51 Birch Street

Description

Do you REALLY want to know your parents?

Documentary filmmaker Doug Block always thought his parents' 54-year marriage was a good one. But when his mother dies unexpectedly and his father swiftly marries a former secretary, he discovers a family history far more complex and troubled than he ever imagined. 51 Birch Street is a riveting personal documentary that explores a universal human question - how much about your parents do you really want to know?

Customer Reviews:

What a wonderful story to share with the world..........2007-09-09

Be aware that this movie is a documentary - not a hollywood type entertainment movie. Be ready to want to hear about life in what I would consider a typical family in the US. It's not always the Clever's and Mike Block does a wonderful job of capturing all of the individuals in his family and all of their perspectives on his family. I was captivated throughout the whole film - anxious to hear truth about the inside lives of his father and mother's relationship. I think it gives everyone great insight into family dynamics and why you are the way you are, because of your family or origin. I'm very greatful that Mikes father and step-mother and sisters were willing to allow their story to be told. A lot can be learned from this film! Thanks Mike!

Worth the Wait.......2007-08-29

Because of its limited theatrical release schedule I had to wait and buy this on DVD from Amazon. Most things in todays world are over-publicized and over-hyped. Please believe me, this film is neither. What a tour-de-force in storytelling and what a fine piece of movie making. Doug Block's "home movie" really serves up a good dose of emotion: love to curiosity to sadness, fear, doubt, pain, jealousy and redemption. And the beauty of it all is IT REALLY HAPPENED. I'm asking everyone who can to watch this film. Congratulations, Doug. Now, can I read the diary?

The most eloquently constructed, universally relatable digital home movie of all time.......2007-08-26

51 Birch Street is the family discussion that most families never have. But not only do the Blocks have that discussion, documentary filmmaker Doug Block has captured it all on film and expertly crafted an easily accessible documentary that is equally amusing and moving, stirring and reassuring. What begins as one man's investigation into his parent's past slowly morphs into the most eloquently constructed, universally relatable digital home movie of all time.

Ineterspersing decades of video footage, photos, interviews, and (most notably) his mother's journals, Block examines his parent's 54-year marriage looking for clues as to why his father may have remarried only three months after his mother's death. As Block slowly unearths information from his mother's journals and through interviews with his father and relatives, the film picks up steam, building towards the inevitably cathartic finale.

But 51 Birch Street isn't just an autobiographical film about Block's parents. It's also not just a study in marital fidelity (or lack thereof). What 51 Birch Street really does is examine the disconnect between parents and children, between generations, between siblings, and between friends and documents one man's journey in bridging that disconnect. 51 Birch Street is the rare film that is designed to open dialogue on many complex issues. As Block works towards his own resolutions, audience members can't help but think about questions they may feel the need to ask or to discuss.

Inevitably there are uncomfortable moments where both Block and the audience are wondering whether he should delve any further into the past, both for moral reasons and because, as the DVD cover asks: "Do you REALLY want to know your parents?" Time and time again Block asks himself this question, and time and time again the answer is yes. When the secrets are laid bare and the past has been discussed, what's most rewarding about the film is the heartfelt discovery that communication and discussion clearly do aid in understanding and happiness. 51 Birch Street is the surprise documentary of the year. At a time when the documentary form is increasingly being used to further political agendas, it is a digital breath of fresh air.

The bonus features here are as entertaining and revealing as the film. In a brief featurette entitled Who Knew? Block goes back to interview various members of his family, including his father and stepmother, and gets their reactions to the film itself. But the four-minute "I Flunk Adultery" music video steals the DVD as Block's uncle Josh Vogel shares the entire five verses to the song with the audience, accompanied by a clever music video.

Searing, Paradoxical, and Riveting.......2007-08-23

Outstanding work of art. If you are interested in living a life of superficiality, than don't bother seeing this. Otherwise, check out this indie gem that will keep you thinking for some time.

I CAN'T BELIEVE A MAN MADE THIS MOVIE!!.......2007-07-10

Don't let my subject title fool you, 51 BIRCH STREET, is not the Ani DiFranco or Sarah McLachlan of personal documentaries- meaning this is a film that men and women of all ages will enjoy (assuming that they like emotionally stirring portraits of American families!) Its just that I always find myself pleasantly surprised when I see a unflinching, emotionally accurate, and unwaveringly honest portrayal of a woman by a man. 51 BIRCH STREET is all that and more. The filmmaker Doug Block is clearly admiring of his mother, Mina, yet unafraid to show her character warts and all, in the ultimate testimony to the belief that love is being able to see someone's full character, but still really love them just as they are. Three months after her sudden death his father reconnected with a secretary from 40 years ago, Kitty (what names, Mina and Kitty!), within the year they've married and are moving to Florida! This was obviously was a bit of a shock to him and his sisters, and after decades of his mothers diaries were discovered during the move, Doug was inspired to make the film. Ultimately it is a loving portrait of the challenges of family. It's gripping and moving, a must see!

Average customer rating:

What can I say?
A little below the usual B-movie standard
Old Fashion Sci Fi
Target Earth - Not a Classic, but deserves a chance.
"Denning...Crowley...Grey...Reeves ~ Target Earth (1954)...Herman Cohen"

Target Earth
Starring: Richard Denning , Kathleen Crowley , Virginia Grey , Richard Reeves , and Robert Roark
Director: Sherman A. Rose
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008G96N
Release Date: 2003-02-25

Description

A large city has been completely evacuated. An alien force of robots has invaded the city and is destroying all mankind! Frank (Richard Denning) and a handful of strangers wake up to the empty city and band together. Not only must they escape the robot patrols, but also they must contend with a psychotic killer amongst them. All the while scientists are racing against the clock to save earth from annihilation. Based on the short novel, The Deadly City by Paul W. Fairman. Bonus Features: Commentary by Herman Cohen| Video Tribute to Producer Herman Cohen| Original theatrical trailer| Digitally Re-mastered| Anamorphic Widescreen - Enhanced for 16x9 monitors| Actor Bios| 3-D Motion Menus| Scene Selection| Booklet Insert| Trailers. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 75 minutes; B&W; 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 1954; SRP - $9.99.

