On the Waterfront (Special Edition)

Amazon.com essential video

Marlon Brando's famous "I coulda been a contenda" speech is such a warhorse by now that a lot of people probably feel they've seen this picture already, even if they haven't. And many of those who have seen it may have forgotten how flat-out thrilling it is. For all its great dramatic and cinematic qualities, and its fiery social criticism, Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront is also one of the most gripping melodramas of political corruption and individual heroism ever made in the United States, a five-star gut-grabber. Shot on location around the docks of Hoboken, New Jersey, in the mid-1950s, it tells the fact-based story of a longshoreman (Brando's Terry Malloy) who is blackballed and savagely beaten for informing against the mobsters who have taken over his union and sold it out to the bosses. (Karl Malden has a more conventional stalwart-hero role, as an idealistic priest who nurtures Terry's pangs of conscience.) Lee J. Cobb, who created the role of Willy Loman in Death of Salesman under Kazan's direction on Broadway, makes a formidable foe as a greedy union leader. --David Chute

Customer Reviews:

A little trivia.......2007-08-07

I hate to be trivial about such a great film, but has anyone else noticed a weird flying insect land on karl malden when he's talking to a beat up dugan?

Early Brando reveals full-blown genius.......2007-06-27

Superb performances by Marlon Brando and Karl Malden and Eva Marie Saint in this raw, gritty classic of union corruption on the NYC waterfront, offers a study of Brando's profound ability to become the tormented "Terry" with every subtle change of expression a reflection of the inner man. The film is as fresh and gripping today as it was 50 years ago and bears watching again and again for anyone who claims to be a student of acting, cinemantography or just plain great films that don't need to rely on special effects for their impact. - A. Madsen, Baltimore

Redemption and rage........2007-05-27

On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954)

"I coulda been a contender!" That's the line everyone knows from On the Waterfront. It's funny, because to me, Marlon Brando's truly great scene in this movie comes about five minutes later, amid the fallout of the contender conversation. He's desperately trying to keep from breaking down, barking orders to his girlfriend while getting ready to start a one-man war against the city's crime bosses. It's great stuff. And here I was, having seen the contender excerpt at least a thousand times, thinking it was a movie about a washed-up boxer. Well, it is, but that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Terry Malloy (Brando) is a longshoreman, an ex-boxer who's been taken under the wing of union leader Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). As the movie opens, Terry is seen having a brief conversation with his acquaintance Jimmy, who is soon pushed to his death from the roof of a tenement building. Terry, disturbed by this, goes back to the bar out of which the union operates, protesting that he just thought "they were gonna lean on him a little." This begins Terry's long and painful journey from a longshoreman who follows the "deaf and dumb" code of the union to a man proud enough to stand up for himself and his fellow workers against the corruption at the higher levels of the union.

Man, this must have been a tough film to get through McCarthy's goons...

Amusing political peccadilloes aside, On the Waterfront really is a great movie. Kazan was at the height of his directorial power, and Brando was never better as an actor. Karl Malden, as a meddling priest willing to stand up for the little guy, does a fantastic job as well, and most of the rest of the cast range from good to great. (There are a few minor characters who seem to be there just for amusement's sake, but they don't get enough face time to really do much damage to the quality of the overall film.) If you haven't seen it, well, it's not just a movie about a washed-up boxer, that I can tell you. ****

Life on the Docks.......2007-05-13

This was the first AFI movie we saw en masse as a family and we loved it! Many generations of eyeballs were glued to the black and white images on the screen, following Brando as he went from a lowly mob thug to someone who stood up for what was right. The acting is phenomenal, and the environment is very down-to-earth and gritty. You really do feel that these people struggle to survive on the docks, to do what is right in a world full of greed and backstabbing.

While famous for Marlon Brando's famous line of "I coulda been a contender!" there are actually many lines of dialogue in here that stand out. The cinematography, the scenery, the faces of the men and women as they go about their lives, it really draws you in to the tough life they led. This definitely deserves to be in the top 10 of all films and is a great film to watch with friends and discuss afterwards.

As an aside, we were all intrigued by the metal tokens that the dock workers held in their hands as they waited on the docks, and it was amazing that in a room of 10 people of all ages, we didn't have any "real" knowledge of what was going on. We could of course make some educated guesses! But here is what I found.

As far back as the 1800s, dock workers were given metal tokens saying they were "signed up properly" to be able to work on the dock. This was to keep riff-raff and untrustworthy thieves off the docks, as well as making some money for the local guild or union. The workers would sign up beforehand and be given these metal circles, that were stamped with the local sign and in essence said "this man is a valid worker to choose".

Then each day as the ships came in, a certain number of gangs would be needed to haul the boxes. This could be only 10 men on a quiet day, or 200 men on a busy day. So each morning, all of the men who wanted to work would show up on the docks. The bosses would call out or list on a board what the day's requirements were. Then they would look out over the group and choose whoever seemed best suited. Each man would have to show his metal token as he went in to work, to prove he was in fact currently paid up and eligible.

In On the Waterfront, certain men were also giving coded winks and nods. These would be those men closest with the mob - the ones who had friends and who should be chosen first.

Pretty dated now, but still fine performances..........2007-03-31

Brando and Steiger and Malden and Cobb and Eva Marie Saint. Directed by Elia Kazan, who was on the right-wing side of the blacklist. A tale of corrupt unions and mobsters when American goods were imported and exported by ships which made New York a regular port of call. The story just wouldn't work the same if set in Houston or New Orleans or Los Angeles. You can tell this is 50 years old, but there are still acting lessons by the cargo-hold-ful visible on the screen. Everyone who claims to like movies needs to see it at least once.

