Jubal

Amazon.com

Despite incorporating elements of Shakespeare's Othello, Delmer Daves's CinemaScope Jubal is the first and least of three Westerns the director made with star Glenn Ford. Although not up to the measure of 3:10 to Yuma and the boldly original (and sadly neglected) Cowboy, it's still a well-above-average Western by a man whose sturdy sense of drama and pictorial ecstasies qualify him as a solid genre filmmaker. Ford plays a drifter who is rescued, then hired as ramrod, by rancher Ernest Borgnine, thereby stimulating the erotic interest of Borgnine's sexy young wife (Valerie French) and the Iago-like resentment of the former top hand (Rod Steiger). A range war and the persecution of a religious sect whose wagon train is camped on Borgnine's land complicate matters beyond the Shakespearean premise. The solid supporting cast includes Noah Beery Jr., Charles Bronson, and Felicia Farr, who would contribute a memorable interlude to 3:10 to Yuma. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

The music caught my attention as this powerful adult Western in constant suspense..........2006-11-10

When a Wyoming cattle king, Shep Horgan (Ernest Borgnine), receives Jubal Troop (Glenn Ford) in his ranch, his presence arouses strong emotions for his attractive young Canadian wife Mae...

Shep, a friendly good-natured husband and the best loved man in the territory, offers his help and trust to Jubal and names him his foreman... Shep was proud of the "sheep-herding friend" who got lost in the blizzard, and came over the pass from Montana, running from "bad luck."

Mae (Valerie French), a rancher's wanton wife, spins the plot by her attentions to the disinterested cowboy Jubal, which further stirs up the surly range rider (Rod Steiger) with whom she had previously been carrying on an affair, unknown to her genteel husband...

Truthful and straightforward, Jubal is caught between a loyal friend and an insistent desirous unfaithful wife who considers her husband's fine ranch a "10,000 acres of lonesomeness."

Mae was not in love with her unattractive husband... She thought she just picked the right guy to patch it up with... She even considered an evil plan in her mind... Maybe another affair, a new love, a murder...

One night, she went crazy... She lied to Shep telling him that Jubal was here in their room, in their bed... She yelled angrily in pain: "I'm sick to my stomach every time you kiss me. Let go of me. I hate you. I hate the way you look at me. I hate every single thing about you. I love him. Do you hear? I love Jube."

In that moment, Mae inflames a torrid fuse of sex, jealousy and revenge which make of Delmer Daves' "Jubal" a rather engrossing piece of adult entertainment...

Glenn Ford was honest in his feelings toward his boss ("Shep made me feel like somebody. Shep gave me a reason for living.") ignoring that he was caught in a net of lies, murder, and uncontrolled passions...

Rod Steiger was exceptional as the sadistic top hand who strongly disliked Jubal's gizzard... Pinky spots Mae's sights on Jubal... His jealous was so great as his strong sexual desire for the ex-lover...

In her film debut, Felicia Far was the radiant and beautiful as the little Rawhider responding to expert handling...

"Jubal" returned Charles Bronson to the West and to the company of director Delmer Daves, with whom he had made "Drum Beat." Cast as a ranch-hand friend of Ford's in the employ of Borgnine, Bronson contributes his natural masculine presence to this psychological Western...

Set against the mountainous fertile valley of the Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, and beautifully photographed in CinemaScope and Technicolor, "Jubal" is a powerful adult Western in constant suspense...

Great Cowboy Glenn Ford.......2006-11-10

Of all the parts he played, I loved Glenn Ford best as a Western cowboy hero. Loved him also in Cade's County on television.

Excellent mid-50s Adult Western with Glenn Ford.......2005-10-17

THE STORY: An injured drifter, Glenn Ford as Jubal Troop, is rescued by ranch-owner Earnest Borgnine, who ultimately promotes him to foreman of his ranch. This stirs up the envy of ranch-hand Rod Steiger ("Pinky") and the desire of Borgnine's young sexpot/discontent wife Valerie French. The latter leads to even more hostility on Steiger's part because he used to enjoy the adulterous attentions of French until Ford came along.

Add to this mix a group of trespassing Mennonites (or perhaps Quakers) who have in their company Felicia Farr, a godly woman that attracts Ford's romantic interests, and Charles Bronson, another drifter who befriends Ford.

WHAT WORKS: For the first hour and ten minutes or so "Jubal" is captivating cinema of the highest order. Borgnine is simpleminded & naive but likable and full of mirth. Valerie French is fully clothed at all times, yet somehow oozes sexuality with every simple glance or word (proving that sexiness involves way more than merely showing skin). Rod Steiger is perfect as the villainous Southerner-turned-Westerner "Pinky." Felicia Farr is an interesting addition to the story: her godly purity attracts Ford just as much as French's adulterous tactics turn him off.

As for the young Charles Bronson, how can you go wrong? And, lastly, Glenn Ford is perfect as the tragedy-laden drifter.

A big bonus is that the film was shot on location with the mighty Grand Tetons as a backdrop for the entire story. These magnificent Wyoming mountains are nothing short of breathtaking!

WHAT DOESN'T WORK: A little after the hour mark a major character buys the farm, resulting in the last half-hour tying up loose ends and somehow losing the yarn's ultra-captivating charm. I'm not saying the ending is bad, not at all, just that it's mediocre compared to the rest of the film. This is the only reason the flick rates 4-Stars instead of 5-Stars in my mind.