Customer Reviews:

What can I say?.......2007-05-30

This movie scared the hell out of me when I was a little kid. Is there any other service for a B movie like this? The dark elements of the woman being suicidal, etc. made it even creepier, for a 50's horror movie. I can see it being re-made, sort of Independence Day mixed with Night of the Living Dead, only the zombies would be robots. I think I'm having an Ed Wood moment...

A little below the usual B-movie standard.......2007-02-16

I hate to come down on B-movies. Even though a lot of people think they're cheesy and cheap, I feel they project a certain creativity. "It! The Terror from Beyond Space" (1958), "Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla" (1974)--but not "Target Earth" (1954) as much.
The plot and concept were perfect, in theory. A city has been evacuated due to the invasion of robots, most likely from Venus. A few stragglers must battle their way to freedom and safety.
However, the only sci-fi element used in the film was a robot--who represented a whole army of them. No spaceships--blurry laser beams and hollow acting.
"Target Earth" (1954) isn't that bad. If my copy didn't work any more, then I'd still buy another.

Old Fashion Sci Fi.......2006-11-04

I enjoyed this movie years ago when I was younger. Believe it or not it is still as good as I remember. Suspense, bad acting, crummy special effects. This is how movies were made back then without all the flash and gore this is still a good movie.

Target Earth - Not a Classic, but deserves a chance........2006-09-01

While Target Earth may not be a well known, classic Sci-Fi movie, it certainly gives a decent swing at the genre. Being Herman Cohen's first solo-produced film, Target Earth most definately IS science fiction. The plot of the film is one of the most frightening and classic ideas in the anals of sci-fi - that of the Earth being invaded by beings from another world. The threat in Target Earth, however, is an encroaching vanguard of robots which precede the actual alien invasion. A novel idea indeed. The acting in TE is good, with Richard Denning (Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Day the World Ended, The Black Scorpion) cast as the hero.
If you enjoy watching and collecting classic sci-fi from the 1950s, then Target Earth will make an excellent addition to your DVD library.

"Denning...Crowley...Grey...Reeves ~ Target Earth (1954)...Herman Cohen".......2006-09-01

VCI Home Video and Allied Artists presents "TARGET EARTH: (1954) (75 mins B&W) . . . under Sherman A. Rose (Director / Editor), Herman Cohen (Producer), Kay Rose (Producer), Paul Fairman (Book Author - based upon the story "Deadly City"), Bill Raynor (Screenwriter), James Nicholson and Wyott Ordung (original screenplay), Guy Roe (Cinematographer), Paul Dunlap (Composer (Music Score), David Koehler (Special Effects), Stanley Orr (makeup), Morris Hoffman (set decorator), James Sullivan (art director) --- cast includes Richard Denning (Frank), Kathleen Crowley (Nora), Virginia Grey (Vicki), Richard Reeves (Jim), Robert Roark (Wilson), Mort Marshall (Charles Otis), Arthur Space (General), Whit Bissell (Scientist), House Peters, Jr. (Technician), Jim Drake (Lieutenant), Gaylord "Steve" Pendleton (Colonel) . . . . . . our story thus follows raw panic, an astounding science fiction drama of a deserted metropolis and the frenzied few who were left behind...our cast of survivors living day and night in incredible terror, mixed with uncivilized violence in the savage battle for survival against the horror of the fantastic unknown... this very early film in the genre of science fiction uncovers our silent thoughts, is it possible for aliens from another world to invade our planet...much to ponder as this wonderful script with top notch performances by Richard Denning, Kathleen Crowley, Virginia Grey and Richard Reeves pull us into the story and give us a thriller to remember for days...remember this is a '50s sci-fi when we were still young and innocent, films of this nature was thought provoking and entertaining.

SCENE SELECTIONS:
1. Awake
2. Ghost Town
3. Unexplained Death
4. Abandoned
5. Finding Friends
6. The Shadow
7. Seeking Shelton
8. A Suite
9. Military Defense
10.Captured Enemy
11.The Robot
12.Domestic Dispute
13.Tests
14.Dangerous Stranger
15.Villainous Plan
16.Out of Time
17.Trapped
18.Rescued

Specal footnote, producer Herman Cohen (August 27, 1925 - June 2, 2002) was a producer of B-movies during the 1950s, who helped to popularize the teen horror movie genre with films like the cult classic "I Was a Teenage Werewolf" (1957)...his motion picture career began at his local cinema, the Dexter Theater in Detroit, during his preteen years; he worked there as a "gofer" and later as an usher...his next stop was assistant manager of Detroit's Fox Theater. After a Marine Corps hitch, Cohen worked as sales manager for the Detroit branch of Columbia Pictures, then relocated to Hollywood and worked in the publicity department of Columbia there. He produced his first movies for Jack Broder's Realart Pictures in the early 1950s and made several subsequent pictures for Allied Artists and United Artists. Cohen made exploitation history in the mid-1950s when he began producing some of American International's earliest hits, among them the cult favorite "I Was a Teenage Werewolf." (1957) featuring unknown horror actor Michael Landon as a troubled teenager and Whit Bissell as the primary adult. It was written and produced by cult film producer Herman Cohen, it was made on a very low budget but grossed as much as US$2,000,000 per week in its early weeks of release,and was one of the most successful films released by AIP (American International Pictures)..Herman Cohen's filmography, The Bushwhackers (1952), Kid Monk Baroni (1952), Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952), Battles of Chief Pontiac (1952), River Beat (1954), Target Earth (1954), Magnificent Roughnecks (1956), Dance with Me Henry (1956), The Brass Legend (1956), Crime of Passion (1957), I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), I Was a Teenage Frankenstein (1957), Blood of Dracula (1957), How to Make a Monster (1958), Horrors of the Black Museum (1959), The Headless Ghost (1959), Konga (1961), Black Zoo (1963), A Study in Terror (1965), Berserk! (1968), Django il bastardo (1969), Crooks and Coronets (1969), Trog (1970), Craze (1973), Gatto dagli occhi di giada, Il (1977)...In the 1960s and 1970s, he began producing horror films in the United Kingdom, working with such stars as Joan Crawford in "Berserk"! and "Trog" and Jack Palance in Craze. In 1961, he returned to his roots in Detroit purchasing the Fox Theater he had worked for in his youth. By the late 1970s, Cohen was working more in writing and distribution than in film production. He founded Cobra Media, a domestic distribution company, in 1981. Cohen died of throat cancer June 2, 2002.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
1. Commentary by Producer Herman Cohen
2. Video Tribute on Producer Herman Cohen
3. Original Theatrical Trailers
4. Previews