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Terrible packaging.....
missing
Great for everybody!
scooby doo
Makes Us Smile Every Time

The Best of the New Scooby-Doo Movies
Starring: Don Messick , Casey Kasem , Frank Welker , Heather North , and Nicole Jaffe
Director: Joseph Barbera , and William Hanna
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
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ASIN: B0007939Q6
Release Date: 2005-03-22

Description

Kids who fell in love with the original Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? TV series were growing up and could now enjoy more sophisticated plots and characters. So along came the hour-long The New Scooby-Doo Movies, and what sets them delightfully and hilariously apart is the marvelous lineup of celebrity guest stars - The Harlem Globetrotters, Dick Van Dyke, The Three Stooges, Jonathan Winters, Don Knotts, "Mama" Cass Elliot, and Laurel and Hardy, plus the participation of other animated action heroes like Batman and Robin and Speed Buggy. This 4-Disc Deluxe Set with Stardusted Special Features presents 15 of the best and spookiest capers. It's no mystery that you're in for a classic good time!

Customer Reviews:

Terrible packaging............2007-08-29

This is the worst packaging Warner Jerks ever did, The disk get damaged and will not play in the DVD player, also the bonus features are a joke.

missing .......2007-08-15

I have loved Scooby-Doo since I was a kid. The series of movies are missing a few: Sonny & Cher, Tim Conway, Jose & the Pussycats, phyllis Diller, The Adams Family, Sandy Duncan. I think these are the only ones missing from the set. I also have the first, second and third seasons. Ther are epasodes missing from these as well. Were are the ones with Scooby-Dumb? Hopfully all these missing films will be found to help complete my Scooby collection.

Great for everybody!.......2007-04-18

My toddler loves the set of DVDs! She wants to watch one every day. Her daddy and I don't mind because these are the same episodes we watched after school when we were kids!

scooby doo.......2007-01-12

absolutely worth the money. all the scooby movies with famous people like don knotts, don adams, mama cass elliot, jonathon winters, the globetrotters, batman, the three stooges. my 3 year old now knows some wonderful actors and comedians from the past-my teenager doesn't know who they are! we watch them all the time.

Makes Us Smile Every Time.......2007-01-07

Few cartoon programs have stood the test of time as well as Scooby-Doo, and the new Scooby movies are such simple pleasures, generating smiles, giggles and goosebumps for the entire family. Not surprising, we have enjoyed a number of repeated viewings of these DVDs, and they have been well worth the money, that is for certain.

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Pretty 'Hot' Stuff......
Classic comedy
Best comedy ever
Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition)
No english subtitles?

Some Like It Hot
Starring: Dave Barry , Joe E. Brown , Marian Collier , Billy Gray , and John Indrisano
Director: Billy Wilder
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00003CXCR
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Amazon.com essential video

Maybe "nobody's perfect," as one character in this masterpiece suggests. But some movies are perfect, and Some Like It Hot is one of them. In Chicago, during the Prohibition era, two skirt-chasing musicians, Joe and Jerry (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon), inadvertently witness the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. In order to escape the wrath of gangland chief Spats Colombo (George Raft), the boys, in drag, join an all-woman band headed for Florida. They vie for the attention of the lead singer, Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe), a much-disappointed songbird who warbles "I'm Through with Love" but remains vulnerable to yet another unreliable saxophone player. (When Curtis courts her without his dress, he adopts the voice of Cary Grant--a spot-on impersonation.) The script by director Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is beautifully measured; everything works, like a flawless clock. Aspiring screenwriters would be well advised to throw away the how-to books and simply study this film. The bulk of the slapstick is handled by an unhinged Lemmon and the razor-sharp Joe E. Brown, who plays a horny retiree smitten by Jerry's feminine charms. For all the gags, the film is also wonderfully romantic, as Wilder indulges in just the right amounts of moonlight and the lilting melody of "Park Avenue Fantasy." Some Like It Hot is so delightfully fizzy, it's hard to believe the shooting of the film was a headache, with an unhappy Monroe on her worst behavior. The results, however, are sublime. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Pretty 'Hot' Stuff.............2007-08-30

SOME LIKE IT HOT is nothing short of classic cinema, directed by the brilliant Billy Wilder. Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) are two jazz musicians who witness a Valentine's Day massacre. One of the hoods responsible for this blood bath, "Spats" Colombo (George Raft) knows that the guys witnessed what went on and is out to knock them off before they squeal to the cops. These two guys need to get out of town--fast. What better way to do so but to join a travelling band? There's just one catch. It's an ALL WOMEN'S jazz band. Details, details. And, in the words of one of the characters, "Nobody's perfect." The two don wigs, girdles, skirts, and heels, and promptly apply for work with Sugar Kane (Marilyn Monroe) and her ensemble. This is only the beginning of a series of hilarious, outrageous and wildly entertaining events. What's more, just to make matters more complicated, Joe falls for Sugar and must adopt a second alter ego, apart from his role as her bandmate, and acquires a spot-on Cary Grant accent to go along with that persona.

