The Illusionist (Widescreen Edition)

Amazon.com

First screened in Europe and scheduled for limited release in the U.S., The Illusionist offers welcome proof that "arthouse" quality needn't be limited to the arthouses. Set in turn-of-the-century Vienna, this stately, elegant period film benefited from a crossover release in mainstream cinemas, and showed considerable box-office staying power--granted, teenage mallrats and lusty males may have been drawn to the allure of Seventh Heaven alumna Jessica Biel, who rises to the occasion with a fine performance. But there's equal appeal in the casting of Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti, who bring their formidable talents to bear on the intriguing tale of a celebrated magician named Eisenheim (Norton) whose stage performance offends the Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell), a vindictive lout who aims to marry Duchess Sophie (Biel), Eisenheim's childhood friend and now, 15 years later, his would-be lover. This romantic rivalry and Eisenheim's increasingly enigmatic craft of illusion are investigated by Chief Inspector Uhl (Giamatti), who's under Leopold's command and is therefore not to be trusted as Eisenheim and Sophie draw closer to their inevitable reunion. Cleverly adapted by director Neil Burger from Steven Millhauser's short story "Eisenheim the Illusionist," and boasting exquisite production values and a fine score by Philip Glass, The Illusionist is the kind of class act that fully deserved its unusually wide and appreciative audience. -- Jeff Shannon

Beyond The Illusionist

"Eisenheim the Illusionist" and Other Stories

Paul Giamatti in a More Loveable Role
Magic Kits & Accessories

Stills from The Illusionist

Description

Unlock the mysteries of the year's most spellbinding film from the producers of Crash and Sideways! Oscar(r) nominees Paul Giamatti and Edward Norton lead an all-star cast in this "stunning" film (USA Today) that conjures an exhilarating blend of suspense, romance and mind-bending twists. The acclaimed illusionist Eisenheim (Norton) has not only captured the imaginations of all of Vienna, but also the interest of the ambitious Crown Prince Leopold (Rufus Sewell). But when Leopold's new fiancée (Jessica Biel) rekindles a childhood fascination with Eisenheim, the Prince's interest evolves into obsession...and suddenly the city's Chief Inspector (Giamatti) finds himself investigating a shocking crime. But even as the Inspector engages him in a dramatic challenge of wills, Eisenheim prepares for his most impressive illusion yet in this "mesmerizing" (Entertainment Weekly) and "beautifully acted" (Good Morning America) film that "teases you until the very end!" (The New York Times).

Customer Reviews:

One of the Best Ever.......2007-09-10

Sheer pleasure! The acting, the plot and the photography are among the best ever! It has so many facets that it warrants seeing more than one.
Edward Norton's finest performance.

In A Word: Classy.......2007-09-09

Boy, this was a beautifully-filmed movie, just gorgeous from first to last frame. Almost as impressive was the story, a fantasy-mystery- romance-drama combination set in Vienna, Austria, around the turn of the 20th century.

It is a story that should keep most viewers intrigued all the way and perhaps surprised quite a bit at the end. Edward Norton does his normal job of making you fascinated with whatever character he's playing, this time a magician with almost supernatural powers: "Herr Eisenheim." The character he plays, and the tone of the movie in general, is pretty low-key with next to nothing in violence or profanity.

It's simply a classy film and a modern-day one that older folks would very much enjoy as well as younger adults. I haven't talked to anybody yet who watched this and didn't like it.

Haunting and Ingenious.......2007-09-04

A very fine picture, with a first rate performance by Paul Giamatti -- his best, in fact. As Inspector Uhl, an amateur conjurer who idolizes the magician whose career he has been ordered to destroy, he nearly steals the picture, but aside from a few minor quibbles, it has been so cleverly written and directed by Neil Burger, and is full of so many good performances, that this doesn't quite happen.

As Eisenheim, the Illusionist, Edward Norton gives a wonderful performance, but he's saddled with the only scenes in the picture that don't work: the love scenes, which, curiously, are shot almost entirely in close-up, so that no chemistry ever develops between him and the woman who is supposedly the love of his life. At times, one gets the impression that he and his leading lady filmed their scenes without actually being together in the same room. As that woman, Jessica Biel is pretty & looks well in her bodices and petticoats, but her character is very nearly a cipher. As the half-mad Crown Prince Leopold, Rufus Sewell gives a broad, roaring performance in the old tradition of Hollywood villains from the Golden Age. He's a combination of Basil Rathbone and Conrad Veidt -- and immensely entertaining every moment he's on screen.

Filmed on location in and around Prague, "The Illusionist" looks gorgeous: the production design of is one of its greatest assets.

As is his wont, Philip Glass lets his music burble away murkily without ever arriving at -- or even approaching -- a climax (orchestral blue-balls, I call it); on the other hand, the endless repetitiveness of his strings produces a nice sense of menace, ennui and claustrophobia entirely appropriate to the story it underscores.

All in all, a thoroughly entertaining and haunting picture that stands up admirably on repeated viewings. Highly recommended.

Beautifully done movie.......2007-08-26

I loved the premise of this movie. Great people behind as well as infront of the camera! I felt that Jessica Biel couldn't quiet hold her own against some of the acting greats here but that may come with time, I think she's only 22. And I did feel she was out of place being in the story they grew up together but she's obviously 10 years younger or more. Other than that almost completely seemless work! Great movie.