BIOS:
1. Richard Denning (aka: Louis Albert Heindrich Denninger Jr.)
Date of birth: 27 March 1914 - Poughkeepsie, New York
Date of death: 11 October 1998 - Escondido, California
2. Kathleen Crowley (aka: Betty Jane Kathleen Crowley)
Date of birth: 26 December 1931 - Green Bank, New Jersey
Date of death: Still Living
3. Virginia Grey
Date of birth: 22 March 1917 - Los Angeles, California, USA
Date of death: 31 July 2004 - Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
4. Richard Reeves
Date of birth: 10 August 1912 - New York, New York
Date of death: 17 March 1967 - Northridge, California
5. Sherman A. Rose (Director)
Date of birth: 27 May 1915
Date of death: 22 September 1986
6. Herman Cohen (Producer)
Date of birth: 27 August 1925 - Detroit, Michigan
Date of death: 2 June 2002 - Los Angeles, California

Want to thank VCI Home Video for releasing "Target Earth" (1954) - Director Sherman A. Rose , the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '40s & '50s...order your copy now from Amazon or VCI Entertainment where there are plenty of copies available, stay tuned once again for top notch wonderful character actors of the cinema brought back so many wonderful memories of the times when film makers cared about you who purchased a ticket and came back for more...just the way we like 'em.

Total Time: 75 mins on DVD ~ VCI Home Video 8305 ~ (2/25/2003)

Average customer rating:

excellent movie for SI FI lovers
Bang bang, chase chase, yawn yawn
SECOND CHANCES
If you love happy endings, you'll love this DVD
Coming soon to a MST 3000 episode near you!

The Tomorrow Man
Starring: Corbin Bernsen , Beth Kennedy , Morgan Rusler , and Adam Sutton
Manufacturer: Mti Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005JXYD
Release Date: 2004-04-06

Customer Reviews:

excellent movie for SI FI lovers.......2006-08-06

This is an excellent purchase for real SI FI lovers. I would definitely recommend it.

Bang bang, chase chase, yawn yawn.......2006-04-22

Potentially interesting plot gets completely lost amid constant chases and bang bang shoot-outs, that reduce this to what amounts to just another boring guns, cars, and chases movie with a slight time-travel thing thrown in for the sci-fi addicts.

And do films ALWAYS have to end with the two protaganists meeting for the final cliffhanging (yawn..) confrontation?

Wake me up someone....

SECOND CHANCES.......2004-07-02

THE TOMORROW MAN breaks all the preconceived notions on time travel, the continuum, etc. In this movie, we find an agency that plans to use time travel to change crucial mistakes of the past, (e.g., Hitler, Watergate, etc.), without any resulting changes in what those alterations could bring. One of the characters even says so, that all that time travel bullcrap is just that.
Anyway, with this clarified, I found TOMORROW MAN a wonderfully entertaining and involving movie. Corbin Bernsen stars as Max Klein, a typical macho father, who believes his young son should be raised just as he was. In other words, spare the rod and you have a wimpy child. Bernsen is thrown into the maelstrom of time travel when his son from thirty years in the future, returns and kidnaps himself to save himself from his father's future abuse. Cop Beth Kennedy in a wonderfully self-parodying performance enlists Bernsen's help to catch his son, as he is now a kidnaper, murderer, bank robber, etc. Morgan Rusler plays the Brian of the future, and he is one of the strangest looking actors I've seen, and not altogether a good actor, but his unique physical appearance (kind of a human Dopey) does manage to evoke a little sympathy, although his actions in the end of the film justify the need to get rid of him. Jeanne Cooper (Bernsen's real-life mama) plays his wife in the future, and she does an admirable job in conveying the hurt she experienced while dealing with the abusive Bernsen.

What makes the movie work is Bernsen's duplicity; Kennedy's off color remarks; Cooper's ability to play a role her own age, unglamorous, and the writer's desire to give Bernsen's character a second chance.
It's low budget all the way, but it also has a heart, and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it made me feel.
Not a classic, but worth the time.

If you love happy endings, you'll love this DVD.......2003-10-30

The topic of time travel and one's ability to use it to change the past (and, therefore, the future) is always fascinating. I personally like the idea that, as they say in The Terminator series, "the future is not set." While Corbin Bersen's acting may not be top of the line, he's actually not the main character and does a reasonable job as a father whose son has been kidnapped. I can't say much more about the storyline without giving it away except, of course, that it has a happy ending. This movie is in no ways hard SF, and those looking for it will not like the movie. But for those looking for an interesting thought and a "feel-good" movie, this it is.

Coming soon to a MST 3000 episode near you!.......2003-06-09

Oh, how Corbin Bersen must long for the easy, carefree days of "LA Law," when he was still considered a marginal TV sex symbol and enjoying a long run on a hit show. Since then, he's gone on to a series of what could kindly be called "B" movies (for this movie, you'd be REALLY kind to stay that high up in the alphabet). Now, I know not every movie can have a big budget, great script, and so forth, but this is pretty ridiculous. Wooden direction, hackneyed dialogue, and a really tired time-traveling storyline all combine to make this great potential fodder for a future episode of Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Purchase only if you work for the Sci-FI Channel...

Average customer rating:

A good change of pace
An almost complete waste of time..
Deus Ex Machina
One of my favourite movies ever
Very Original

Death Machine
Starring: Richard Brake , Alex Brooks , Julie Cox (II) , Brad Dourif , and Ronald Fernee
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305645493
Release Date: 1999-09-20

Customer Reviews:

A good change of pace.......2007-01-14

I liked this movie because it mixed horror with a touch of scifi. Yes, it was a B horror flick with cheap special effects, but they did do a good job with the story and the movie. It was along the same line as the movie The Shaft but with alot more action and suspense in the movie. See this movie if you would just like to kick back and not think about much except enjoying a good movie.

An almost complete waste of time.........2006-03-11

The film struck me as quite incompetent in its execution. There might be exactly one decent shot in the whole film. To each their own.. For those who care, a young(er) Rachel Weisz has a brief cameo. You see her for about two seconds. The scene is handled akwardly and makes almost no sense whatsover.