This film is remarkably progressive and timeless. It's amazing to think that SOME LIKE IT HOT was made in the 1950s. Marilyn Monroe absolutely sizzles in her role as Sugar Kane and sings one of her most memorable songs, "I Want To Be Loved By You." She truly is the epitome of sexiness. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis are hilarious and Joe E. Brown plays a smitten millionaire who promptly falls in love with Lemmon's female alter ego on the spot. I won't divulge more plot twists, but, I will say that this film puts contemporary screwball comedies to shame. This is completely incomparable.

Classic comedy.......2007-07-25

I'll start off by saying that I love this movie, but it is just not one that I would consider one of the greatest of all time and thus deserving 5 stars. However, it is classic comedy and very original. Marilyn Monroe is perfect as Sugar Kane Kowalczyk. She is pure sugar and is so sweet you know exactly why Tony Curtis' Joe falls in love with her.

As for Tony and Jack Lemmon, they are comedy gold with great timing and hilarious faces as they get in and out of trouble while running from the mob dressed in drag. It just sounds so ridiculous you know it has to be good and it is.

Billy Wilder has made better movies, but this is one of his funniest.

Best comedy ever.......2007-07-22

Long before the AFI placed "Some Like It Hot" on top of their list of best comedies, it was my favorite. In fact, it became one of my favorites the first time I saw it, just a year or so after its release. Funny, funny stuff, with a perfect ensemble cast and a wonderful period setting. Plus, Marilyn was never better.

John

Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition).......2007-07-22

This has always been one of my favorite comedies and the set is really nice. I'm happy to now own it.

No english subtitles?.......2007-07-19

Seems awfully silly to include French and Spanish, and those languages in subtitles and not English! As I am getting older and my hearing is getting worse, I am finding I need the subtitles to get the subtle words and comments made in a film. Come on MGM, get with it and release this with English subtitles!

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All time Classic!
Enter the Dragon
Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon !!
Satisfied Customer
Clasic Bruce Lee

Enter the Dragon
Starring: Bruce Lee , John Saxon , Kien Shih , Ahna Capri , and Angela Mao
Director: Robert Clouse
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
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ASIN: 6304981635
Release Date: 1998-07-01

Amazon.com

The last film completed by Bruce Lee before his untimely death, Enter the Dragon was his entrée into Hollywood. The American-Hong Kong coproduction, shot in Asia by American director Robert Clouse, stars Lee as a British agent sent to infiltrate the criminal empire of bloodthirsty Asian crime lord Han (Shih Kien) through his annual international martial arts tournament. Lee spends his days taking on tournament combatants and nights breaking into the heavily guarded underground fortress, kicking the living tar out of anyone who stands in his way. The mix of kung fu fighting (choreographed by Lee himself) and James Bond intrigue (the plot has more than a passing resemblance to Dr. No) is pulpy by any standard, but the generous budget and talented cast of world-class martial artists puts this film in a category well above Lee's primitive Hong Kong productions. Unfortunately he's off the screen for large chunks of time as American maverick competitors (and champion martial artists) John Saxon and Jim Kelly take center stage, but once the fighting starts Lee takes over. The tournament setting provides an ample display of martial arts mastery of many styles and climaxes with a huge free-for-all, but the highlight is Lee's brutal one-on-one with the claw-fisted Han in the dynamic hall-of-mirrors battle. Lee narrows his eyes and tenses into a wiry force of sinew, speed, and ruthless determination. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

All time Classic!.......2007-08-20

Enter The Dragon was the first collaboration between an American and Chinese film company. ETD is the classic kung fu movie. It has fighting, mystery, sex appeal a bit of blaxploitation too. This is the defining Bruce Lee movie of all time.

Enter the Dragon.......2007-08-13

If your a Bruce Lee fan of just a fan of martial arts, Enter the Dragon is a must have DVD.

Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon !!.......2007-07-21

Bruce Lee , the fastest and greatest fighter to ever walk on planet earth !! The most diciplined,physically fit and most dominate martial arts teacher,fighter and trainer in world history ! Watch bruce lee in enter the dragon !! A must bruce lee dvd for your collection !! A wonderful box set full of extras !!

Satisfied Customer.......2007-07-08

As the customer, I was very satisfied with the deal. The DVD though used
had been maintained well.
Percy Ranasinghe

Clasic Bruce Lee.......2007-07-04

Probably the best known of Bruce Lee's films, this one has a great cast of supporting actors who were skilled martial artists in their own style.Lot's of great action and a great display of Bruce's unsurpassed skill. Excellent quality of video and audio. This is one of the best remastered films I've seen.

Average customer rating:

poor special edition..dts???
Just on the Nostalgia value alone
a must for all burt reynolds fans.
A MUST HAVE
A fun movie even with the errors.

Smokey and the Bandit - Special Edition
Starring: Burt Reynolds , Sally Field , Jerry Reed , Mike Henry , and Paul Williams (III)
Director: Hal Needham
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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ASIN: B000EQHXOG
Release Date: 2006-05-30

Product Description

Burt Reynolds stars as the Bandit in this seminal portrayal of rough-ridin', beer-swillin', sheriff-dodgin', trouble-chasin' truckers. The Bandit's has taken on his craziest haul yet: a trailer full of Coors beer. If he can deliver the goods from Texarcana to Atlanta within forty-eight hours, he'll be $80,000 richer. Hilarious mayhem ensues, however, when the Bandit falls for a runaway bride (Sally Field). As they push toward Atlanta, the two have to evade Fields' vengeful father-in-law, Texas Sheriff Buford T. Justice (Jackie Gleason as the maniac "Smokey" of the title). The stakes get higher and the car chases more frenzied in this hysterical romp through the American highways. Charismatic performances by Reynolds and Gleason made this a huge box office draw. ITA winner. Academy Award Nominations: Best Film Editing.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