NOT THE PRESTIGE, BUT NOT BAD.......2007-08-18

I didn't know quite what to expect from this film..frankly, im not a huge fan of Norton and Jessica Beil is no Meryle Streep, but I was pleasantly surprised with this movie, the pace is good, and Norton is very good, as is Giamatti, whom I always like. Rufus Sewell is very good as usual playing the villian, he has this flinty quality that really works well in this film. The twist is very good and i really didnt see it coming. Highly recomended..though i must advise you to watch the Prestige after this movie..when you see them you will understand why..hint:..The Prestige is much better movie.

Average customer rating:

DiCaprio all grown up
Hoo Boy !!
Better Than The Book
Exciting, political --- a movie with a message.....
"People back home wouldn't buy a ring if they knew it cost someone else their hand"

Blood Diamond [HD DVD]
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , and Jennifer Connelly
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: HD DVD

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ASIN: B000MZHW1S
Release Date: 2007-07-03

Amazon.com

Leonardo DiCaprio puts a handsome face on an ugly industry: In parts of Africa, diamond mining fuels civil warfare, killing thousands of innocents and drafting preteen children as vicious soldiers. DiCaprio (The Departed) plays Danny Archer, a white African soldier-turned-diamond-smuggler who gets wind of a large raw jewel found by Solomon Vandy, a native fisherman (Djimon Hounsou, In America) recently escaped from enslavement by a brutal rebel leader. Archer offers a deal: He'll help Vandy find his war-scattered family if Vandy will share the diamond with him. Drawn into this web of exploitation is journalist Maddy Bowen (Jennifer Connelly, Little Children), who agrees to help if Archer will tell her the details of how conflict diamonds make their way into the hands of the corporations who sell them to the Western world. DiCaprio is compelling because he never flinches from Archer's utter ruthlessness; Archer ends up doing the morally justifiable thing, but only because his desperate greed has led him to it. Hounsou and Connelly, though saddled with all the moral and political speeches, rise above the cant and keep the movie's treacherously formulaic plot rooted in human characters. But in the end, the story won't stick with you as much as the dead stillness in the child soldiers' eyes; the horror of African civil strife refuses to be contained by Blood Diamond's uplifting message--and the movie is all the more potent as a result. --Bret Fetzer

Description

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler (Leonardo DiCaprio). A Mende fisherman (Djimon Hounsou). Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed across the alternately beautiful and ravaged countryside. Directed by Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai), this urgent, intensely moving adventure shapes gripping human stories and heart-pounding action into a modern epic of profound impact.

Customer Reviews:

DiCaprio all grown up.......2007-09-14

This movie was on my watch list for quite a while. Just think of the cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Djimon Hounsou and beautiful Jennifer Connelly. It is a story about diamonds collected in Sierra Leone - scenery of Africa we have not seen since "Out of Africa movie" with all the cruelty it comes with: children oldiers, killings, white mercenaries from Rhodesia, South Afrika and other former colonies. It is a story of greed, fatherly love and love in all the wrong places. It is political satire (one minor character says at one moment "We are lucky they did not find oil here - imagine what mess we would be in?") and also morality tale to about conflict that comes with beauty of the diamonds. This is multi-dimensional movie and it does deserve the praise that it got at the Academy awards. It is also fantasic to see two characters played by Leonardo and Djimon bond althought they could not be more different from any point of view. Although difficult to watch at some moments, it is definitely a gem of a movie I have seen lately.

Hoo Boy !!.......2007-09-09

When you have anyone like DiCaprio playing a lead in a movie like this then you know that someone was out to lunch in the casting department. Leo's baby face does not fit the character. The beautiful journalist type female is not realistic and screams Holywood too. Awful storyline - too much graphic violence ( have'nt we had enuff ? ), and some bad casting. Another 2 hours of your life wasted if you see this one. Another way you can tell this is bad ? There are 132 of these USED at $5 on AMAZON !! Get it ?

Better Than The Book.......2007-09-08

My job takes me to Africa, and I travel there for pleasure as well, so my B.S.-radar was "on" throughout the film, watching for Western cliches and the liberal drivel that tainted the book. But the movie delivered as both entertainment and is a more reasoned presentation of the problems caused by the African diamond trade.

DiCaprio, Connelly, and Hounsou were all excellent in their roles, but it is definitely DiCaprio as the Rhodesian exile that makes this film compelling. Also, the outrageous chase scenes that many movie-goers are so tired of are well done and more palatable in an African setting where gunfights are a believable occurance. Being stopped at a checkpoint by ten year-olds armed with AK-47s is not Hollywood fantasy.

There remains an underlying message condemning the world's diamond trade. It's a political statement that has some merit, but is overblown (as it was in the book) in identifying its true culprits. DiCaprio's character delivers some lines that give more than lip-service to other reasons for the bloodshed; his dialogue with an American reporter knocks the book's overly-simplistic views back on its heels.

Exciting, political --- a movie with a message............2007-09-05

It is hard not to have some sympathy with the current trend of making political issues palatable by grafting a star and a story on to a real-life cause for concern. Give us a thrilling story, good acting, pretty people to look at, and we can get the message out to millions. In recent years, Nicolas Cage has tackled gun-running ( Lord of War) and George Clooney the Middle East ( Syriana). Now it's the turn of DiCaprio and the illegal diamond trade, which has funded civil wars in Africa.
Very good movie......

"People back home wouldn't buy a ring if they knew it cost someone else their hand".......2007-09-02

I think that this movie is the perfect blend of a documentary and an action-drama. Clearly the intent was to bring to the forefront the issue of conflict diamonds in Africa. But instead of going for a factual film, the creators decided to throw together a group of great actors and a set of interesting sidelines to the story, polishing it into a magnificent jewel. The issue at hand is the brutal slaughtering in several parts of Africa, especially Sierra Leone, related to the control of diamonds. The situation in the movie is best described as TIA (This is Africa), a political mess, where those that govern only want to steal for their own benefit, and where there is no way to help, not even for the peace corps.