Deus Ex Machina.......2006-01-30

"Death Machine" is a little groovy cyberpunk industrial techno-noir kill-fest about a wicked corporation, its brain-damaged mission to create the ultimate soldier, and exactly what happens when you give the pink slip to the mad scientist in Super-Secret Sub-Level 42 of your Black Ops Industrial Research Park.

See, turns out Jack Dante (tne great, nay, the immortal Brad Dourif), the wunderkind-turned-Doc-Frankenstein of the massive Chaank Armaments (I'd invest!), has been working on a super-duper-secret project involving a...uh, well, a Death Machine.

Stop giggling. It's a super-warbot that goes in fast, is lethal and ruthless, and boogies out like its 1978, daddy-o! Only media scrutiny and dark talk of Congressional inquiries mean that brand new Chaank Vice President Hayden Cale (Ely Pouget) is brought in to bring order to chaos, and take all the fun out of Chaank, probably forcing it to go into online book-selling and sh*t.

Dante isn't having any of it: so in a glorious bow to simplicity, he unleashes the Death Machine and the rest of the show is all sorts of bloody hijinks, as Cale joins forces with a band of anarchists with more style than sense.

And really, let's take a second to make an ode to Style: director Stephen Norrington is all about this glittering, shimmering, steel-and-concrete techno-future, and he turns what could have been an otherwise colorless corporate hive into a shadow-haunted, steam-befogged House of Pain. He would really get his groove on in "Blade", but "Death Machine" served as a nice launch-pad.

Yeah, true, "Death Machine" is pretty much utter sh*t, but it's fun sh*t, especially if well sauced. And that's really the glory of this sick, wanton, drugged-out thing: it's very eighties, all evil corporations and tough no-bullsh*t crusader women and Brad Dourif striking a pose in his long hair and leather trenchcoat and BAD ATTITUDE, baby, and of course, the Death Machine, that shows up snorting and bellowing metallic rage, and has a real thing for tearing up elevators.

It's in Full Screen, cropped, and ugly as h*ll. It's Death Machine! Would you have it any other way?

JSG

One of my favourite movies ever.......2005-09-07

This one is in the Robocop vein of futuristic 'b'
movies.
Acting is excellent from top to bottom with a lot of original and funny dialogue.
The robo creature is genuinely scary .
The plot actually makes sense with good motivations.
I've watched this many many times.
Highly recommended.

Very Original.......2005-09-07

It starts off in a wicked/funny manner with the googly eyed Jack Dante character..it's rather exciting throughout the movie and there is some blood. Ely Pouget who plays 'Hayden Cale' does a good job as well, she really gets intense into it especially near the end, that's good acting, you can feel the heat watching her. The giant robotic machine-thing chases them throughout the film and are subjected to Jack Dante's crazed sense of humor. Brad Dourif gives memorable performance i won't forget and neither will you after you see this movie!

Average customer rating:

Rise of the Machines
Esperaba mas epica, aunque es una hermosa historia
Companion
Quality Anime
Dry..... (though good for someone new to Matsumoto)

Maetel Legend
Starring: Rachael Lillis , Kôhei Owada , Yûji Kishi , Yoshikazu Nagano , and Tristan Goddard
Director: Kazuyoshi Yokota
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
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Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001EQI92
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Amazon.com

This OAV series brings together two of Leiji Matsumoto's most popular creations: Emeraldas, the pirate queen from Harlock Saga, and Maetel, the mysterious woman who aids Tetsuro in Galaxy Express 999. Torn from its eccentric orbit around the sun by the dark star Ra, the planet Metalle is dying. The daughters of Queen La Andromeda Prometheum defy the evil Hardgear, who has tricked their mother and many of her subjects into becoming "mechanoids" he can use in a war against humanity. Maetel and Emeraldas escape from Metalle on the Galaxy Express, knowing that destiny will eventually lead them back to destroy the cyber-hell their world has become. The rather dark Legend lacks much of the panache of Harlock Saga and the propulsive energy of Galaxy Express, but Matsumoto's many fans will want to follow his characters on their long journey. Rated 13 Up: Violence, grotesque imagery. --Charles Solomon

Description

In this prequel to the best-selling Harlock Saga, Maetel, the princess of a dying world, faces starvation and death. When an evil scientist transforms her loved ones into soulless machines, Maetel is faced with an agonizing decision which will affect her loved ones forever.

Customer Reviews:

Rise of the Machines.......2005-09-07

A planet adrift in intersteller space -- dying. This is the story of technological and social evolution gone wrong. With her world no longer able to sustain life, the Queen of the planet LA MAETAL turns to the technician named Hardgear for a way for her people to survive. His solution is a procedure that comes right out of Clarke's novel 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY -- to transform the people of the planet into machines. The Queen, believing this to be the only way, foolishly submits to the procedure and commands all her people to submit to it as well. But it is not as beneficial as she was lead to believe. His techno-conversion technique has driven Hardgear insane.

Rating 13 and up: violence, grotesque imagery

Esperaba mas epica, aunque es una hermosa historia.......2004-06-26

Hola, acabo de ver ambos OVA's de Maetel Legend, definitivamente han querido unir los universos de Queen Millenia, Galaxy Express 999 y Queen Emeraldas, en este "play" juntando a las tres protagonistas y "resolviendo" un misterio hasta ahora escondido para todos los fans de Matsumoto, la relacion entre Maetel y Yayoi Yukino, y en menos relevancia la relacion entre Maetel y Emeraldas.
La idea esta bien planteada pero es inconsistente con algunos hechos que pasaron en las series originales.

1er Hecho : Yayoi Yukino muere salvando la tierra.
2do Hecho : Emeraldas era terricola.
3er Hecho : La edad de Maetel (pues ella era clonada una y otra vez y segun Galaxy Express 999, su cuerpo original esta congelado en Pluton y cada vez q puede va y lo visita)

Creo que la idea de comenzar de 0 no ha dejado a los fans con un sabor agridulce. En la nueva historia Maetel y Emeraldas son ahora hermanas gemelas y Yayoi su madre, la historia comienza al parecer a finales del siglo XXX, pues ambas son adolescentes, pero si comienza en el siglo XXX, Yayoi Yukino tiene mas de 1000 años???. Los nuevos dibujos no me gustaron, prefiero los dibujos de la pelicula Arcadia of my Youth que es superior en trama y argumento y eso que es de 1981, no deberion hacer este OVA de una manera tan light y pasando por alto muchos de los misterios que encerraban a estos personajes, para convertirlas en familia.