It's easy to assume this is just another dumb redneck comedy from Burt Reynolds's years of underachievement. But it's not bad as a dumb redneck comedy at all. Directed by career stuntman Hal Needham, Smokey and the Bandit is just a goofy chase starring a bunch of Reynolds's Hollywood cronies. New to the job as film boss, Needham brings a silly but energized sensibility to the production and an action man's need to see things moving. But he also has a distinctive feeling for relationships, and he's good with a joke. Put all that together, and Smokey is, at the very least (and unlike its sequels), a simple and original pleasure. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

poor special edition..dts???.......2007-08-23

Ok for the nostalgia and the fun out of it.this will remain a classic.as for the special edition the pictures are ok but the sound has nothing to see with DTS exept the first 2 seconds when the truck starts the engine. the rest is a poor mono stéréo downmix..mostly mono in te central speaker.
Concerning the Hd dvd version reviews seem to go in the same direction.

Just on the Nostalgia value alone.......2007-05-31

I had forgotten how much fun the late 70's were. After seeing this on CMT and other channels a few times, my feeling was that "this sucks just as bad as I remember". But after seeing it on DVD in its entirety without commercial interruption(ha), the pacing and flow of the movie seems to stand up well, even though if you made this film today, it would only run 38 minutes, because all the car chase scenes would be edited in milliseconds. Not a bad period piece from 197X, at all.

a must for all burt reynolds fans........2007-05-12

the trans am in this film is one of my favorite cars ever. i used to hae this film on tape till it got eaten by my last vcr. i just had to get this dvd.

A MUST HAVE.......2007-05-07

A classic for all time. you have to own the Bandit. See the movie that Made Burt one of the best.

A fun movie even with the errors........2007-03-20

I saw this movie when it first came to the theater. No such thing as video back then. This movie set off the Firebird craze and furthered the CB craze. It is a fun movie in spite of the 50+ obvious continuity errors in it. Some of the really obvious errors range from evidence of previous takes of a scenes (Tire marks on the pavement) to watching a Firebird accelerating as if it has a 4 speed transmission only later to see an automatic transmission gear shift, to watching the order of other prop cars change. Even when "Frog" has her feet out the window while going down the road in the next shot, where her head is on the console, the transmission shifter is in neutral.

Get the movie and watch it. Its fun in spite of the errors.

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GRIPPING!
A Place in the Sun
A bizarre little love triangle.
Not The Best But Hardly The Worst Little Film!
A legendary film classic by a master filmmaker

A Place in the Sun
Starring: Robert Anderson , Gertrude Astor , Raymond Burr , Lois Chartand , and Ken Christy
Director: George Stevens
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: B00003CXBZ
Release Date: 2001-08-21

Amazon.com essential video

George Stevens won an Oscar for his 1951 adaptation of Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy, though the film seems a little overwrought today and even self-parodying at times. Still, Montgomery Clift's performance as a poor lad so drawn to a rich, beautiful girl (Elizabeth Taylor) that he contemplates killing his lower-class fiancée (Shelley Winters) is powerful, sympathetic, and mesmerizing. Taylor makes a strong impression, but Winters is awfully good in the less-glamorous role. The tone of the film is oppressive--the film doesn't exactly breathe with possibility--but there are lots of good reasons to give this movie a visit. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

GRIPPING!.......2007-08-24

I've never been a fan of either Elizabeth Taylor or Montgomery Clift - not to mention Shelley Winters! However, this screenplay is so gripping that all that meant nothing. The story of star-crossed lovers is as old as Romeo & Juliet. But this movie makes it all brand new once more.

I recommend this film to anyone who enjoys true suspense at its finest.

A Place in the Sun.......2007-06-25

Veteran director Stevens adapted this Academy Award winner from Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy". This cautionary tale of a doomed love triangle holds you captive, buoyed by charismatic performances from both Clift and Taylor. Yet the young Winters shines brightest in the most unglamorous of parts, stealing the movie from its photogenic stars, and netting herself an Oscar nod. (Stevens actually won for Best Director).

A bizarre little love triangle........2007-04-11

A Place in the Sun starring Montogmery Cliff, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelly Winters is a moody, rich, and very melodramatic movie of its time. This film probably wouldn't work in today's standards of movie cinema, it's long and shallow but the acting is superb and the story of a man in love with two very different women is a timeless storyline. Montogmery Cliff was a gorgeous and striking young man, he grabs your attention in the very first scene. Taylor and Winters shine in their roles, Taylor has never looked more beautiful and Winters is understated and completely flawless as a dramatic actress. This film is worth a viewing and by the way it's driected by George Stevens so you can't go wrong with that. A Place in the Sun is a movie you'll want to visit every now and then.

Not The Best But Hardly The Worst Little Film!.......2007-04-10

The quality of the DVD is first rate. The sound is good the picture quality is really pretty good with no distracting cuts tears lines or streaks. I too saw this picture initially on TCM and it was good. I do not fault how halting timid and one dimensional the character execution and plot development is in A Place in the Sun too much. I am old enough to remember how strict censorship was in back when this picture was produced. Oh yeah by todays standards "A Place In The Sun is a movie whose content is positively tepid. Compared to todays sexpot movies where if audiences are not treated to at least one bare no holds barred naked sex scene in a flick they feel profoundly ill used indeed.