Solomon Vandy (Djimon Hounsou) is a fisherman that dreams of his son, Dia, becoming a doctor and moving on to better things. This dream is stopped in its track when the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) comes to his village and brutally slaughters most of the inhabitants. Luckily, Solomon's family escapes, but the RUF captures him and takes him to work on the diamond fields as a slave. Meanwhile, politicians in the industrialized world are aware of the problem resulting from diamonds from conflict zones and there is an agreement not to buy them anymore. The big diamond houses in Europe and the US agree, but you probably know by now that they will go around it in one way or another.

Then there is Danny (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is a local from Zimbabwe that gives arms to different guerrilla groups in exchange for diamonds and then smuggles them to Liberia, from where they can be imported into the consumer countries as conflict free rocks. When he is captured during one of his diamond operations, he is thrown in jail, where he meets Solomon. Solomon was in jail as a result of a raid of the RUF camp, but not before finding a big pink diamond that he hid underground. When the greedy Danny finds out about this, he makes sure that his future path is linked to Solomon's.

Besides the greedy and unscrupulous Danny, and the moral Solomon, who just wants his family back, we have Maddy (Jennifer Connelly), a journalist that is frustrated by the situations she witnesses all around the globe and that wants her work to be effective in stopping the destruction. The three characters go through a journey of self-discovery while everyone around them is out to kill each other for the control of the diamonds. The situation is so bad that the different revolutionary groups kidnap and train children to join them. Seeing the transformation these young minds go through in a short time breaks your heart.

The film definitely achieves its purpose of making people aware of the issues, and even though the story is gut-wrenching and some portions are extremely violent, I think that it was needed to convey the message clearly. What I did not expect before watching this movie was the outstanding performances I was going to witness. This is definitely DiCaprio's best. He even altered his accent to make it sound like a local and he does this very well. But he also has to play a character with multiple facets and that goes through somewhat of a transformation, and his performance really helps to make this believable. I have never heard of Hounsou before, but was impressed by the emotion he put into his role, and I am sure there will be many starring roles for him in the future. Jennifer Connely is the one I expected the best from, and she did not disappoint, since she delivers a performance on par to the one she gave us on excellent "The House of Sand and Fog". This is definitely one of the best releases of 2006, and if you can stomach the violence I believe you will agree.

Average customer rating:

Great Movie - something different
Great Movie
great movie
Violent & Boaring Movie
Blood-ray

Blood Diamond [Blu-ray]
Starring: Leonard DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , and Jennifer Connelly
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000N0WCLC
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Description

Customer Reviews:

Great Movie - something different.......2007-08-09

Just an overall great flick. I originally saw this on DVD, and then saw it again on blu-ray. Remember something folks, it's not about the disc content, it's about the movie. I remember when I used to be so excited about special features, or a re-release with tons of added bonuses. After a while, it's becomes boring and annoying. It's about the movie.

Great Movie.......2007-07-23

I had my doubts about this movie since I'm not a Leonardo DiCaprio fan, but this is one of the best movies I've seen in a long time. Great story and awesome action sequences. This movie is a must buy for blu-ray owners.

great movie.......2007-07-21

a movie everyone must see. very disturbing that this sort of thing happens. this movie makes me feel bad that im from western society, even though i owe no diamonds of any sort.

Violent & Boaring Movie.......2007-07-15

Gosh how I hated this movie. The biggest problem is that you just don't care what happens to any character in the movie. So what you have left is HD blood and gore. My advice, rent the movie if you must and if you still want to watch it over-and-over, then buy it.

Blood-ray.......2007-07-09

This movie was released for HD DVD and Blu-ray and is available for the same price in both formats. For the same price, the HD DVD had more content, high def audio tracks, full length picture in picture documentary tracks, exclusive extras, and web enabled interactivty. I was able to go on line and see map locations of the conflict locations, take polls on this movie and others, see availble and comming soon movies etc... You definitely get more for your money in the HD DVD version

Average customer rating:

Important film that didn't age well...
A good introduction to the "Heroic Gun Play" genre
Not the "Ultimate" but Awesome Nonetheless
One of the greatest action films of all time
Nice enough release of this Hong Kong classic.

Hard Boiled (Two-Disc Ultimate Edition)
Starring: Chow Yun-Fat , Kwan Hoi-Shan , Cheung Jue-lin , Tsang Kong , and Philip Kwok
Director: John Woo
Manufacturer: Dragon Dynasty
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000N4SHNK
Release Date: 2007-07-24

Amazon.com essential video

Masterful Hong Kong action director John Woo (The Killer, Face/Off) turns in this exciting and pyrotechnic tale of warring gangsters and shifting loyalties. Chow Yun-fat (The Replacement Killers) plays a take-no-prisoners cop on the trail of the triad, the Hong Kong Mafia, when his partner is killed during a gun battle. His guilt propels him into an all-out war against the gang, including an up-and-coming soldier in the mob (Tony Leung) who turns out to be an undercover cop. The two men must come to terms with their allegiance to the force and their loyalty to each other as they try to take down the gangsters. A stunning feast of hyperbolic action sequences (including a climactic sequence in an entire hospital taken hostage), Hard-Boiled is a rare treat for fans of the action genre, with sequences as thrilling and intense as any ever committed to film. --Robert Lane

Description

A tough-as-nails cop teams up with an undercover agent to bring down a gun smuggling ring. Features some of the most amazing and influential action set pieces in cinematic history.