Companion.......2004-03-04

This is a good companion to the Harlock Saga and the Galaxy Express 999 series. The story is typical Matsumoto fare but its a fun series to get into even as short as it is. Its for fans of Matsumoto.

Quality Anime.......2004-02-19

What can I say? Maetel is a wonderful anime with a deep theme that really makes you think. I almost cried when I watched it...it's just that touching. However,I can't say if you personally will enjoy it. Fans of Matsumoto should enjoy this,but as for others unfamiliar with Matsumoto,it depends on what you like. If you're only into action,adventure or comedy anime,you'll probably be bored by this. Otherwise,I'd say if you like different and deep anime,you'll enjoy it! I know I did. This is my second Matsumoto film,my first was Harlock Saga. Both have been amazing and highly entertaining. I've done all-text reviews on other DVDs,but for these and any others later I'll be using a 1-10 scale,10 being the best possible. Oh, and just in case you're wondering, Maetel is rated 13+ for violence and grotesque imagery.

STORY: 10/10 - While some complain,I had no problem with the story at all. The slow pace of the plot is perfect for the "legend". I wasn't expecting much,but after watching Maetel,I was amazed and instantly a Matsumoto fan!

DVD: 9/10 - Not many special features,but the DVD itself was fine.

DUB: 7/10 - The dub was bearable,but the Japanese is far better.

OVERALL: 10/10 - If you can get it at a reasonable price,MAETEL LEGEND is an excellent addition to your anime!

Dry..... (though good for someone new to Matsumoto).......2003-09-15

Though it is really nice to finally see Emereldas and Maetel's past as siblings and the downfall of their mother Queen Promethia, I think this anime sadly fell flat on it's face.

The only thing of interest was the fact that you got to see how Galaxy Express 999 came to happen, though most of us had a pretty good idea of what happened to begin with, and even then some of this still went unanswered even with the prequel. Which sat as a bitter pill in my book.

The animation was okay enough. One of my biggest gripes was the portrayl of Maetel and Em as teenagers. I don't believe they were quite so "school girlish" in their youths. This film's biggest flaw was the blatant reuse of footage, it really ruined what interest I had in this film. It recycled it's self over and over and was over used so poorly that I just felt like this could have easily been a single 60 minute OAV. By the end of the film, I could care less about the transformation of the Queen, because they had reshowed her transformation over several times, using the SAME footage.

Description

CINEMA PARADISO meets WINGS OF DESIRE in this fantastical and hopelessly romantic film. Dario Grandinetti (TALK TO HER) stars in this startling, mind-bending romantic drama from Argentina's master of magical realism, director Eliseo Subiela (DARK SIDE OF THE HEART, MAN FACING SOUTHEAST). Grandinetti stars as Leopoldo, a lonely film projectionist who has invented a machine to record his dreams. Through a series of odd events, Leopoldo discovers that he is the reincarnation of one of the inventors of cinema, and that a woman he sees in his dreams is his eternal companion on a trip through the centuries.

Customer Reviews:

Are you there?.......2007-05-03

What if you had a great, timeless love, who found you again in every lifetime? What if dreams were like radio transmissions to the soul, awakening what our brains can't remember?

Those are the messages of "Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You Are Going," an exquisite mixture of magical realism and a deep love story. Eliseo Subiela did a brilliant job spinning up a movie full of lingering, haunting imagery, as well as an ode to the cinema, dreams -- and how love can bring meaning to anyone's life.

Leopoldo (Darío Grandinetti) has a dull job at a failing theatre, a fretful wife, and a pet plant called Anita. But at night he works on his "dream collector," and on the night he first gets it to work, he captures a dream of a beautiful woman playing the piano, stirring feelings of passionate love. And the woman magically appears in the theatre the next day -- a spirit named Rachel (Mariana Arias) who says that he was her husband in a past life.

Bewitched by Rachel, and the tales of the life they once lived together, Leopoldo spends most of his time listening to her, and exploring the mysterious abilities of the dream collector -- it's allowing him to see the spirits of the dead, who haven't been reborn. And through Rachel, he explores the limits of life, rebirth, and a love that can't be broken even by death.

Everybody gets bogged down at some point, in a life that seems dreary and mundane. Some people never escape it. But Eliseo Subiela shows us one man's journey beyond that drab existance -- real, timeless, selfless love can drag us up and give us meaning that nothing ever had before.

Most movies can't pack as much into their story as "Don't Die..." manages to -- it touches on God, reincarnation, true love, the origins of cinema, and a robot that prays and sings. Despite being so full, the story seems exquisitely simple. Subiela fills the screen with lots of pale light, sepia-toned flashbacks and quiet conversations.

And he brings us beautifully understated moments like Rachel wandering through a hospital nursery, wistfully asking a newborn Leopoldo, "Are you there?" But the highlight is when we see what reincarnation looks like: hundreds of spirits, of all ages and cultures, walking eagerly towards the light of rebirth. Even if you don't believe in reincarnation, it's a lovely sight.

Grandinetti does an understatedly brilliant job as a humble projectionist who eagerly follows his dreams, and is trying to sort out what Rachel tells him. He grows more expressive and sweet throughout the movie, and you find yourself yearning to see him find some happiness. And Arias is a perfect mixture of wisdom, playfulness, and sorrow, and she can convey more in a twist of her neck than most actresses can with their whole bodies.

"Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You're Going" is a bittersweet gem, a beautiful ode to love, death and the art of moviemaking. A must-see, for anyone who's longed to find that distant "someone."

crossing dimensions...of love..........2005-11-01

Eliseo Subiela, the director of this film, is the great South American cinematic fabulist, having also made Man Facing Southeast (still waiting for that to appear on DVD) and The Dark Side of the Heart. Here, he creates characters who "span time" (to use the great expression from Buffalo '66), similar to the theme of the Christopher Reeve film Somewhere in Time.