An old movie has to be evaluated for its daring in the context of the time in which it was made. For its time A Place in the Sun explored subject matter of class in our so called classless american society, young mom's having babies out of wedlock and tangentally touching on abortion. In early 1950's "perfect america each of these subjects were potential third rails not only hollywood but state and local censors could use to deny or restrict a films screen time or availability. Could the story have been told better, yes. Could the staff and actors taken a few more risks or wrote the picture to bring the issues and passions into more clear believable focus again yes indeedy.

The writing if nothing else could have been written tighter to suggest things censors would have cut for sure if shown. Other well made pictures have used writing to convey indirectly subjects censors of the day would never allowed direct explorartion of. All that said Looked at with an eye to when it was made A Place in The Sun while not perfect picture is for its time a gutsy attempt to show a slice of American life that seldom got explored with the depth and sensitivity you experience in its viewing.

I will take one star off for A Place In The Sun writers who in my humble opinion did not go far enough to develop tightly defined characters using indirect methods that would have conveyed greater depth of personality and passion than could be shown directly in a 1950's era film. I give A Place in the Sun an A- for an awesome effort. I think A Place In The Sun deserves a place in any collection of great old movies because, while not perfect its acting is powerful and its writing explores taboo subjects with a degree of sensitivity that make it worth watching.

A legendary film classic by a master filmmaker.......2007-04-03

I watched producer-director George Stevens' production of A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951, Paramount) on DVD for the first time ever last night. Winner of six Oscars, including Stevens' sensitive direction and the adapted screenplay, it packs an emotional wallop and is a true film classic. Theodore Dreiser's novel, AN AMERICAN TRAGEDY, has been updated by writers Michael Wilson and Harry Brown to post-World War Two Nevada. Montgomery Clift is ideally cast as millionaire mill owner's son George Eastman, who befriends a homely, but sweet and likeable factory worker named Alice Tripp (a never-better Shelley Winters). George gets promotions through hard work and falls in love with Alice, eventually getting her pregnant. But he won't marry her because he also is smitten by glamorous rich girl Ann Vickers (Elizabeth Taylor in her first truly adult role).

So we have a love triangle with a factory worker in love with a rich woman and a poor woman. George wants to basically dump Alice so he can be with and maybe marry Ann. The wealthy Eastman family is all for the marriage and does not know about Alice at all. George wants Alice to get an abortion and stay out of his life, but she demands that he marry her or she will tell everything to the Eastman family. Only Ann knows about Alice, and she sticks by George; the two share one of cinema history's greatest kisses during a party. And you thought YOU had problems. George has to find a way to get rid (i.e., murder) Alice and marry Ann. Ah yes, convenient Lake Tahoe, a rental rowboat under an alias, and poor Alice cannot swim. Hmm. We are at the 75 minute mark of a 122 minute movie that is gripping and enormously engrossing.

A PLACE IN THE SUN has been painstakingly made by one of Hollywood's greatest producer-directors--and a former cameraman for Laurel and Hardy back in the late 1920s. William Mellor's exquisite B&W photography is velvety rich, setting up visual contrasts between the worlds of Ann and Alice, along with elegant slow dissolves to also set up social contrasts; Franz Waxman's score is beautiful and sad. Both gentlemen won Oscars here in a year that included A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE and AN AMERICAN IN PARIS. I was born in a great movie year.

The climax and ending to A PLACE IN THE SUN are sad and easy to guess. Anne Revere is superb in a small role as George's poverty level missionary mother. The finale packs a real punch in a movie with three truly immortal performances. This may be one of the great movie dramas of all time. Rent it, or watch for it monthly on Turner Classic Movies cable. It is on again in April.

Average customer rating:

family fun
Davy Crockett 2 Movie set
Davy Crockett - Two Movie Set
Watch over and over
Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

Davy Crockett -Two Movie Set
Starring: Fess Parker , Buddy Ebsen , Basil Ruysdael , Hans Conried , and William Bakewell
Director: Norman Foster
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001I55WO
Release Date: 2004-09-07

Description

Fess Parker captured the hearts of millions with his strong, confident portrayal of the legendary king of the wild frontier. Climb aboard for two rip-roaring adventures with Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) and his trusty companion George (Buddy Ebsen) as they encounter dangerous rapids, treacherous river pirates, a tomahawk duel, and excitement at every turn.

Customer Reviews:

family fun.......2007-07-20

I bought this a gift for my son who loves davy crockett. The whole family has enjoyed it. They learned about other american folk heros like Mike Fink and started reading books about these people. Okay it isn't politically correct now but that's just the way it was back then. Relax enjoy and laugh.

Davy Crockett 2 Movie set.......2007-05-09

Brought back the good ol' days. Great family entertainment and a peek of American folklore.

Davy Crockett - Two Movie Set.......2007-03-09

This item was purchased as a gift. He grew up watching Davy Crockett as a boy and sang along with the movies. He really enjoyed them, and I am sure he will watch them time and time again.

Watch over and over.......2007-01-12

I grew up watching, my kids grew up watching and now a grand child is watching!

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier.......2007-01-04

This movie came out when my sons were small. We went to see it in Cincinnati. After the movie, Fess Parker and Buddy Ebson were in person greeting the youngsters.
I purchased it for my son this Christmas for him to watch with his grandson. They watched it twice (both DVD's) the day after Christmas. Joe is still "hooked" on the movie after all these years and now his grandson, Cody, as well.
I copied all the verses of the song off the internet for "them."