Customer Reviews:

Important film that didn't age well..........2007-08-12

When Hard Boiled came out as a theatrical release I was blown away. It was utterly unlike any other film I had seen up to that point. Now though it's been imitated so many times, both by Hollywood and by Woo himself, it just doesn't hold up. It plays almost as a parody of itself.

It's worth seeing because it is such an important milestone, but don't be surprised if your memory of the film is stronger than the film itself.

A good introduction to the "Heroic Gun Play" genre.......2007-08-12

This was my first experience with a movie from the "Heroic Gun Play" genre. I'm not a fan of American action pictures, so I had always shied away from John Woo's Hong Kong action flicks. I now see that I have definitely missed some great movies (I'm female, so a bunch of guys shooting guns at one another was never something I thought I would get into). I decided to give the movie a look because Tony Leung is my favorite actor at the moment and I knew that he co-starred in the film. Actually, Leung and Philip Kwok Choy (the killer Mad Dog in the film AND the action director) steal every scene they share with Chow Yun-Fat. Now I want to check out some of the Shaw Bros. films Kwok Choy was in to see more of this martial arts actor.

Maybe it is the surprising emotional complexity Leung brings to the film and the exhilerating action sequences (and that the killing looks so fake), but I thoroughly enjoyed the film. As a neophyte, the commentary and 3 interviews added to my understanding and enjoyment of the film. Since this is a cult film, I understand that die-hard fans of Woo and this particular film might be disappointed in various aspects of the presentation (this isn't a Criterion 2-disc premium treatment, afterall). But, as an introduction to this film, to Woo 's heroic gun play pictures and to the world of Hong Kong action films, it is as good a place to start as any. I am definitely looking forward to viewing other John Woo HK films.

Not the "Ultimate" but Awesome Nonetheless.......2007-07-31

For those of you lucky enough to own the Criterion Collection edition of this movie, you might want to hold onto your copy as none of the extras from that edition are included on this one. That being said, the video and audio on this version easily surpass any previous Region 1 incarnations making this edition a must-have for fans of the movie.

The first disc features an audio commentary by Hong Kong cinema expert Bey Logan. He shows off his impressive knowledge of HK geography by pointing out which locations in the film don't exist anymore and their significance in the country's culture. Logan also dishes out interesting factoids, like the teahouse in the opening sequence was going to be demolished and this happened right after they filmed the last scene in the place! As with other commentary tracks that he has done his encyclopedic knowledge about the film and HK cinema in general is quite impressive, making for an informative track.

Disc two starts off with "A Baptism of Fire: A Featurette with Iconic Director John Woo." He was a big fan of Steve McQueen in Bullitt and Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry and with Hard Boiled; he wanted to create his own Dirty Harry. Woo wanted to make Chow Yun-Fat like Eastwood's iconic character but with the Asian actor's warm charisma.

"Partner in Crime: An Interview with Producer Terence Chang." He talks about how he met Woo in the late 1970s but that they didn't start working together until ten years later. Chang also talks about the genesis of the film which was originally a psycho who kills baby (?!). Fortunately, after they filmed the teahouse shoot-out, Chang convinced Woo to discard this idea.

"Art Imitates Life: An Interview with co-star Philip Chan," the actor who played Tequila's boss in the film. He was real policeman before getting into film and brought that authenticity to his role. He actually ran a team of undercover cops and speaks admiringly of working with Woo.

"Mad Dog Bites Again: An Interview with Leading Villain Kwok Choi." He talks about working with Woo on the film. Originally, he was hired to only design the action sequences but Chow Yun-Fat recommended him to play the villain's right-hand man.

"Hard Boiled Location Guide": takes us on a fun, fascinating tour of many of the locations from the movie. Some places, like the teahouse (which is now a mall), don't exist anymore and a little historical background is given to some of the places.

Also included are two trailers, the U.S. and Hong Kong versions.

Finally, there is "Stranglehold Video Game Mini-Making Of." This is the John Woo-approved sequel to Hard Boiled that allows you to play Tequila. This extra shows how deeply involved he was in the game's production with Chow Yun-Fat returning to provide the voice for his character!

One of the greatest action films of all time.......2007-07-29

Undoubtedly one of the finest action films ever made, Hard Boiled tops every single slam bang, big budget, mainstream action film you have ever seen. Chow Yun-Fat stars as a super tough cop on the trail of the murderous triad, only to learn that an up and coming triad soldier (Tony Leung) he has his sights set on is an undercover cop who gives the term deep cover new meaning. As loyalties shift and the bullet and body count rise, the two team up and help provide some of the most dynamic and exciting action scenes ever put to film, including a standoff at a hospital that concludes in a barrage of blood, bullets, glass, and incredible carnage. Before he came over to America and helmed watered down mainstream action films like Broken Arrow, Mission: Impossible 2, and Paycheck (personally, the only film of his I've liked that he's made over here is Face/Off), John Woo crafted the amazing action scenes that you've heard so much about with this film. This double disc Ultimate Edition released under the Weinstein Company's Dragon Dynasty label features a nice selection of extras (yet no commentary from Woo or Chow Yun-Fat) including an examination of how much Hard Boiled has influenced the action genre over the years. To this day Hard Boiled remains a masterpiece, and if you're an action junkie who has never seen the film before, you need to pick this up immediately.