Also, although the opening credits score is understandably dated, the rest of the film is not.

CONCLUSION: Make no mistake, "Jubal" is a powerful psychological Western; there's thankfully no Disney-like unrealistic vibe anywhere to be found. It expertly touches on issues of friendship, envy, jealousy, competition, lust, hate, love, and hope. In light of this, I'm genuinely surprised at how underrated "Jubal" is in the Western genre.

Let me add that Jubal is a man of fascinatingly noble character: he amazingly resists the skilled sexual advances of the luscious Valerie French. Kinda reminds me of Joseph and Potiphar's wife.

"Jubal" is a MUST for every person's Western film library.

One of Glenn Ford's Best Westerns.......2005-02-24

Jubal is the kind of adult western that was rare even in the heyday of Western production in Hollywood. A great cast, strong writing, and beautiful scenery makes it that much more enjoyable.

Jubal is a luckless drifter, played by Ford who is rescued from exposure and starvation by wealthy rancher Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine soons put Jubal to work as a ranch hand. Borgnine has a very young and beautiful wife, played by Valerie French. She takes a strong liking to Jubal, which not only complicates his relationship with Borgnine, but further strains his dealings with a jealous fellow ranch hand Pinky, played by Rod Steiger. Things go downhill from there.

Add Felicia Farr playing her normal stalwart Western beauty and Charles Bronson as a friend of Jubal's, and you have the making of a great film. It's way past time that this was on DVD.

Excellent Adult Western.......2005-01-22

Glenn Ford, Ernest Borgnine, and Rod Steiger make the most of this excellent movie. Ford plays a drifter cowboy who is rescued and given work by wealthy rancher Borgnine, who is unaware that ranch hand Steiger is having an affair with Borgnine's much younger wife. Steiger becomes insanely jealous of Ford's relationship with Borgnine, and tragedy ensues. This a very well-written, well-acted Western.

Average customer rating:

Cardboard characters
Good Film Marred by Political Correctness
Western thriller - too long, but good nonetheless
Riveting
Great movie!

The Missing (Widescreen Edition)
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones , Cate Blanchett , Evan Rachel Wood , Jenna Boyd , and Aaron Eckhart
Director: Ron Howard
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005JMPT
Release Date: 2004-02-24

Amazon.com

Cate Blanchett blazes through The Missing, a new Western directed by Ron Howard (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13). The camera truly loves the planes of her face; even dusty and bedraggled, she radiates star power--which is good, because The Missing needs it. When her daughter is kidnapped by renegade Indians, Maggie Gilkeson (Blanchett) is forced to turn to her estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones, Men in Black, The Fugitive), a man who abandoned her as a child to join an Indian tribe. Together, they pursue a malignant brujo (or witch), who sells young girls in Mexico. The Missing features solid supporting performances from Evan Rachel Wood, Eric Schweig, Aaron Eckhart, Val Kilmer, and feisty young Jenna Boyd as Maggie's youngest daughter Dot, who refuses to be left behind. Despite the cast and some gorgeous cinematography, though, The Missing never finds its stride. --Bret Fetzer

Description

The Missing is the story of Maggie Gilkeson (Cate Blanchett), a young woman raising her two daughters in an isolated and lawless wilderness. When her oldest daughter (Evan Rachel Wood) is kidnapped by a psychopathic killer with mystical powers (Eric Schweig), Maggie is forced to re-unite with her long estranged father (Tommy Lee Jones) to rescue her. The killer and his brutal cult of desperados have kidnapped several other teenage girls, leaving a trail of death and horror across the desolate landscape of the American Southwest.

Customer Reviews:

Cardboard characters.......2007-08-21

"The Missing" had alot of potential. It had a good director, good actors, and a good storyline. However, the characters come across as being phony. Cate Blanchett is supposed to be a big tough country woman. She even speaks an octave lower than she usually does. Tommy Lee Jones is supposed to be a white man endowed with the wisdom and capabilities of the Indians. Instead he just appears to be an old man with long hair that occasionally says something in an unintelligible language. The other characters seem just as flimsy as well. Good characters that an audience can relate to really make the difference between an average movie and a great movie. For whatever reason, the characters in "The Missing" really were unbelievable.

Good Film Marred by Political Correctness.......2007-03-05

As good as this film is, it would have been much better without the annoying political correct over-sensitivity to Amerindians. This film asks you to believe that renegade Apache Indians, who in the film murder and sometimes torture parents & guardians of pretty teenage girls in order to kidnap an sell these girls as sex slaves in Mexico, would not also rape these girls along the way to the border. In the better-written and more realistic novel "The Last Ride", on which the film is clearly based (though it differs considerably), these Indians did indeed rape and brutally treat these girls. However, in the movie the only attempted rape was by one of the despicable white men helping the Indians. But it's not enough to have also a bunch of despicable white guys in the movie (including most of the soldiers), it's got to have one of the kidnapping Indians save the girl from rape. Worse: right after this rape rescue the indian tells the girl that she is better than this white scum but "you are not better than me." Right. He's part of this vicious girl-kidnapping group of slime-bags but he's better than the victims. Guess we're supposed to think this Indian's got character. Good grief. There was even some sort of a feeble excuse given for this despicable Apache behavior - someone killed their chief. Oh, well, no wonder they're about kidnapping white girls to sell as sex slaves.

