
Finally got to see The Magnificent Seven (1960) yesterday...
...and I rather liked it. The casting stands as one of the very best and there are great performances throughout, notably by Bronson, Brynner and McQueen.
Vaughn (and particularly his character) were eeeehhh. Maybe it's because he didn't have much to work with, even if he did have some great scenes. I can't put my finger on it though, the nightmare aftermath feels unpolished, script-wise.
Towards the last part of the film before the big gun fights, the characters talk about their life and what not but such development is too late into the movie and feels a bit forced and sudden, without giving subtle hints to it from the beginning of the runtime to this impromptu crescendo.
The villagers speak better English than what would realistically be feasible for them and they also have a very theatrical delivery in their lines, making me think that the script might've been converted from a musical with the direction doing it no favours, without many close-ups and wide-shots (which seem a bit overused and there isn't a smooth transition between them, when they are).
That's not to say that it isn't well filmed as it doesn't look of its time at all and the prints look remarkably fresh for a 1960 film.
I thoroughly enjoyed the music and the plot and may even see the original 7 Samurai.
Maybe makers of DVD are in league with soundbar salesmen, but I always find I have to turn the volume up when watching a DVD.
The film is somehow gripping and oddly uninvolving, I was kind of detatched watching it. It's set in Berlin at the time of the fall of the Wall (1989) and has Charlize Theron as the Blonde in question, sent on a McGuffin 'find the list' type mission you get in films like Skyfall and Mission Impossible.
Some good stuff, but it's based on a comic book which is one step up from a computer game I suppose but not too different, relentless punching and fights where just one of those would finish you off or leave you braindead. Theron is v good, great British accent and carries the film I guess, and John Goodman I didn't even recognise for most of the movie even though his name was on the credits, so kudos to him. James McAvoy was okay, not bad but somehow you feel it might have been Ewan McGregor a few years earlier. Scottish actors playing English, it can feel a bit hemmed in, whatever they do.
The film has a murky sort of look to it but the final scene has an unexpected plot development that I didn't understand and that's where I miss imdb's messageboard. Generally the film feels like an extended trailer, despite the buzzy soundtrack with lots of Bowie.
Bit late to the party but saw Black Panther last night and, I know it's not a shock to hear at this point, but I thought it was fantastic! The visuals, story and acting were excellent - Boseman, Wright, Nyong'o and Serkis (who was hilarious in his role) in particular.
I read a very interesting quote after I saw the film from one of the producers saying that Black Panther would be a cross between The Godfather and the James Bond films as a "big, operatic family drama centered around a world of international espionage. So hopefully we're getting the best of both worlds." and I very much believe that held true.
In summary, they threw a great Wakandan "Q lab" scene in, Freeman's character was very Felix Leiter'ish and I definitely got some SF throwbacks with the Korean casino scene -
Also I thought the part with
T'Challa falling off the waterfall into the river below and everyone thinking he's dead then surprise surprise turning out to be alive and subsequently being nursed back to health in an isolated location far away from the action
The Exception. I was interested in this because it's about a little-known period of history--Kaiser Wilhelm II's exile in the Netherlands. This aspect of the movie is pretty good, with Christopher Plummer continuing his second act (or is it his third?) as an historical figure in his dotage. Unfortunately, the film uses Kaiser Willi mainly as the backdrop for a rather goofy spy romance with Lily James undercover as a maid and Jai Courtney as the sexiest Wehrmacht officer on Hitler's payroll. This has a 75% rating on Rottentomatoes, so I dunno. . .maybe this will float your boat.
It’s better than the Jolie films but not by much. This is a pretty bloodless, tensionless affair that lacks any sort of meaty thrills to it. Long sections of the film drag on and on while exposition dumps happen to try and build character. The action scenes, when they happen, are edited to hell and lack any sort of real geography to them.
The funniest thing is that the film outright rips off INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE with some major plot points and a major set piece. Do yourself and favor and watch LAST CRUSADE (or any of the IJ films) again and skip this thing. Wait for HBO.
I quite enjoyed it myself and thought it was streets ahead of the Jolie films (not hard, they were awful), but I agree it does borrow from Indy and The Last Crusade a lot.
Comments
Are there more than one? Tell us more, please.
I have that next in my “queue”. It’s been ages since I’ve seen it as well so I’m really keen to give a good watch - it’s a fantastic film!
My fave version. Bit of a choker really. However, on the DVD I got (which also had the 50s Howard Keel version on it), the audio and visual were out of sync for most of it.
There are many of these old films that are oddly hard to get hold of for a decent price, and then you have to get the American DVD shipped in.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
Next up is the sci-fi thriller Life, which is atmospheric and has great special effects, but the story--a space ship that takes in a strange new life form that grows up and then starts killing everyone--is VERY familiar. And there's Ryan Reynolds again, this time in the John Hurt role. All in all, an OK movie if you've never seen Alien.
It's amazing how expensive some old films are on DVD.
Just recently my Dad has asked me to find some old movies, mostly war films, and I have been shocked. I'd expected them to be a couple of pound in the bargain bin but they weren't !!
Batman takes on Jack the ripper.
I've had this in my list for ages but keeped hearing bad reviews.