Average customer rating:

Pretty 'Hot' Stuff......
Classic comedy
Best comedy ever
Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition)
No english subtitles?

Some Like It Hot
Starring: Marilyn Monroe , Tony Curtis , Jack Lemmon , George Raft , and Pat O'Brien
Director: Billy Wilder
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005A06N
Release Date: 2001-05-22

Amazon.com essential video

Description

When Chicago musicians Joe (Tony Curtis) and Jerry (Jack Lemmon) accidentally witness a gangland shooting, they quickly board a southbound train to Florida, disguised as Josephine and Daphne, the twonewestand homeliestmembers of an all-girl jazz band. Their cover is perfect...until a lovelorn singer (Marilyn Monroe) falls for Josephine, an ancient playboy (Joe E. Brown) falls for Daphne, and a mob boss (George Raft) refuses to fall for their hoax! Nominated* for 6 Academy Awards(r), Some Like It Hot is the quintessential madcap farce and one of the greatest of all film comedies (The Motion Picture Guide). *1959: Director, Actor (Lemmon), Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography (B&W), Art Direction (B&W), Costume Design (B&W, winner)

Customer Reviews:

Pretty 'Hot' Stuff.............2007-08-30

Classic comedy.......2007-07-25

Best comedy ever.......2007-07-22

Some Like It Hot (Collector's Edition).......2007-07-22

This has always been one of my favorite comedies and the set is really nice. I'm happy to now own it.

No english subtitles?.......2007-07-19

Average customer rating:

The Spook biz...
AND NOW, IT'S FEEDIN' TIME.......
One of the Film Noir Greats
A Geek through A Glass Darkly
Tyrone Power at his darkest

Nightmare Alley (Fox Film Noir)
Starring: Tyrone Power , Joan Blondell , Coleen Gray , Helen Walker , and Taylor Holmes
Director: Edmund Goulding
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007ZEO8C
Release Date: 2005-06-07

Amazon.com

The long-awaited emergence of Nightmare Alley into the light of DVD should achieve two things: make a legendary film noir available to a new generation, and restore the horrific charge to the lately watered-down term geek, a concept that once had the power to give people very bad dreams indeed.

To his lasting credit, Tyrone Power--20th Century Fox's extraordinarily handsome but not terribly interesting star of the '30s and '40s--begged for the chance to play Stan Carlisle, the predatory charmer who snakes his way through this bracingly unwholesome story. A spieler for--and lover of--carnival mind reader Zeena (Joan Blondell), he displays uncanny skill at "reading" the susceptible rubes, including a tough sheriff who turns to jelly after Stan psychs him out. Once Stan's mastered the intricate code used in Zeena's act, he's set to dump her for the younger, sexier Molly (Coleen Gray) and go bigtime as nightclub psychic "Stanton the Great." After that, it's only a blasphemous bank shot to superstardom as a miracle worker with his own tabernacle and radio show.

Few '40s films ventured as deeply into cynicism as Nightmare Alley, or dealt so frankly with sexuality (with ripplings of polymorphous perversity yet) and power-tripping. The movie's rhythm is uncertain and Jules Furthman's screenplay telegraphs things, but the overall tone is remarkable, as are individual sequences: the freaky forced marriage of Stan and Molly in accordance with carny morality, and a creepy night scene in a park when Stanton the Great raises a ghost for a high-society client. Cinematographer Lee Garmes's chiaroscuro creates a relief map of the carnival world and what passes for life there. As for the geek... well, you'll find out what geek means. Stan does. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

In this engaging melodrama, Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a lowlife working in a carnival. Knowing a good con when he sees one, he learns the tricks of a mind-reading act from Zeena (Joan Blondell), then tosses her aside. In time, he becomes ?The Great Stanton,? star attraction of swanky nightclubs and the darling of society. But with all his notoriety built on lies, it?s only a matter of time before exposure brings Stanton?s world crashing down around him.

Customer Reviews:

The Spook biz..........2007-08-14

"Throughout the ages, man has sought to look behind the veil that hides him from tomorrow. And through the ages, certain men have looked into the polished crystal... and seen. Is it some quality of the crystal itself, or does the gazer merely use it to turn his gaze inward? Who knows? But visions come. Slowly shifting their forms... visions come." - Pete Krumbein.

Stanton Calisle is a young carnie fascinated by the denizens of the carnival midway, especially the mental acts, and the faux psychic Zeena in particular, who puts on quite a remarkable show. Through a series of clever manipulations, he plays the rubes well with the best of them, with a goal to learn a secret code shared between Zeena and her drunkard husband Pete. He exploits this weakness, handing him his very own bottle of what he thought was 'moonshine', but turns out to be the wood alcohol Zeena uses in her act. After his 'accidental' death, he takes his place and learns the code well, travelling from town to town fleecing the local yokel boobs.

Besides her psychic show, Zeena really does believe in Tarot* cards, and had previously prognosticated the demise in 'the hanged man' beside the 'Death' card {reversed}, signifying a negative change.

Stan's natural talents really shine forth when he so expertly cold reads the local marshall... the kid has it! He was initially fixing on arresting Zeena and the lovely Molly, A.K.A. 'Electra', who is a living electricity conductor, for indecent exposure. Stan explains that she needs to wear that skimpy outfit, otherwise any regular clothing would catch fire. He then begins to regail him with all manner of personal information and seeming 'psychic' impressions, all the while implanting covert suggestions, both amazing the Marshall and buying time for the crew to clear out the crowd and pack it up.