Still, if you can stomach this kind of PC bowing toward Amerindians (who, by the way, did have quite a earned reputation for extreme torture - see for eg. the book "The Wild Frontier"), the film is darkly entertaining and original, and it does star the super appealing film goddess Cate Blanchett.

Western thriller - too long, but good nonetheless.......2007-02-09

This is a lovingly made, well acted movie, worth watching. However, it suffers from a) not quite deciding which genre to fall into, and b) being too long at over 130 minutes.
There are echoes of `The Searchers' in the plot.. well, I say echoes, but this is virtually what they like to call these days `a reimagining' of the same story. However the depth of meaning, characters and symbolism from that movie are nowhere near replicated here.
What we do have is a bunch of fine performances by terrific actors, and a degree of authenticity that reminds you what a great director Howard can be.
Blanchett is the mother, whose daughter is abducted to be sold into white slavery, her lover brutally tortured and killed. The army (with a surprise cameo from Val Kilmer) can not / will not help, so she enlists the help of her estranged father - a man who abandoned her when young, and went native with the Indians.
The chase to find them uncovers that the ringleader is actually a `brujo', an Indian witch, and part of the battle is against the brujo's witchcraft.
Therein lies part of the problem of the movie - as good and as well crafted as it is, it has parts traditional Western, part character study, part horror and part plain old thriller - and they are individually interesting, but put all together drag on a little bit too long to be a successful.
Don't be put off, it IS a good movie - just plan a few toilet breaks in the middle!

Riveting.......2006-11-10

I have no idea how I missed this in the theaters. This was a fascinating movie with two talented actors, Tommy Lee and Cate Blanchet. The realism was enchanting, from the story line to the environment. The actress who played the younger daughter had me in tears. This movie had something for everyone.

Great movie!.......2006-11-10

I'm partial to Tommy Lee Jones, but he really did an excellent job on this one. Very good story-telling, excellent acting.

Average customer rating:

Ignore the negative reviews
Izola's Movie Review: Posse
5 For Trying To Set The Record Straight
A popcorn movie that teaches. We need more like this.
Better than the "editorial review" thinks it is

Posse
Starring: Stephen Baldwin , Paul Bartel , Stephen J. Cannell , Richard Edson , and Pam Grier
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000059TGC
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Amazon.com

Mario Van Peebles directed as well as starred in this ham-fisted, 1993 Western with a predominantly African American cast. The story finds a posse of black shooters (with one white member, played by Stephen Baldwin) taking on a racist sheriff and military man, but Van Peebles's effort at mixing convention with hip credentials gets pretty grating. (Tone Loc makes the worst cowboy in film history.) The film is also incredibly sexist, going well beyond the usual frontier-floozy clichés and lapsing into the sort of blatant exploitation one found at that time in rap-music videos. There are lots of cameo appearances from familiar folks willing to support Van Peebles on a project that probably sounded like a mix of experiment and event--Pam Grier, Isaac Hayes, Woody Strode, and the director's father, Melvin Van Peebles. But even they can't help. --Tom Keogh

Description

Mario Van Peebles (Judgment Day), Billy Zane (Titanic) and Stephen Baldwin (Fled) shake up the frontier in this "fast-paced, star-studded, big brawny western" (Janet Maslin, The New York Times)! Filled with gun-blazing, fist-pounding action and co-starring Big Daddy Kane, Blair Underwood, Tone Loc, Pam Grier, Isaac Hayes, Nipsey Russell, Aaron Neville and more, Posse takes a page missing from the history books Â- and unfolds it with suspense, humor and awe-inspiring power! In 1892, a group of mostly black infantrymen, betrayed by their white commander, Colonel Graham (Zane), desert the Spanish-American War. With Graham hot on their trail, Jessie Lee (Van Peebles) leads the men to his hometown, Freemanville, only to find it's also besieged by war Â- a racist war! Lee's attempts to bring justice and freedom to his people make for a brilliant western that's short on words and long on "killer entertainment" (Los Angeles Times)!

Customer Reviews:

Ignore the negative reviews.......2007-07-31

This movie is a good one. Yes, it's educational. It deals with black issues such as REPARATIONS for slavery was never given, and how the same people who were against black folks being free were the same ones stealing land from the m. Van Peebles deals with this issue with ease and still manages to make a very entertaining movie as well.

If the movies was truly as bad as the reviewer attempts to make it out to be, why, in gods name would it be so expensive??

Izola's Movie Review: Posse.......2007-03-29

This is a GREAT movie. Not only is it action-packed, it also has a great plot (drama). Mario Van Peeples is perfect for his role.......it was a shocker that Big Daddy Kane could act. It is good to see a Western with African-Americans in it as not all African-Americans were slaves. This is also a good film to add to any movie collection.