This has just confirmed I should untick it
There seem to be other labels that specialise in more obscure, older films, and they're no cheaper. I guess maybe the demand for such old, obscure films is so small there is no economy of scale in manufacturing them? i.e. the dozen-odd people who are interested have to share all the cost.
There are lots of cheapie public domain dvd's of early Hitchcock, or Max Fleischer cartoons, but you get what you pay for with those cheapie public domain labels.
One good post here recently argued the opening of QoS would be a very boring car chase if it weren't for all the confusing edits. Maybe that filmmaker was not so competent to begin with, he was using his tricky editing to mask an otherwise inferior scene.
That's certainly not what Hitchcock was doing with his shower scene! That'd been a shocking scene if it was done in one take with one camera angle ... except it probably wouldn't've got past the censors.
It's not just Criterian films, though they did a good job of redoing The 39 Steps (Hitch again) while the normal DVD of that you might pick up is piss poor. Criterian used to be only in the US market but now they're UK too I think. I have a region free DVD player but it's hard to get a Blu Ray that's region free, Panasonic used to do one and it pops up on amazon from time to time for about £250.
It's odd because of course you get any old records and 78s played on Radio 4, usually Sunday late eve bafflingly when all the care home residents are long tucked up in bed. There's no embargo on music, but the only old movies that get shown on telly are the usual same old classics: Casablanca, Wizard of Oz, Singing in the Rain, Great Expectations... and Bond, of course. I like them all, but I don't want them on all the time. Other excellent old films just never get a look in for some reason, it's very odd, don't know why. There's an untapped treasure trove out there and you can't believe anyone profits on the quiet as most people don't even know about them so it's not like they're forced to fork out on DVD instead. There's no decent pay to view Sky channel doing these little-shown old films either, so I just can't figure it out.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I can't remember any specific labels but the second hand route proved far more fruitful.
My Dad has now discovered a whole new world going through the second hand collections at bookshops and markets ... we watched 'The Last Samurai' recently from one of his purchases and there was no problem with the quality.
You're probably right in that the demand is so small it's not viable for the company's to produce huge amounts.
...and I rather liked it. The casting stands as one of the very best and there are great performances throughout, notably by Bronson, Brynner and McQueen.
Vaughn (and particularly his character) were eeeehhh. Maybe it's because he didn't have much to work with, even if he did have some great scenes. I can't put my finger on it though, the nightmare aftermath feels unpolished, script-wise.
Towards the last part of the film before the big gun fights, the characters talk about their life and what not but such development is too late into the movie and feels a bit forced and sudden, without giving subtle hints to it from the beginning of the runtime to this impromptu crescendo.
The villagers speak better English than what would realistically be feasible for them and they also have a very theatrical delivery in their lines, making me think that the script might've been converted from a musical with the direction doing it no favours, without many close-ups and wide-shots (which seem a bit overused and there isn't a smooth transition between them, when they are).
That's not to say that it isn't well filmed as it doesn't look of its time at all and the prints look remarkably fresh for a 1960 film.
I thoroughly enjoyed the music and the plot and may even see the original 7 Samurai.
Maybe makers of DVD are in league with soundbar salesmen, but I always find I have to turn the volume up when watching a DVD.
The film is somehow gripping and oddly uninvolving, I was kind of detatched watching it. It's set in Berlin at the time of the fall of the Wall (1989) and has Charlize Theron as the Blonde in question, sent on a McGuffin 'find the list' type mission you get in films like Skyfall and Mission Impossible.
Some good stuff, but it's based on a comic book which is one step up from a computer game I suppose but not too different, relentless punching and fights where just one of those would finish you off or leave you braindead. Theron is v good, great British accent and carries the film I guess, and John Goodman I didn't even recognise for most of the movie even though his name was on the credits, so kudos to him. James McAvoy was okay, not bad but somehow you feel it might have been Ewan McGregor a few years earlier. Scottish actors playing English, it can feel a bit hemmed in, whatever they do.
The film has a murky sort of look to it but the final scene has an unexpected plot development that I didn't understand and that's where I miss imdb's messageboard. Generally the film feels like an extended trailer, despite the buzzy soundtrack with lots of Bowie.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I read a very interesting quote after I saw the film from one of the producers saying that Black Panther would be a cross between The Godfather and the James Bond films as a "big, operatic family drama centered around a world of international espionage. So hopefully we're getting the best of both worlds." and I very much believe that held true.
BP production & Marvel Studios apparently did go in with some heavy Bond influence:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2018/02/black-panther-james-bond-skyfall-casino-q-felix-leiter
http://au.ign.com/videos/2018/02/09/how-black-panther-is-marvels-james-bond
In summary, they threw a great Wakandan "Q lab" scene in, Freeman's character was very Felix Leiter'ish and I definitely got some SF throwbacks with the Korean casino scene -
Also I thought the part with
I quite enjoyed it myself and thought it was streets ahead of the Jolie films (not hard, they were awful), but I agree it does borrow from Indy and The Last Crusade a lot.
Its mind blowing in HD. Puts modern HD film releases to shame quality wise
I will have to check it out. Thanks for the tip. -{