During the ensuing celebration, Zeena and Bruno become jealously aware of Molly's infatuation with Stan, roughing him up to inspire another plan. Turns out that Molly helped Zeena in teaching Stan 'the code'; so they decide to leave the carnival and go into the big time together, at first playing swanky night clubs, and eventually theatres to an audience of social elites. Ingeniously pegging each question flawlessly, he becomes a sensation as 'Stanton The Great', a darling of the rich.

Here is where he meets psychiatrist, the beautiful Lilith Ritter during a cold reading at a performance, in which he divulges that she was attempting to trip him up with a trick question. This impresses her enough that they should meet at her office, wherein he discovers some of her own methods of hypnosis; recordings of her wealthy patients' innermost thoughts during sessions could prove very valuable, veritably turning that berg on its ear! They eventually strike a deal, and go into the spook biz together.

Now with all this additional information, he ups the anti from 'psychic impression' to 'perceiving the dead', he gains the interest of a wealthy Lady who receives such comfort from his reassuring words about her dead daughter, that she vows monetary support, even mentioning bestowing him his own tabernacle!

Zeena and Bruno decide to visit their former friend, the now wildly successful mentalist, wherein during the visitation, Zeena reads the Tarot cards which again predict ruin by 'the hanged man', which actually represents stasis / 'life in suspension'. Annoyed by the reading, he kicks them out, although the card seems to assert itself...

Soon thereafter, Carlisle is faced with his greatest challenge - at the behest of a Mr. Grindle, if he can produce a vision of his long-lost love 'Dorie', his dead fiance', he will be paid a small fortune. Despite her protests, being her approximate age and appearence, he gets Molly in on the scam; but when Grindle pours his heart out in the garden, she breaks her etheric composure, effectively ruining his career marking him as a sham, so he goes on the lam without Molly to keep her out of danger. A classic bittersweet train station scene ensues.

On his way out of town in a cab, he realizes he has been had by rotten Ritter, who had replaced $100's with singles, and tries to convince him that he is crazy when confronted. Everybody's on the take. He flees amidst police sirens.

With the loss of his career and wife, he plunges into obscurity and alcohol abuse, keeping the company of dregs, until realizing he must return to the midway, from the bottom up once again. Attempting to gain the position of 'magician' as 'Shiek Abracadabra', which are a dime a dozen nowadays, he is promised a bottle a day and a place to sleep it off, if he can fill the role of... geek. The geek is some sort of wild, filthy hursuit humanoid deformaty said to eat live chickens. At least, that description is for the rubes, and spells good business. Suffering the fate of previous geeks, he is reduced to an undignified level until recognized by none other than his dear Molly, who cares for him thereafter.

CONCLUSION

Carlisle went full circle, eventually finding himself in the same position, quoting the very same words uttered to him by lush Pete Krumbein, and as a matter of fact, here and there, one can actually hear the faint frantic mumblings of the geek while on his way to descent. Had those gypsy tarot cards actually predicted his downfall, or was it all just a self-fulfilling prophesy? Perhaps a bit of both...

Nightmare Alley strips away the pretentions of those populating the 'spiritualist' spook biz, from so-called 'psychics' to mediums, even including the jesus racket, revealing the true nature of selfish intent, profiting from the neuroses and emotional suffering of the gullible, sometimes believing their own spiel. Whether in the carnival or in an office, "it takes one to catch one..." While the plot outlines these predatory factors, it also manages to sustain an underlying sensation of a dark energy pervaiding. Through these deceptions, it seems there are certain machinations operating in the characters' lives which cannot be denied, but which are actually malleable.

Throughout the film, one will notice proliferous uses of trapezoidal angles, pentagrams, and uses of various light and shadow techniques somewhat reminiscient of shauerfilm productions, creating an eerie atmosphere both entertaining and stimulating.

_________
* Word to the interested: "Tarot" derives from an Egyptian, not a french origin, it is pronounced 'tarot' like 'merit', not with the typical accent 'terroh'. The thing about such oracles, is that they are not inevitable predictions, but rather can serve as warnings so that the subject may pay attention to such matters and effectively modify situations by avoiding such obstacles.

AND NOW, IT'S FEEDIN' TIME..............2007-06-30

Somehow I saw this film when I was 8 years old and it scared the hell out of me. I have never forgotten it and was very glad when the DVD was released.
Now that I am 51 years old, and know the subtle pleasures of the noir genre, I can only say that this movie has improved like a fine wine: not the rotgut swill that The Stanton the Great eventually accepts as his pay. Tyrone Power is at his best, Joan Blondell is a perfectly bitchy carny queen, and all the rest are equally terrific.
Without adding any spoilers, I'll just say that this movie explores a side of human depravity rarely seen in the majority of films---today or during the forties.
It is ironic to me that I accepted a position as Executive Chef for Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus from 1998 to 2001. No, we did not have any carnival geeks, but we had many, many crackhead zombies in the lower unskilled crews. Who else is going to stand behind an elephant with a shovel?
And believe it or not, you can still catch a carnival geek performance in Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia!

One of the Film Noir Greats.......2007-02-01

"Nightmare Alley" was released by Twentieth-Century Fox in 1947, the same year that another film noir classic, "Out of the Past", was released by RKO. Neither film touched off the kind of immediate box office sparks that each movie deserved, but in the manner of classics, it often takes time to appreciate these rare gems but as time elapses the positive responses multiply.