5 For Trying To Set The Record Straight.......2006-11-08

For attempting to set the record straight, this film deserves 5 stars. There were towns like the 'dream town' in this movie. Ex-slaves did settle among the Native Americans. And white men did try to steal the land when they felt it had value. Many forget there were Black soldiers who acquitted themselves well in the Spanish American war. This film tries to put a bit of all of this in, and at the same time, tell a story that will keep our attention. Mario, you did well, and I am honored to own this movie. Remember, a movie is only there to tell a story. And I enjoyed Tone Loc, Big Daddy Kane, Tiny Lister, Stephen Baldwin, Mario Van Peebles and the little guy whose name I can't recall at the moment. And, the townspeople? What a colorful group. The scene when they pass the road gang, and you hear the mournful voice of Aaron Neville, absolutely heart tugging. The New Orleans scene? Envigorating. But, why did Father Time have to die. Why did any of the Posse have to die? I would have liked to see them ride again. 'Jesse, they killed Angel'

A popcorn movie that teaches. We need more like this........2003-12-27

Mario Van Peebles "Posse" is a movie with flaws, but it treats its source material with respect. Unlike the shallow and silly "Rosewood" Van Peebles "Posse" gives viewers a clear picture of what life was like for African-American cowboys at the turn of the century. We get to know characters in the story. The production values are low budget, and several roles are miscast, but Van Peebles' heart is in every second of this film. He loves the material and wants us to learn as much about these forgotten black heroes as he has. Part "spaghetti western", part action flick, part historical drama, Posse is a lot of fun to watch. Mario Van Peebles, Billy Zane, Melvin Van Peebles and Salli Richardson in her first role are great. Tis one is worth owining for your collection.

Better than the "editorial review" thinks it is.......2002-10-15

Tom Keogh, whomever he may be, is quite mistaken about the quality of Mario Van Peebles film, which is somewhat more than simply a "black western." Despite the "camp" appearances of several black celebrities, Peebles brings to the film an arresting visual quality and an iconoclastic, unmistakably "dark" [no pun intended] perspective on How the West Was Lost, which is one of the biggest tragedies of American history. The historical background is suitably complex, tieing in references to the Spanish-American War. Although the lead character's gunslinging talents are made too much of, this is far from cliche.

Sinatra & the Rat Pack: The Story Behind the Original Movie Ocean's 11

Average customer rating:

love it!
Sinatra's Rat Pack

Sinatra & the Rat Pack: The Story Behind the Original Movie Ocean's 11
Starring: Sinatra , Martin , Davis , and Lawford
Manufacturer: Delta
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ASIN: B00006I03U
Release Date: 2002-07-30

Description

In 1960, if you were looking for the absolute definition of "cool," you would look no further than Frank Sinatra and his infamous Rat Pack - Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop - and if you wanted to find that Rat Pack, you only had to look to Las Vegas. Rare footage and vintage newsreels takes a look into the making of the original Ocean's 11 movie.

B&W/Color
Running Time: 70 mins.

Customer Reviews:

love it!.......2006-12-01

I first saw this DVD through my Blockbuster Online service, I watched it 3 times before returning it. And I'm a young college student with a short attention span. It was really fun!

Sinatra's Rat Pack.......2005-09-13

Very good DVD to find out about The Rat Pack. I have been looking for something that brings me back to that era, and this is the closest.

Average customer rating:

Outstanding Value
The Great Tarin Robbery
The first American Movie
Superb quality and great value

Great Train Robbery - 100th Anniversay
Starring: Morgan Jones , Tom London , Gilbert M. Anderson , A.C. Abadie , and George Barnes
Director: Edwin S. Porter
Manufacturer: Vci Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0000WN1JA
Release Date: 2003-12-16

Description

This Special Edition DVD contains two versions of the historically significant western, "The Great Train Robbery" (1903) and more classic silent westerns: "The Heart of Texas Ryan" (1916), "Tumbleweeds" (1925) and "The Battle of Elderbush Gulch" (1913) - all enhanced with music and effects tracks. Bonus Features: Video Prologues narrated by Will Hutchins (WB TV star "Sugarfoot")| Bonus Cowboy Poem by Will Hutchins| Movie Selection Menu| Western Previews| Bios| DVD Rom Content: Extended Bios| Weblinks to more information and biographical material. Specs: DVD9; Dolby Digital Mono; 184 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year - 2003 SRP - $19.99.

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding Value.......2007-03-09

Of course, everyone (?) knows the reputation of the Great Train Robbery. But the rest of the package contains some gems. Surprising DW Griffith Western, in "Battle...," in the sense that the cavalry does NOT arrive in the nick of time for most of the townspeople, though the stars are saved. The Tom Mix feature is really funny, showing a character who is quite anti-heroic, by Classic Western standards. But the real gem is William S. Hart's Tumbleweeds, which stages an incredible Oklahoma land run, and a stunning ride by 55-year-old Hart.

The Great Tarin Robbery.......2007-03-08

A classic of the start of motion pictures by Thomas Edison that has stould the test of time.

The first American Movie.......2005-01-24

Its hard to believe but this film was made more than 100 hundred years ago,it has to be considered to be a technical step forward for its time. The plot is basicilly a train robbery. It is also the first western. This was a stepping stone for what movies could be, D.W Griffth pushed even farther with the first epic with a Birth Of A Nation.

Superb quality and great value.......2004-02-01

Wasn't to sure what to expect quality wise but on viewing was absolutely delighted.
The DVD features four silent westerns (all classics) with excellent picture quality and suitable accompanying music with orchestra.
Tumbleweeds is the 1939 reissue and has W S HART speaking of his love of the west.
Battle of Elderbush Gulch is an exciting story by D W Griffith.
Heart of Texas Ryan stars Tom Mix.
Two versions of the title film are included.
All the films have short intros, history and bios.