Nice enough release of this Hong Kong classic........2007-07-25

Forget the reviewer claiming that they cropped the picture and then stretched it back out. He probably doesn't know how to work his wide screen TV or hasn't set his DVD player to enhance anamorphic DVD's. Cropped and stretched? What a silly notion. And as for the subtitles, they seem to be pretty much the same as the Criterion version which wasn't bad, but not anamorphic. Unless you speak fluent Cantonese, how in the hell could you ever know which version was the most accurate? This release has the best transfer of the film to date, and I've owned four copies of it including this Dragon Dynasty edition. The colors are rich and the the images are sharp. This is the best version for your money, unless you want to wait for the Blu-Ray edition. I hate it!!!

Average customer rating:

DiCaprio all grown up
Hoo Boy !!
Better Than The Book
Exciting, political --- a movie with a message.....
"People back home wouldn't buy a ring if they knew it cost someone else their hand"

Blood Diamond (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio , Djimon Hounsou , Jennifer Connelly , Kagiso Kuypers , and Arnold Vosloo
Director: Edward Zwick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000MZHW40
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

DiCaprio all grown up.......2007-09-14

Hoo Boy !!.......2007-09-09

Better Than The Book.......2007-09-08

Exciting, political --- a movie with a message............2007-09-05

"People back home wouldn't buy a ring if they knew it cost someone else their hand".......2007-09-02

Reservoir Dogs (15th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Just rating the film
I don't get the hype
The greatest low-budget action flick ever made
Tarantino's debut masterpiece.
Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs (15th Anniversary 2-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Kirk Baltz , Randy Brooks , Edward Bunker , Steve Buscemi , and Suzanne Celeste
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000HC2LEY
Release Date: 2006-10-24

Amazon.com essential video

Quentin Tarantino came out of nowhere (i.e., a video store in Manhattan Beach, California) and turned Hollywood on its ear in 1992 with his explosive first feature, Reservoir Dogs. Like Tarantino's mainstream breakthrough Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs has an unconventional structure, cleverly shuffling back and forth in time to reveal details about the characters, experienced criminals who know next to nothing about each other. Joe (Lawrence Tierney) has assembled them to pull off a simple heist, and has gruffly assigned them color-coded aliases (Mr. Orange, Mr. Pink, Mr. White) to conceal their identities from being known even to each other. But something has gone wrong, and the plan has blown up in their faces. One by one, the surviving robbers find their way back to their prearranged warehouse hideout. There, they try to piece together the chronology of this bloody fiasco--and to identify the traitor among them who tipped off the police. Pressure mounts, blood flows, accusations and bullets fly. In the combustible atmosphere these men are forced to confront life-and-death questions of trust, loyalty, professionalism, deception, and betrayal. As many critics have observed, it is a movie about "honor among thieves" (just as Pulp Fiction is about redemption, and Jackie Brown is about survival). Along with everything else, the movie provides a showcase for a terrific ensemble of actors: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Christopher Penn, and Tarantino himself, offering a fervent dissection of Madonna's "Like a Virgin" over breakfast. Reservoir Dogs is violent (though the violence is implied rather than explicit), clever, gabby, harrowing, funny, suspenseful, and even--in the end--unexpectedly moving. (Don't forget that "Super Sounds of the Seventies" soundtrack, either.) Reservoir Dogs deserves just as much acclaim and attention as its follow-up, Pulp Fiction, would receive two years later. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

Just rating the film.......2007-09-11

This is a terrific movie. For other people, it was Pulp Fiction that got them into Tarintino's work, but for me it was this. The acting is stellar, the action is great, and the story is riveting. But what it is packaged in is a bunch of crap. This is the third frickin' time I have bought this movie because this is the new "Special Edition". Strange, I thought the one before this was special edition. Now you get a better picture in a gas can case, with less extras than the last one. I am practically going broke because all these film companies keep spewing out newer, better editions for a retail of $20 bucks. Lord of the Rings, Starwars and now this. Before you know it, I bet this movie will be in an even newer edition. What a rip-off. Anyway, this movie ROCKS!!!

I don't get the hype.......2007-08-27

So I finally decided to watch this after everyone telling me that I 'simply had to because it's so awesome'. Well, its not. I almost fell asleep. I knew what was going to happen in the end and throughout the whole movie, I just couldnt understand why people love this movie so much. It was pretty useless. When I hear people call it a 'cult classic', I laugh, its just too absurd. I will not be listening to hyped up nonsense anymore.

The greatest low-budget action flick ever made.......2007-07-26

Even though this might be a crime thriller, the best part of the entire movie is the conversations at the beginning. The bad guys B.S.'n over random things...like music, old friends. It is so hilarious, it radiates a fun energy that really sets the mood and knocks you back.
Say what you will about Tarantino, his ideas are heavily influenced by so many great movies...but he can write some tremendous, original scripts. This everyday banter injects such a real feel to this story.
And as the story progresses, it jumps around chronologically, but it's not hard to follow. Some thieves plan a jewelry heist, but an undercover cop has infiltrated the squad.
Nothing flashy about this plot, but it's Quentin's unparalleled character development and dialogue that sets this story apart.
It's filled with so many great scenes, and you'll swear this movie is more violent than what's actually depicted. The cop torture scene, with "Stuck in the Middle With You" playing, will invoke memories of the Clockwork Orange rape scene. At least it did for me.
Happy Song + Extreme Violence...Priceless!
Reservoir Dogs started off as a beginning filmmaker's inspiration, then to a cult classic, to now an easily recognizable stud amongst the blockbuster heavies. It spawned lots of ripoffs and wanna-bes, but nothing else compares.

"I really don't know what you know or don't know...but I'm gonna torture you anyway."