But in Don't Die Without Telling Me Where You Are Going, Subiela transcends the American film considerably and that's because the main character here, Leopoldo, is directly involved in CREATING the woman of his dreams rather than, as is the case with the Christopher Reeve character in Somewhere in Time, being the passive recipient of fate that brings him when chance permits to his eternal love.

In addition, Subiela wisely and directly connects this active bridging of dimensions with cinema itself. Leopoldo is a film projectionist in a second-rate movie theater in, one presumes, Buenos Aires, that shows old and new films both. His dreams pervade the film--another difference between this and the American film--commencing with a vision of a young man working long ago with Thomas Edison who creates a device to project images--the kinetiscope, which was really the first movie projector.

When the love of his life appears in one of his dreams--Leopoldo has analogously created a device to record and view his dreams--she reveals herself as the wife of the young man, who is (or was) Leopoldo himself, now the reincarnated version of the young man.

This beautiful magic realist film penetrates right to the core of romanticism and brings to the viewer the essence of love cinematically. Love, says Subiela, is the dream we cannot live without, the dream we create in our real day to day lives to transcend what we know every day and live beyond that everyday life. Love, he says in this film, is both the real and the fantastic--both are represented here, as Leopoldo's wife of 20 years and his eternal love who speaks to him as a spirit of his long past.

His wife is a dyed in the wool realist who, because she loves her husband, tolerates his eccentric ways (he carries a plant with him wherever he goes--an entity that, we come to realize, he needs to prove to himself that his feelings generate vibrations which the plant responds to; his wacky dream machine he connects to a fedora). The whimsy of the dream machine in the fedora is a great touch and subtly recalls life from decades past when things were simpler and quieter and, we feel from Leopoldo's character, more heartfelt.

Leopoldo's friend, Oscar, is another inventor and this is another excellent story device; the two men can bounce ideas off each other, again giving this film much more substance in the realm of bridging the real and the fantastic than Somewhere in Time. Oscar has invented a robot and is initially skeptical of the results of Leopoldo's invention. But once he sees Raquel, Leopoldo's eternal love, he begins to change his mind...

This is a great film, full of beauty and mysticism, echoing the depths of the heart. Highly recommended.

"But, she's the woman of your dreams".......2005-02-20

It is uplifting to see so many Argentinean movies from the 90s come out on DVD in the US, since this provides a good alternative to those people interested in watching something different from the usual Hollywood productions. "Don't die without telling me where you are going" is one of the most renowned Latin American movies of its decade and one in which Dario Grandinetti shows what he is capable of in terms of his acting skills.

The film starts with images from a long time ago, in which a man named William is trying to invent a machine to allow people to see each other's dreams. William's boss was Thomas Edison and the dream machine became what we currently know as the camera. Shortly after that we are transported to the Argentina of the present where we meet Leopoldo (Dario Grandinetti), who works in a run-down movie theatre where he is in charge of the projection booth. The owners are planning to sell the theater before they have to face bankruptcy, and as a result Leopoldo will likely lose his job. But he is not too worried, since his real interest is in a project in which he works on his free time: a collector of dreams. The idea is to capture the individual's brain waves and transform them into images, which can then be recorded and watched the next morning.

Leopoldo is married, has the habit of walking everywhere with Anita, his plant, and dreams of his success in his special project. And one day he does it! He records his dreams and realizes that he is in love with a woman that he has never seen before. Shortly after that, Rachel (Mariana Arias) appears in the theater as a spirit, calling him William. She explains that they used to be married and live in New Jersey in their previous life, but while he reincarnated as Leopoldo, she decided not to reincarnate after her death.

The original idea used in the film is enough to make it special, but once you add the expert depiction of the human emotions and the message of hope it delivers, the result is a movie that is clearly among the best of its era. Even Mariana Arias grants a good performance in her first appearance on the big screen. She was one of the most famous Argentinean models of the past decade, and as most of you probably know, when a model starts to act, the results are usually not very encouraging. But in this case, the outcome is not bad at all. The movie also provided me with the chance of seeing for a few minutes the actor that in my opinion is the leader of its generation, Leonardo Sbaraglia, and even in that brief amount of time he shows what he is made of.

I encourage all those people that have not been exposed to Latin American movies, to give this film a chance. I am sure that you will come back for more! - 4.5 stars

No te mueras sin decirme a donde vas.......2005-01-18

It is one of the best films of Eliseo Subiela. He knows how to direct a movie, a beautifull, romantic, extraodinary film. A beautifull pieace of art. Eliseo shows you how love has no time and no place, even what we know as death it is not powerfull enoughto stop a love of centuries... if you like surrealism movies these is a must.

Death In Their Hands: Infantry Weapons and the Future

Average customer rating:

Death In Their Hands: Infantry Weapons and the Future

Manufacturer: Eagle Rock Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Special Interests | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000M543XS
Release Date: 2006-12-22

Description

This is an age where images of war appear on our television screens like real-life extensions of some teenager's computer game. Technology and modern weaponry so dominates the battlefield that the public expects conflicts to be won without casualties, much less deaths, among its armed forces. It is all a far cry from a time not so long ago when one famous commander called the machine gun an 'interesting but over-rated' weapon and sent men to their deaths in their thousands while he tried to prove his theory. The new generation, it seems, simply would not tolerate the sight of another sea of white crosses or further additions to the thousands of names that stare out from the moving memorials at the Menin Gate, or Thiepval, or the Somme, or Normandy. Smart bombs, laser missiles, satellite guided shells...these are what win modern wars. Perhaps that is so. But, in these days of advanced technology and equipment, it is often forgotten that ordinary soldiers still fight with their rifles and their pistols and that their lives depend on their skill with personal weapons, even during modern wars. 'Death In Their Hands' looks at the reality of combat with small arms and traces the development of weapons such as pistols, sub-machine guns, assault rifles, flame-throwers, anti-tank weapons, mortars and machine guns. The twentieth century saw dramatic developments in this type of weaponry and there is little sign of a slowdown during these early years of the new millennium. From the muzzle-loading muskets and bolt-action rifles to electromagnetically propelled 'noiseless' bullets, 'Death In Their Hands' provides a fascinating insight into how the humble foot soldier fights a war

Average customer rating:

Not enough action, but strangely enjoyable despite its many faults
I directed this movie. Here's my commentary.
truly sickening movie
Low budget with lots of Action!
Shining Star

Death Machines
Starring: Ronald L. Marchini , Michael Chong , Joshua Johnson , Mari Honjo , and Ron Ackerman
Director: Paul Kyriazi
Manufacturer: Rhino Theatrical
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000065U3L
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Customer Reviews:

Not enough action, but strangely enjoyable despite its many faults.......2007-08-31

So you've finally achieved your lofty goal of developing a drug that will allow you to completely control the mind and will of others. What's next? Isn't it obvious? You hire a weird Yakuza woman to test the product on three surly brutes and then unleash them as assassins on an unsuspecting lower rung of the local assassination ladder. When you take out all of the other assassins, those wanting to arrange for a hit will have to come to you and pay your price. That's just what happens in this film - except the mastermind puts in a shadowy appearance at the beginning and never returns. Now about this drug - OK, I can buy the mind control thing, but I'm really not clear on how these three assassins are able to withstand multiple gunshot wounds to the chest, or why they don't speak at all in their newly servile condition. They do good work, though. Take, for example, their attack on a Japanese martial arts facility - it's basically a slaughter. They aren't perfect, though, as they leave one karate student alive (albeit suddenly one-handed), thus indirectly inflicting upon the viewer a slight and awkward romantic sub-plot involving this lone survivor and a nurse who actually likes the guy for some incomprehensible reason. At the same time, you also have a subplot involving the local detectives dedicated to finding the killers. Here we learn that police captains are obsessed with making their men attend human relations classes. Our man, Ferguson, is an old-school investigator who doesn't cotton to ridiculous stuff like that, preferring to spend his time actually hunting bad guys. This leads to some interesting confrontations between him and his supervisor.

Ah, you're probably wondering about the fight scenes. Well, with all of these sub-plots swimming around the same small fish bowl, action sometimes get pushed aside temporarily. It's probably just as well because the fights appear staged and rehearsed as often as not (the only really good action takes place inside the police station). In some cases, the assassins don't even rely on actual fighting. Let me paint you a picture of my favorite scene in the movie. You have this jogger who is marked for death, and his would-be assassin sets himself up behind his car directly in the sight path of the approaching victim (who miraculously never notices him or his very large rifle). Meanwhile, the three "Death Machines" drive up, park about twenty feet behind the original assassin, and take him out with a - well, let's just say it's a case of definite overkill. It's definitely not cricket for a martial arts purist.

This film seems to have a slight identity crisis at times, and you almost have to laugh at a scene here and there, but I'll be dadgummed if I didn't enjoy watching the thing. Like most low-budget kung fu-related films, you have to sort of go with the flow as far as the plot is concerned, but any fan of the genre will already be used to doing that. These same fans may not be used to waiting so long in between fight scenes, though - and, in this case, those fight scenes also happen to be relatively unimpressive. On the other hand, this is probably the only kung fu film featuring an Ernest Hemingway look-a-like starting a barroom brawl - and that's something they can never take away from Death Machines.

I directed this movie. Here's my commentary........2006-12-18

It was 1974 when I met Ron Marchini, a champion karate tournament fighter. He had starred in a movie in the Philippines and was now looking to produce and star in one in America. He had seen my first feature "The Tournament" and decided to take a chance on me to direct his movie. Ron is a true movie fan. We watched many movies together at that time, to learn and to encourage ourselves for the task at hand. Ron and I came up with a story that had three hitmen, one white, one black, and one Asian, working for a Japanese Yakuza woman. That would take care of three markets, as the black exploitation films were all the rage then. We also included a cop, a love, and revenge story.

We then added some bizarre action scenes, such as the three killers coming into a karate dojo with samurai swords and wiping everyone out. This was inspired from Kurasawa's "Sanjuro". Also an escape from a police department by Marchini using karate. On his way outside he steals a police car and crashes it into another car. I was driving the other car, as I didn't want to risk someone else. Another scene had a banker handcuffed to a cabinet as a time bomb ticks off in front of him. He struggles for 2 minutes to try to get to it to turn it off, but it explodes. We also had a small bar room brawl, a scene with the three killers fighting bikers in a cafe, and finally, using a bazooka, the killers blow up a real piper cub airplane.

Mixed in with all those big scenes were minor action scenes of Mafia hti man being kill by the three killers who were about to shoot someone, such as throwing one off a tall building and landing on his own car that is being ticketed by a meter maid. Ron came up with a small about of money. We shot in 35mm Techniscope that shot half frame, saving film, and developed at technicolor, giving us a wide scope screen. This would help "fool" audiences and distributors that the budget was bigger than we had. Too bad the wide screen is not used on the DVD.

We had a six week schedule and decided to use Ron's home town of Stockton, California to shoot in, as he was a businessman. So the town was wide open to us with full police co-operation. Casting was done all in the town using a local casting agent that had a list of actors and extras from other movies that had shot in town. The exception was for the Asian killer and black killer, Mike Chong and Joshua Johnson.

The original Asian killer was to be Kung Fu kata champion Eric Lee. He had been on many covers of "Inside Kung Fu" magazine and that would have helped our selling cause. But wouldn't you know it, Sam Peckinpah invited him to work on "Killer Elite" shooting at the exact same time. So Eric took the smaller part in "Death Machines" of the karate instructor who's dojo is raided by the killers. Mike Chong replaced him in the larger part. Later Eric starred for me in my movies "Weapons of Death" (1980) and "NinjaBusters" (1984).

The big choice for us was what to do about the many bullet hits and explosions in the movie. To do squib effects you must hire a licensed "powder man", as they are called in Hollywood. He would be $250 a day, plus the explosive materials. Finally Ron, and I figured out a schedule with the effects scenes all together, to save money, and hired Hollywood effects man Dick Albains. He had just finished the now cult favorite "Trilogy of Terror" where the Zuni doll chased Karen Black around her apartment. In fact, Ron and I had seen that when we were doing script work.

So now we had realistic bullet hits and could actually blow up a Piper Cub airplane, that we bought minus the engine. A duplicate was flown and then we pulled the other one by car and just before it lifted off, it was blown up. Even though it was an ambitious project, thanks to the actors being local and showing up on time, good weather, and no accidents, we finished on schedule.