Amazon.com

Description

Customer Reviews:

Cardboard characters.......2007-08-21

Good Film Marred by Political Correctness.......2007-03-05

Western thriller - too long, but good nonetheless.......2007-02-09

Riveting.......2006-11-10

Great movie!.......2006-11-10

I'm partial to Tommy Lee Jones, but he really did an excellent job on this one. Very good story-telling, excellent acting.

Average customer rating:

i loved this movie
Wake The Dead...
Blame the Farmers!!
very cool film
waste of money and time!!

Let Sleeping Corpses Lie
Starring: Cristina Galbó , Ray Lovelock , Arthur Kennedy , Aldo Massasso , and Giorgio Trestini
Director: Jorge Grau
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
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ASIN: 630597229X
Release Date: 2000-10-24

Amazon.com

One of the best zombie shockers of the 1970s, this Spanish-Italian coproduction (also known as The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue and Don't Open the Window, among other titles) is a real international affair. Inspired by George Romero's genre-shattering American hit Night of the Living Dead, it was shot in England by a Spanish director with a largely British cast, and supplemented by Spanish zombies and American character actor Arthur Kennedy as a bitter Irish police detective (with only a hint of a brogue). He's investigating a sudden rash of violent murders (the work of Satanists, he's convinced) and closes in on a pair of newcomers to the sleepy Northern England town, longhaired antique dealer Ray Lovelock and his nervous traveling companion Christine Galbó. Only they know the real culprits: newly deceased corpses, revived by agricultural experiments in ultrasonic radiation that are also turning newborns into vicious little monsters. Director Jorge Grau delivers all the stumbling zombies and gory flesh feasts you could hope for in a 1974 movie, but more importantly he creates the rare zombie thriller that manages to be both scary and smartly done. Some of the twists are a bit more far-fetched than others (why does dabbing blood on the eyes of long-dead cadavers magically bring them to life, and how would a zombie even know to try?), but it's a minor quibble in the face of the startling blood frenzy and Grau's satisfying dark dramatic twists.

The DVD also features an introduction and a 20-minute interview with Grau ("I hope you will suffer profoundly," he jokes in the opening), as well as a gallery of posters and stills, TV ads, and radio spots. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

i loved this movie.......2007-08-21

i was going trought the reviews and i cant beleave that their is 5 reviewers that gave 1 star for this movie.If you love italien zombie movies get this dvd right now. the effex are great, the settings are great, the gore is great + i think the cover sleave for this dvd is one of my al time favorite.

Wake The Dead..........2007-06-27

LET SLEEPING CORPSES LIE is as good or better than any of my all-time favorite zombie movies. Yes, it's right up there w/ NIGHT, DAWN, and DAY OF THE DEAD! LSCL has a similar sense of building dread and awfulness! It's sort of like Fulci's ZOMBIE, THE BEYOND, and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD in its darkness and malevolence. Needless to say, I love it! At first, I thought it might be goofy, until the ghouls started walkin'! The story is cool, w/ a seemingly innocent cause for the zombie plague. The rural setting adds to the utter isolation and desparate atmosphere of doom. Believe me, you won't know who will die next! No story-book endings here! Highly recommended...

Blame the Farmers!!.......2007-06-26

"Let Sleeping Corpses Lie" belongs to two sub-genres of horror which were very popular in the 1970's and 80's. The first of these is the Zombie film, also incorporating elements from cannibal films. The influence of Romero's "Night of the Living Dead" is very notable on this film, scenes such as the films heroine being attacked in her car by a vagrant zombie and the shocking finale when the hero is shot dead by the bigoted police inspector are among many moments liberally borrowed from Romero's trailblazing effort. But this is more than a mere pastiche or tribute, and this is due to it being an ecological horror film. The revolt of nature occurs here due to a revolutionary method of insect extermination utilised by the ministry of agriculture. This piece of hi-tech equipment uses radiation and sound waves to drive crop pests to insanity, and confirms director Jorge Grau's determination to challenge modernity with a paranoid and destructive depiction of technology and a vision of the city which shows it as a monstrously polluted and virtually unliveable space. So as well as an excellent zombie film, replete with a number of superior moments of gore, this is a film which highlights the dichotomy between city and countryside (a pre-occupation of much Italian horror), the bigotry of a more repressed older generation towards the young (long hair and faggot clothes!!) represented by the bitter police inspector, and a general feeling of paranoia toward technological progress and modernity. This Spanish/Italian co-production, which utilises the green and pleasant lands of England beautifully, works as a straight forward down and dirty horror flick, but also as an intelligent if bleak film, which more than holds its own with the film that inspired it.

very cool film.......2007-06-15

This film follows in the footsteps of NOLD thats for sure, however, it comes out like "children shouldn't play with dead things". Its truly a one of a kind zombie film that shouldn't be over looked and different way of making a zombie film and truly one of the best i've seen in awhile. Highly Recommended!!

waste of money and time!!.......2007-06-14

This movie should not even be associated with the zombie genre!! Let's state the obvious the movie is boring and drags on FOREVER, and it never picks up. I love Blue Underground but they dropped the ball by wasting there money releasing this garbage!! Stear far away from this atrocity.