Tarantino's debut masterpiece........2007-07-19

Reservoir Dogs is film about a heist gone wrong, and how the characters deal with their paranoia of it all. The entire cast gives wonderful performances, making the film seem very realistic. Quentin Tarantino's dialogue flows crisp and smooth through the whole film. Sadistic violence and long bloody scenes make this film powerful and worthy to be called cinema. The DVD itself is very cool, it's filled with special features and fun facts. I hope you enjoy this film!

Reservoir Dogs.......2007-07-13

A brilliant, brutal heist film focusing on the before and after rather than the act itself, Tarantino's darkly funny "Reservoir Dogs" was the most auspicious debut of the 1990s, brought to life through the efforts of Keitel, who was impressed with the unconventional script. Tarantino peppers his film with pop-culture references, salty dialogue, and flashbacks that not only heighten suspense but fill in the back stories of his key characters. Keitel, Roth, Buscemi, Chris Penn, and Michael Madsen really run with their roles as bickering psychopaths. Great use of `70's period music as well- anyone remember "Stuck In The Middle With You?" At once graphically violent and darkly funny, "Reservoir Dogs" has one hell of a bite.

Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection (The Abominable Dr. Phibes / Tales of Terror / Theater of Blood / Madhouse / Witchfinder General / Dr. Phibes Rises Again / Twice Told Tales)

Average customer rating:

Films are Great but FOX Went Cheap!!!!
A collection of Price's better horror films plus extra features

Vincent Price: MGM Scream Legends Collection (The Abominable Dr. Phibes / Tales of Terror / Theater of Blood / Madhouse / Witchfinder General / Dr. Phibes Rises Again / Twice Told Tales)
Starring: Vincent Price , Robert Quarry , Peter Jeffrey , Fiona Lewis , and Hugh Griffith
Director: Robert Fuest , and Jim Clark
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

ASIN: B000SK5ZFM
Release Date: 2007-09-11

Description

Disc 1 Side A: Abominable Dr. Phibes WS Disc 1 Side B: Dr. Phibes Rises Again WS

Disc 2 Side A: Tales of Terror WS Disc 2 Side B: Twice Told Tales WS

Disc 3 Side A: Theater of Blood WS Disc 3 Side B: Madhouse WS

Disc 4: Witchfinder General (aka Conqueror Worm) WS

Disc 5: Bonus Disc **"Vincent Price: Renaissance Man" - Documentary **"The Art of Fear" - Featurette **"Working with Vincent Price" - Featurette

Customer Reviews:

Films are Great but FOX Went Cheap!!!!.......2007-09-12

The cases in this box set are the SLIM LINE cases and are just not as cool as the reg sized keep cases. Slim Line cases are fine for a TV show but not for collecting movies. Films 5 Stars The oustide package cover art is fine also, just the use of SLIM LINE cases has to be stopped. Warner Bros has caught on that fans don't like being cheated. and these cases just don't make me happy at all.

A collection of Price's better horror films plus extra features.......2007-07-26

This set will contain seven of Vincent Price's better horror films of the 1960's and 1970's and even includes a bonus disc of extra features. MGM is no Warner Home Video when it comes to DVD boxed sets and extra features, but this one shows progress in that direction. The following are the details on the included films and extra features.

Abominable Dr. Phibes: Price gives a campy performance in one of the few horror films which successfully and intentionally joins comedy and horror. Joseph Cotten and Terry-Thomas are just two of the victims on whom Price seeks vengeance for his disfigurement and his wife's death. The Art Deco sets give the film a stylish look and the British deadpan delivery of many of the jokes helps immensely.

Dr. Phibes Rises Again: The disfigured madman (Price) is back as he and his deceased wife go boating down the Underground River of the Dead in this sequel to The Abominable Dr. Phibes. Once again, everybody is in it for the laughs including the set designer.

Tales of Terror - Three stories adapted very loosely from the work of Edgar Allen Poe - "Morella", "The Black Cat" and "The (Facts in the) Case of M. Valdemar", each roughly one half-hour in length.

Twice Told Tales - This is a compilation of three short films based on Nathaniel Hawthorne works - Heidegger's Experiment, Rappaccini's Daughter and The House of Seven Gables. In both this film and "Tales of Terror", the idea is not so much to be true to the original story, as it is to use the foundation of the story to the advantage of Cormen's ability to make scary movies and in Price's ability to star in them.

Theater of Blood: An entertaining horror film about a demented Shakespearean actor (Price) who takes a bloody revenge against the eight theatre critics who gave his performances bad reviews. To me this one of Price's often forgotten and most underrated films. He really hams it up and it works perfectly.

Madhouse: Price stars as an actor who returns to the screen to reprise his role as a killer a few years after his wife-to-be was decapitated by a killer nobody caught. Price is good as always, but it just seems a little tired and more like a tribute to his past and better films.

Witchfinder General (aka Conqueror Worm): In 17th-century England during the struggle between Cromwell and the Crown, Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) and his associates seek out and persecute those thought to practice sorcery as well as anyone else who incurs their wrath. When Hopkins executes the priest of a small town for being a warlock, he and his partner find themselves the target of a young soldier who leaves his post in Cromwell's army to hunt down and kill the pair. The movie captures this period in English history very well for a low-budget production. Price is at his menacing, sadistic best without the intentional camp that he injects in so many of his other horror films.

An extras disc will contain a documentary ("Vincent Price: Renaissance Man") and two featurettes ("The Art of Fear" and "Working with Vincent Price"). The set will be available on September 11th.