We started the editing on our own, but Ron got anxious about being able to sell the movie, so we took it to Crown International Pictures and showed them about 70% of the movie, including the airplane being bazooka and blowing up. The president of Crown wanted the film immediately. But this meant turning it over to him at once for their editors to finish.

At that particular time, the Sci-If movies "Rollerball" and "Death Race 2000" were big hits, so Crown decided they wanted to present "Death Machines" as a Sci-If movie. Crown asked us to shoot a new scene to tack onto the beginning. Well, Ron and I were game to do it. Anything to get our picture in to the theaters. So they gave us this scene where this mastermind man told the dragon lady that a special hypnotic drug would make her men killers on demand, "Death Machines", as it were. Once that was added to the movie, Crown made posters of a tower building with teeth, with people falling off of it giving it a sci-fi look. On the tower were the words, "The Killers Of The Future Are Ready Now." Similar ads were made for the newspapers.

Six months later it was released in 50 theaters in the LA area. It ranked #14 in Variety's weekly top grossing chart. Still the movie didn't do as well as expected because the sci-fi fans felt gypped that it wasn't science fiction and lots of the action fans didn't go because they thought it was sci-fi. The theater owners complained. So Crown had to make a new ad for the newspapers showing the karate killers faces

Even though proud and excited to see the audiences cheering and yelling during the action scenes in the theater, I got some disappointing surprises. Crown had hired a low budget effects company. They put in the sword swishes for the big dojo fight scene (the 3 killers used samurai swords), but they didn't put in body sword hits, so to me, it sounded like they were missing with their swords. This movie was made before samurai movies became main stream, so the sound effects editor didn't know about this. Also the body falls were not loud enough. Still people have told me what a strong scene that dojo raid is.

Another problem with the movie was with the Afro-American police captain who has a sign on his door reading "Captain Green". Well, his makeup under the fluorescent lights turned him green on film, and he gives a long speech with his name sign in full view. I figured they would correct his face color in the timing of the final print using the right filter. But they didn't and audiences would yell out "Look! Captain Green IS green."

The real disappointing part of the movie was the music. Crown used a low budget company to do the music. It ended up being an irritating, repetitive, electronic score. Many people have mention how much the music hurt the movie. On my next movie, I made sure to take it all the way to the end using full sound effects and closely edited music from a good library.

I was happy to get a fairly good review in the LA Times on "Death Machines", saying "Director Paul Kyriazi captures a dusty petty ambience." Seeing the movie recently, I think that is was great for the budget, and at the time it was released. I think if I could cut the "Death Machines" down to 70 minutes, it would really be a wild ride. But of course, 70 minutes does not make a feature film.

Because "Death Machines" played everywhere in many theaters in the big cities, I used that as a springboard to my next feature and others. I guess the best part was being able to 'do it right' on the next picture with Ron Marchini, "Omega Cop". Still on a low budget, but able to make better use of the money through better scripting and scheduling.

It is disappointing that the current DVD release is not in wide screen and made from the 16mm print. I don't know why they did that. But still Ron and I were lucky that Crown picked up the movie and released it so fast. Still, I cringe at the thought that no matter how the movie is formatted in the future, Captain Green's face will always be green.

truly sickening movie.......2006-09-06

The first reviewer is actually right. The story has this Yukuza woman who hires 3 bad dudes to take people out for her. One of the first scenes is when they go to this karate school. Now this is where i have to stop. Only the action in Swordsman with an umbrella could be compared to the badness of this. But then I somehow made it through(fastforwarded) to the end, and OMG i am I sorry I did. Final fight doesn't even have these 3 bad dudes. The finale is a guy against this yukuza woman. IT IS SO BAD!!!!!!!!!!

So please do not watch this movie. I found Swordsman With An Umbrella about 10 times as good as this thing, seriously.

Low budget with lots of Action!.......2005-04-17

I stumbled upon this movie quite by accident. Being an avid web log reader, I was surfing and came across a weblog titled FeatureFilmDirector. (xanga.com/FeaureFilmDirector) I read an entry about the making of this movie called Death Machines. The owner of the web log claimed to the Director of this movie as well as several others. Never trusting anything I read on the net, I came to Amazon and found the movie was available on DVD and ordered it. After reading the weblog entry on the making of Death Machines I knew what "parts" to look for. It was really a fun experience having the inside scoop on the movie and then being able to see the feature come alive. True to his word, this name appeared as Director of the film in the credits.
I found the movie a fun "step back in time." After reading the Directors accounts and stories of how certain things had to be done as well as the actual budget of the film... I think it is a great testament to low budget films!

Shining Star.......2004-06-30

Hard to follow. Very superficial plot.

The only actor/actress with any credibility was the actress playing the Banker's daughter. What action! What dialogue!
Has she acted in any other films???

Amazon.com

Description

The most beloved and mysterious of Matsumoto's creations, Maetel, finally returns to tell her story. The princess of a dying world, young Maetel faces starvation and death. Only machines can survive in the new environment, and one by one, an evil scientist transforms her loved ones into soulless mechanoids. Once he captures Maetel and her fiery twin sister, Emeraldas, he will rule the world. Maetel must choose whether to become a machine to save her life, or to abandon her world to fight for freedom.

Customer Reviews:

Rise of the Machines.......2005-09-07

Esperaba mas epica, aunque es una hermosa historia.......2004-06-26

Companion.......2004-03-04

This is a good companion to the Harlock Saga and the Galaxy Express 999 series. The story is typical Matsumoto fare but its a fun series to get into even as short as it is. Its for fans of Matsumoto.

Quality Anime.......2004-02-19

DVD: 9/10 - Not many special features,but the DVD itself was fine.

DUB: 7/10 - The dub was bearable,but the Japanese is far better.

OVERALL: 10/10 - If you can get it at a reasonable price,MAETEL LEGEND is an excellent addition to your anime!

Dry..... (though good for someone new to Matsumoto).......2003-09-15

Though it is really nice to finally see Emereldas and Maetel's past as siblings and the downfall of their mother Queen Promethia, I think this anime sadly fell flat on it's face.

Product Description

All regions DVD, compatible with all DVD players.

DVD:

DVD

DVD