Average customer rating:

A blade in the dark/Macabre.
Everybody's Doing The LamBava!!
AWESOME DOUBLE BILL - 2 GREAT SEXY LAMBERTO BAVA THRILLERS
A light in the dark

A Blade in the Dark/Macabre
Starring: Bernice Stegers , Stanko Molnar , Veronica Zinny , Roberto Posse , and Ferdinando Orlandi
Director: Lamberto Bava
Manufacturer: Starz / Anchor Bay
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ASIN: B0000AC8L7
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Customer Reviews:

A blade in the dark/Macabre........2006-04-25

This double bill from Anchor Bay is excellent both films are from director Lamberto Bava son of director Mario Bava one of the earliest directors who did gialo films and has influinced other directors like Dario Argento and his son Lamberto. A blade in the dark tells the story of a young composer living in a secluded villa to finish work on composing a score for a horror film that his friend has made but soon finds himself caught up in a nightmare of murder and mystery. Lamberto Bava definently shows his talent behind the camera especialy when he sets up the intense scenes like the one where the killer is in the bathroom or the swimming pool scene which is stylishly made and the death scenes were very gory and bloody. If you liked the films of Dario Argento like Tenebrea or Deep red then you should deffinently check out A blade in the dark. Macabre is a different film from Lamberto and is more like a weird and twisted psychological thriller it is also his debut film, a married woman loses her lover who shes been having an affair with in a car crash that happened to decapatate him she is then traumatised by this incident and gets locked up in a mental institute, when she gets released she soon moves out to an appartment in New Orleans. This film has a shock ending but it doesn't quite work because you probably know whats going to happen unless you haven't read the back of the cover but still it was very wierd and entertaining I highly recomend this drive-in double feature from Anchor Bay it was fantastic.

Everybody's Doing The LamBava!!.......2006-03-26

A Blade In the Dark is a nifty little giallo from Lamberto Bava. It stars everyone's favorite Keanu Reeves lookalike, Andrea Occhipinti. He plays a kind of fictional Claudio Simonetti who's composing a score for a horror flick. He rents a villa for the purpose of writing the score. Then, in the immortal words of Thin Lizzy, "There's a killer on the loose again....A ladykiller on the loose". In the giallo tradition, Andrea becomes obsessed with finding out more about his home's former tenant and where the victims' bodies are.....or if a murder even occured. Andrea seems to keep his cool rather well considering he knows the killer has been in, and committed their crimes inside his home. Lots of red herrings, some brutal killings and a slow and steady pace make for a pretty good flick.
The second on the Bava double bill-Macabre-is an interesting one as well. A horny middleaged woman starts fooling around on her husband. Her and her lover have a horrible car accident while speeding to her home where her son has just died. Loverboy is killed and the lady spends a year in the funny farm. Once out she lives at her old lover's place and starts up a friendship with the blind guy who lives there. The blind guy naturally falls for the woman, but she doesn't seem to be interested in him. He's tortured at night by her sensual moaning, understanably angry that she prefers to get jiggy all alone rather than with him. Truth is, she's getting jiggy with the decapitated head of her dead lover. Talk about getting head!! Meanwhile , she's trying to rekindle her relationship with her daughter. The first three quarters of this film are basically a psychosexual drama. It's not really until the last act when everyone's dirty laundry is in the open that things go more down the horror route. Good film. Kinda slow moving, but not boring and certainly with more balls than anything made today. A good dvd for the asking price.

AWESOME DOUBLE BILL - 2 GREAT SEXY LAMBERTO BAVA THRILLERS .......2006-02-13

Horror fans have never had it better. As pointed out by another reviewer here, obscure and undiscovered gems are popping up on cool collections like this one, thanks to sharp companies like Anchor Bay.

MACABRO is a twisted little erotic thriller based on an allegedly true story. Bava's first feature as director, it shows off his pedigree as a third generation filmmaker, a worthy heir to the legacy of his wonderfully talented and efficient father, Mario.

Set in New Orleans, the film is handsomely produced and beautifully directed. Bernice Stegers is scintillating as a mourning lover with a hideously perverse secret, spending a good deal of screen time in luscious lingerie. Stanko Molnar is endearing as her gentle, blind landlord, a role almost the opposite of the one he plays in our next film.

A BLADE IN THE DARK is something else altogether. As Lamberto Bava has stated in interviews, he's not really big on slasher movies. That said, this movie should be studied by anyone attempting the genre, because Bava nails it, almost to a T.

Whereas American slashers rely on the "imaginative" variety of ways a victim can be killed, this movie is less imaginative in that area, but much more intense for two reasons. The victims are well-developed and unique characters, done up with the greatest care in regards to their make-up and costuming.

A simple shot of Fabiola Toledo bending over a bathroom sink with her pantie-clad bottom exposed is charged with more eroticism than every t'n'a scene from the Friday 13th series strung together. This might seem a crude point, but sex is part of the survival drive, and its psychological effect is an important ingredient in all of the thriller genres. And while costumers of American slashers all seem to shop at Target or Walmarts to fit their lowly budgets, Italian costumers working on even skimpier budgets manage to procure items which look expensive as well as sensational.

In fact every set, costume, camera move and lighting set-up in a Bava film is first class. Like most Italian movies, the style and intelligence displayed from top to bottom blow away comparable Hollywood films, where the bloated budgets go to overvalued stars and an overwrought, hit-or-miss development process.