Reservoir Dogs (15th Anniversary) [Blu-ray]

Average customer rating:

one of my top 25
Never Looked Better!
A worthy hi def transfer, yet not perfect
Alright Blu-ray

Reservoir Dogs (15th Anniversary) [Blu-ray]
Starring: Kirk Baltz , Randy Brooks , Edward Bunker , Steve Buscemi , and Suzanne Celeste
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

Action & Adventure | Blu-ray | Formats | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000KX0ISG
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Customer Reviews:

one of my top 25.......2007-09-03

I COULD APPRECIATE THIS TO BE CLASSIC EVEN WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT, IT IS MUCH BIGGER ON VIDEO THAN AT THE BOX OFFICE NOT UNLIKE MOST GREAT FRESH MOVIES. BECAUSE MOST OF US HADDEN'T SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT TO ASSOCIATE IT WITH, HI-DEF IS GREAT BUT THIS MOVIE WOULD BE GREAT EVEN IN BLACK AND WHITE! GREAT CAST GREAT CHARACTERS

Never Looked Better!.......2007-07-02

This is one of my Favorite Movies and when I bought my PS3 this was going to be my first Blu-Ray, but the local store didn't have it.

Finally got it, and man was worth it! The Movie seriously has never looked better, it was the first one where I noticed the difference easily, the others being both Pirates of the Caribbean.

Had a friend over and just played the opening clip, his jaw was on the floor, he could not believe how good it looked!

A worthy hi def transfer, yet not perfect.......2007-06-07

Fans of this underground cult entry by Tarantino should be pleased by the overall Blu ray presentation. For a 1991-92 film, we couldn't expect any HD extras so we'll just emphasize about the decent video and audio transfers that reveal in most cases the limit of the source print. There is some grain and smooth detail very theatre like, but overall the visual look seems to be well calibrated to justify an upgrade next to the DVD.

As for the audio score, well you can't expect a noisy 5.1 track here since the movie is mostly dialogue oriented with very few gunshots but again, they can't really make it much better unless restoring it - which not only purists but most of us don't want.

In short, worth a purchase for fans of Tarantino.

Alright Blu-ray.......2007-05-16

This is a decent transfure for being an older film, most sceens look clean, but the disk is a bit lacking in extras.

Average customer rating:

Memories
Great learning tool
Surprisingly Good Special Effects!
ONCE AGAIN GREAT JOB
Fantastic movie

Fantastic Voyage (Special Edition)
Starring: Stephen Boyd , Raquel Welch , Edmond O'Brien , Donald Pleasence , and Arthur O'Connell
Director: Richard Fleischer
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000O78KWE
Release Date: 2007-06-05

Amazon.com

2001: A Space Odyssey took the world on a mind-bending trip to outer space, but Fantastic Voyage is the original psychedelic inner-space adventure. When a brilliant scientist falls into a coma with an inoperable blood clot in the brain, a surgical team embarks on a top-secret journey to the center of the mind in a high-tech military submarine shrunk to microbial dimensions. Stephen Boyd stars as a colorless commander sent to keep an eye on things (though his eyes stay mostly on shapely medical assistant Raquel Welch), while Donald Pleasance is suitably twitchy as the claustrophobic medical consultant. The science is shaky at best, but the imaginative spectacle is marvelous: scuba-diving surgeons battle white blood cells, tap the lungs to replenish the oxygen supply, and shoot the aorta like daredevil surfers. The film took home a well-deserved Oscar for Best Visual Effects. Director Richard Fleischer, who turned Disney's 1954 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea into one of the most riveting submarine adventures of all time, creates a picture so taut with cold-war tensions and cloak-and-dagger secrecy that niggling scientific contradictions (such as, how do miniaturized humans breathe full-sized air molecules?) seem moot. --Sean Axmaker

Description

The adventure of a lifetime occurs not in the outer reaches of space, but inside the human body. An elite team of medical and scientific specialists race to save a top government scientist who is suffering from a blood clot on the brain. Their mission: be reduced along with their submarine-like craft to microscopic size, enter the bloodstream of the ailing scientist, and journey to the brain to perform an emergency procedure. With only sixty minutes to complete their mission, the scientist find themselves fighting off an attack by white corpuscles, caught in a tornado-like storm in the lungs, and struggling to survive sabotage from one of their own.

Customer Reviews:

Memories.......2007-08-05

Reminds me when I first saw this movie as a kid. I was in awh.

Great learning tool.......2007-08-01

This would be a great movie for a remake. While the special effects are obviously from the 60s, the movie itself fascinates my 4-year-old just as it did when I first saw it. Somebody, please remake this movie with today's special effects!!

Surprisingly Good Special Effects!.......2007-07-23

This movie was recommended to me but I am not normally a Sci-Fi movie fan. I really enjoyed watching this for the complex, thought provoking issues raised. Did I have to suspend my disbelief? Sure. Was it interesting and fun to watch? Ditto.

ONCE AGAIN GREAT JOB.......2007-07-16

THIS IS MY SECOND PURCHASE AND AS EXPECTED THIS PRODUCT SATIFIED MY USUALY HIGH EXPECTATIONS. ADVERTISING AND PACKAGING AND PRESENTATION WERE DEAD ON ACCURATE.I ALSO RECIEVED THIS PRODUCT MUCH SOONER THAN PROMISSED AGAIN VERRY PROMPT EASY AND RELIABLE SERVICE, MY HATS OFF TO YOU FOLKS AND KEEP UP THE EXELLENCE THAT MAKE YOU A REPUTABLE ESTABLISHMENT TO DEAL WITH
THANKS DANNY PINEAU

Fantastic movie.......2007-07-13

The letterbox version of this movie and the commentary were fab. I loved the movie when I first saw it on TV, and even more now that I can watch it when I feel like it.

Dracula (75th Anniversary Edition) (Universal Legacy Series)

Average customer rating:

See what music they make....
The Classical Dracula
Legendary
Dracula 75th Anniversary Edition Great Historical Info
The first of the classic "universal" monsters...Dracula!

Dracula (75th Anniversary Edition) (Universal Legacy Series)
Starring: Bela Lugosi
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GPIPSS
Release Date: 2006-09-26

Amazon.com essential video

When Universal Pictures picked up the movie rights to a Broadway adaptation of Dracula, they felt secure in handing the property over to the sinister team of actor Lon Chaney and director Tod Browning. But Chaney died of cancer, and Universal hired the Hungarian who had scored a success in the stage play: Béla Lugosi. The resulting film launched both Lugosi's baroque career and the horror-movie cycle of the 1930s. It gets off to an atmospheric start, as we meet Count Dracula in his shadowy castle in Transylvania, superbly captured by the great cinematographer Karl Freund. Eventually Dracula and his blood-sucking devotee (Dwight Frye, in one of the cinema's truly mad performances) meet their match in a vampire-hunter called Van Helsing (Edward Van Sloan). If the later sections of the film are undeniably stage bound and a tad creaky, Dracula nevertheless casts a spell, thanks to Lugosi's creepily lugubrious manner and the eerie silences of Browning's directing style. (After a mood-enhancing snippet of Swan Lake under the opening titles, there is no music in the film.) Frankenstein, which was released a few months later, confirmed the horror craze, and Universal has been making money (and countless spin-off projects) from its twin titans of terror ever since. Certainly the role left a lasting impression on the increasingly addled and drug-addicted Lugosi, who was never quite able to distance himself from the part that made him a star. He was buried, at his request, in his black vampire cape. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

See what music they make...........2007-09-10

The way Dracula should be! Bela provided the perfect mix of malice and attraction and forever changed the way people would see vampires. A masterful portrayal, Bela personified the evil of his character and showed no mercy at a time when Hollywood was brimming with feel good flicks. Over the next few years a new horror would arise...a real horror, a man who personified evil and showed no mercy...a man named Adolph Hitler. Watching him speak in public one can only wonder if he had watched Bela's portrayal of Dracula and modeled himself after it. The five stars I gave this film are based on Mr. Lugosi's performance. He was so terribly convincing.....in fact, I thought I saw a shadow moving on the wall just now....but that's absurd, it couldn't.........be???

The Classical Dracula.......2007-09-07

The 75th Edition has two movies. The English version with Bela Lugosi that we all know about. And the Spanish version. While the 2 disc set has tons of extras I wish to focus on the films.
The English version and the Spanish version were both made using the same script and props and setting but after that they seem to go their own ways. You see, the English movie was made during the day and than the Spanish crew and actors came in, and filmed theirs in the evening. But they were able to watch the dailies from the English version and say to themselves, we can do better than that.
I am going to go out on a limb and say the Spanish movie is slightly better. The acting and camera work has more energy. The Spanish actresses are sexier, which is important when you're dealing with a vampire story, and the English version feels like a silent film much of the time.
While I think Bela Lugosi did a great job I feel that the rest of the crew, the director and the caste of the English version were not up to the mission of bringing Dracula to the big screen. I have to declare the Spanish one the best Dracula film brought to the big screen so far.

Legendary.......2007-07-18

Really makes you understand why Dracula became an icon. Bela Legosi gives what has to be one of the best performances of all time.

Dracula 75th Anniversary Edition Great Historical Info.......2007-07-12

Want to know about Bela Lugosi his life and his co-stars in the movie "Dracula!" I learned many things about each category that I did not know before! Very detailed account of Bela and how he became "Count Dracula" that I am sure a true fan would find most interesting. Best of all, the classic movie "Dracula" plays on Disc 1. The true fan can really appreciate how the movie has been re-mastered. This movie is worth buying and not a disappointment.

The first of the classic "universal" monsters...Dracula!.......2007-06-30

What else can be said about this classic tale of the macabre. Bela lugosi set the standard for all vampires to this very day. The movie is a masterpiece of cinema. This latest release has about the sharpest, cleanest print ever seen. There is now detail in the film that probably has not been seen since it's original theatrical run, over 75 years ago! There are some places with grain and some film wear, but considering it is 75 years old, it holds up well. The sound, however stated as "re-mastered" is distorted and has hiss that i'm sure could have been eliminated with today's modern electronics. The only print to have proper sound is the Original DVD release. Even the Legacy collection has the distorted sound, which i own also, and hoped it would have been fixed in this release. The supplimental material is great and enjoyable. The Philip Glass score has always annoyed the heck out of me and should have been erased long ago! It is the errie silence that makes this film scary. All in all, a great addition to any monster fan's libray. Dracula is the original monster, in all his glory and Bela lugosi, who was a very underrated actor, is marvelous and an icon the world over. A historical note: Bela only played Count Dracula twice, once in this film of course, and 17 years later in "Abbott & Costello meet Frankenstein"! It's amazing how a single performance in a film would secure him such a place in history. Just watch his facial expressions and body movements, truly spectacular, something no CGI could ever duplicate today! So, Curl up on a stormy halloween night and go back to a time when blood and gore was left to the imagination.. That's what made it so scary...and timeless. Universal set the stage for all monsters then and now. Oh, and don't forget to pick up Frankenstein too!

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