The only negative to either of these movies is an abrupt and somewhat predictable ending. But the ride along the way is extremely satisfying, with plenty of eye candy, perfectly executed efx, great music and several spill-your-popcorn scares.

The extras on this DVD are also very well-produced, including one which gives much-deserved credit to SCREENWRITER DARDANO SACCHETTI. Sacchetti had a hand in some of the best Italian horror films of the past three decades, including Fulci's ZOMBIE, DEMONS 1 & 2, CANNIBAL APOCALYPSE, HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, and dozens more.

Fans of Argento, Fulci and the Bavas need to check out Sacchetti's screen credits to see how important he was to the films they love. Kudos to Anchor Bay for including this tribute to the routinely overlooked screenwriter.

A light in the dark.......2003-11-19

There is still light in the dark for us,horror fans,because companies like Anchor bay bring us so fantastic DVDs for so fantastic price,and Amazon.com bring it to our homes.This is two horror films from legendary Italian director Lamberto Bava
for the price of one VHS.
Macabro is very slow film,it can goes faster,gorier,but if you have the right taste and time,it is not bad film.But Bava can make it better,like he did on second film on this DVD,classic giallo BLADE IN THE DARK.If you like films like DEEP RED or TENEBRE,and still not have it enough,even in this "bigger and with more and more special effects films" times,dont waste your time and get it.

Average customer rating:

I loved this movie!
This movie went South, straight to Hell right from the beginning.
This one's pretty bad
This movie sucks beyond belief
Semi-intriguing but lame.

South of Heaven, West of Hell
Starring: Luke Askew , Natalie Canerday , Matt Clark , Bud Cort , and Joe Ely
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005LMAL
Release Date: 2001-08-21

Amazon.com

If you've never heard of South of Heaven, West of Hell, there's an excellent reason. If you have heard of it, it's probably because you stumbled upon the information that it marks the directorial debut of singer-actor Dwight Yoakam, who managed to sweet-talk a spectacularly quirky cast into abetting the enterprise: current girlfriend Bridget Fonda and her papa Peter; indie-world luminaries Vince Vaughn and Billy Bob Thornton (for whom Yoakam made a memorably loathsome villain in Sling Blade); character-acting stalwarts Bo Hopkins, Matt Clark, Luke Askew, and Scott Wilson; and such icons of the florid fringe as Bud Cort, Paul Reubens, and Michael Jeter. All should file for workman's comp and alienation of audience affection because they got themselves mired in one of the dumbest, most inept, most tediously self-indulgent messes in the history of showbiz hubris.

Yoakam stars (you guessed?) as a U.S. marshal whose tiny Arizona town is literally annihilated by a clan of outlaws from his past. He and they used to be family. Now he has to track them down, even as they go on making life hell on earth for anyone in their path. That includes a hapless government man (B. Cort) whom they're keeping alive for sport, and a traveling lady (B. Fonda) who ... well, who's blonde and is mostly photographed in slow motion because she's the director's girlfriend (see above). It is beyond the scope of mortal man to describe how primitive are Yoakam's notions of dramaturgy (mostly there is just shouting and hair), how any coherent grasp of time or geography eludes him, how little difference it makes whether these gargoyles start killing each other in any given scene. It's just awful. And while we're at it, offal. --Richard T. Jameson

Customer Reviews:

I loved this movie!.......2007-09-04

I'm not great at writing reviews for movies, but I must say, I absolutely loved this film.. Yes, it is very different from any hard-and-fast, cheesy movies (for idiots) you will see in the theators today, but that is what sets it completely apart from every other boring, routine film. It is a western, and serves It does have a bit of swearing and brief nudity, more than I care for.. several scenes were hilarious and many ironically entertaining! I highly recommend seeing this movie before you accept everyone else's unnecessary bashing of it. I know I'll be looking for more Dwight Yoakam movies, and hope they carry along this style of entertainment.

This movie went South, straight to Hell right from the beginning........2007-06-27

The dialogue is artificial. The acting is ridiculous. The photography is beautiful. That's the only good thing about it.
Don't even rent this one.

This one's pretty bad.......2007-01-06

This has to be one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Bad acting, bad, dialogue, nonsensical plot; one can't begin to describe all of the things that are wrong with this movie. Paradoxically, the cinematography is pretty good, so in a way you end up thinking that you're not watching a movie as bad as it really is. I guess that's why I endured about 45 minutes of it before finally giving up on it--something I very rarely do, even with the worst of them.

This movie sucks beyond belief.......2006-05-18

This is by far the worst movie I have ever seen. I would rather push a nail through my finger then ever watch this movie again. Everyone please trust me when I say that you should not waste one penny on this film or take one second out of your lives to watch a moment of this film.

Semi-intriguing but lame........2006-05-01

There are some very intriguing scenes here, mostly underdone, to include fresh takes on the western perspective, nice landscape shots and setting with potentially great characters, but the dialogue was diseased with an excess of modern day cussing/linguistics and as such was absurdly out of historical context - noted lack of enthusiastic acting/acting skills /enough to make this a lame sort of semi-intriguing unintentional spoof.

Average customer rating:

Razor-sharp cynicism in a Western--a rare combination
Sharp, witty post-Watergate Western that's still relevant
Excellent
If you ever rooted for the bad guys...

Posse
Starring: Kirk Douglas , Bruce Dern , Bo Hopkins , James Stacy , and Luke Askey
Director: Kirk Douglas
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0001JXPVQ
Release Date: 2004-05-11

Customer Reviews:

Razor-sharp cynicism in a Western--a rare combination.......2004-11-10

One of the truly unique American Westerns, Posse finds Kirk Douglas as a pompous U.S. marshal--fittingly named Howard Nightingale (he's great at singing his own praises)--doing everything he can to drum up support in his bid for Senator from the great state of Texas.

Key to his campaign is the capture of Bruce Dern's infamous Jack Strawhorn, a cucumber-cool, sharpshooting robber whose bad luck in finding a gang worthy of his own smarts is echoed by Nightingale's great fortune at having a posse who never fails him.

Or so he thinks....

When Strawhorn is captured, the whole town cheers, but this is offset by Wesley, one of Nightingale's best posse guys, having a go with the mayor's wife...and with two other posse members finding love, as it were, with two younger members of the female gender in the town. Seems Nightingale's boys aren't too shy.

Things come to a head when the tables are turned, and the ending is a total shock for those expecting things to turn out the way they "should" in a Western which, let's face it, is supposed to typify the core of what's good and true in American civilization. The editor of the local newspaper, a former soldier now missing an arm and a leg, is intriguingly similar in his perspective to Strawhorn; this comes out in some subtle and not so subtle ways.

Douglas himself directed this piercing look at American greed and lust and acquitted himself admirably. One of the better entries in the American Western canon, Posse is all too close to political reality even today.

Definitely recommended.

Sharp, witty post-Watergate Western that's still relevant.......2004-09-02

Here's a perfect example of a small, quietly subversive film, obviously created in a specific time, whose message hasn't dated in the least. It's produced, directed by & stars Kirk Douglas as a Texas lawman with his sights on the Senate, perhaps even the Presidency. He travels in a special train provided by the railroads, whom he'll represent once in office; he has a handpicked posse to help him in his pursuit of train robber Bruce Dern, whose capture will assure a successful election. Douglas' lawman also travels with a photographer, who makes the most of every photo op, such as his early capture of outlaw Dern.

As this was made in 1975, it's very much a post-Watergate film. And as such, it's still quite relevant today. For example, when Douglas makes his big speech to the town after capturing Dern, invoking God & goodness & appealing to the pre-programmed traditional beliefs of the townspeople, you realize that by changing just one word in that speech -- by substituting "terrorists" for "criminals" -- it's the same empty rah-rah speech we hear so often today.

However, Dern doesn't want to hang, and he definitely doesn't want to be used as an election prop. I won't give away what happens next, but it's quite satisfying. The film also stars James Stacy, who had recently lost an arm & a leg in a horrendous motorcycle accident, as the town's newspaper man, wary of Douglas & of any ambitious politico. He obviously represented Vietnam vets at the time; now he'd just as easily represent maimed veterans returning from Iraq, or any war, sacrificed for the personal ambitions of a smarmy would-be leader.

The performances are excellent, and even the minor background characters are given fine moments of characterization. The dawning realization of some of the townspeople that they are being used is played for sadness rather than easy mockery, as they understand that they've agreed to their use (and abuse). All presented in a tidy 92 minutes! Highly recommended.

Excellent.......2002-09-21

This is my favorite Western of all time. Can't say enough good things about it.

If you ever rooted for the bad guys..........2000-08-14

then you should get a kick out of this one! fans of the offbeat and bruce Dern should like this western.this movie plays out like kind of a chess game between pat garrete and billy the kid,with whole trains and towns as pices. kirk douglas plays the railroad backed 'all guns, guts, and glory'marshal Nightingale who at a closer look reveals a darker side.his ambition makes him even worse than pat garrette.all he really cares about is winning a election to become a powerful U.S. senator.Evidence of this is in the way he makes arrests;his professionism is thrown out the window-He uses a Janet Reno style method to catch outlaws,taking no prisioners,caring little about taking them in alive,or recovering robbery mony. The two people who see through him the most are Dern,and a local journalist,who having lost limbs in war hates railroads and ambitous people.Kind of like the old Hamilton vs Jefferson;Hamilton represnting big banking and progress-while others dont like it they know its the way of the future.Many people dident like RxR's either. Bruce Dern is the outlaw Strawhorn,with a great understanding of human nature.Evidence of this is in the scence where just after shooting someone,in front of a horrified crowd,he shuts up a barking dog by throwing him a pice of meat.always trying to cloud good and evil,one of his most memorble quotes is when he tells Nightingale:'honest men only stay honest til it stops paying,thats why your a liar and Im a theif.' Nightingales' plan is simple:elimiate strawhorns gang, and to get elected-capture Strawhorn himself- simple plan but he finds it not as simple to carry out. After a member of Nightingales own posse ponders his future because he is an indian(Indians were often hired by the white man often performing beyond expectations but once the mission was over they were left out to dry)sets the scence to the climatic ending-its Stawhorn vs Nightingale: a chess match playing itself out to the end! Another quote I liked was 'what do we pay taxes for?' If you never saw this movie before try starting it 105 minutes into the movie then watch it again. Another offbeat Kirk Douglas western I would recomend is 'Lonely are the brave' with walter Mathau as sheriff.

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