An old personal friend, Mike Mazurki, experienced some of his proudest moments of his career in "Nightmare Alley" along with another noir favorite of his from the same period in which he appeared, "Murder, My Sweet." Mike, who was juggling his acting career alongside headlining wrestling cards in the Los Angeles area in arenas such as Olympic Auditorium, Hollywood Legion Stadium, and Ocean Park Arena, had mixed feelings when he retrospectively looked back on working alongside Tyrone Power in "Nightmare Alley."

Mazurki was delighted to be in the film, and happy that this time he was not playing a ruthless criminal, even though he acknowledged that he had no complaints playing Moose Malloy in "Murder, My Sweet" opposite Dick Powell and Claire Trevor. While he remained forever proud of "Nightmare Alley" as a great film, one memory about the film saddened him.

"Ty Power was so great in `Nightmare Alley,'" Mike exclaimed, "but he never even got an Oscar nomination after turning in such a great performance. Edmund Goulding did a great job in directing Ty and all of us."

Mazurki knew how the business operated. Twentieth was placing its promotional dollars and emphasis elsewhere and as a result Power did not receive the kind of build-up deemed essential to gain recognition in the competitive Academy Awards sweepstakes.

One year earlier, in 1946, Power appeared in "The Razor's Edge," an adaptation of a Somerset Maugham novel, which Edmund Goulding also directed. The British director, who began as an actor in silent films, provided the kind of attentive care to Power and other performers in "Nightmare Alley" to produce a milestone film. Twentieth-Century Fox boss Darryl Zanuck put more money into promoting "The Razor's Edge" and Anne Baxter walked off with a Best Supporting Actress statuette on Oscar night.

Power, as one of the screen's matinee idols, fought to overcome an unfair "pretty boy" tag when he was far more than a handsome face and proved when given the chance to be an accomplished actor. "Nightmare Alley" provided him with such a chance as he performs with virtuoso skill in a challenging role of a con artist and glib pitch man along the order of Burt Lancaster in "Elmer Gantry," for which the muscular Hollywood veteran received a Best Actor Oscar.

While Mazurki attempts to warn young and vulnerable Coleen Gray about linking her heart to Power, a man he sees as flaw-ridden, the opportunistic con man finds more common ground with the more experienced Helen Walker. When Power cuts loose with his routine audiences get the chance to see a screen craftsman on display.

As a superb dramatic vehicle for Tyrone Power, "Nightmare Alley" stands alongside Rouben Mamoulian's bullfighting gem "Blood and Sand," when the actor teamed up with Twentieth beauties Rita Hayworth and Linda Darnell, and "Alexander's Ragtime Band," where he played opposite the studio's stunning blonde box office champ, Alice Faye.

Zanuck knew the value of Tyrone Power. He apparently erred, however, in not marshalling more publicity effort into "Nightmare Alley." This is truly convincing film noir at its peak and this DVD comes along at a time when the genre is riding high.

A Geek through A Glass Darkly.......2006-10-18

I don't know how I got through life without seeing this one before. Ty Power is a fledgling carny barker. He sets up the mind-reading performance of Zeena (Joan Blondell), who is married to a drunk, named Pete, who used to do a mentalist act in Vaudeville with her. A sophisticated code was used which allowed the mentalist to 'read' people's minds.

The carny atmosphere adds to the seediness of it all. Ty is a heel and a cad. He thinks of no one but himself. He wants that code so he and Blondell can be headliners again.

Mike Mazurski is the Carny strongman Bruno, who is jealous of his girl Molly's attentions to Stan (Tyrone Power). There are all kinds of female diversions around for Stan, but he is intent upon getting the code that kept Blondell and her hubby aloft in vaudeville.

Thematically at the center of the story is a horrendous, half animal human being called the Geek. He's the headliner of the sideshow. He's not actually shown at this juncture. Another practiced carny barker with a straw boater and a bamboo cane touts his qualities to an audience while tossing the Geek two live chickens to gobble.

Stan accidentally kills Pete by grabbing a bottle of wood alcohol from the prop trunk, which he thought was the bottle of moonshine he had bought from the Carny bootlegger. He is mortified to learn he is responsible for Pete's death, but he takes the trouble to retrieve the moonshine bottle still in the prop trunk and hide it.

Stan is soon caught by Zeena and Bruno romancing Molly, Bruno's girl, and somehow the two of them leave the circus and take a mentalist show onto the nightclub circuit.

Zeena has read Stan's fate in her Tarot cards. It is the same as her husband Pete's fate. Stan keeps struggling with this.

Its a thoroughly interesting movie, better than most produced today. The hallmark of a good movie is that it keeps you guessing about what's going to happen next.

Fox has polished this one up and served it as an example of Film Noir. Noir is so hot on DVD that every black and white drama before 1959 is being considered for the noir treatment. But this one doesn't qualify even if it is a good film.

Film Noir drifted out of pulp magazines of the thirties like Black Mask, where Hammett, Chandler and James M. Cain had flourished, into movies, beginning around 1940. Some argue the Maltese Falcon of John Huston was Noir, but the French defined Noir (black). Even though Hollywood filmmakers had created Noir, it was not recognized until Jean Luc Godard and others started writing about it in the French magazine Cahiers Du Cinema in the late fifties.

The shadows, action and music accompanying the black and white cinematography of that era were what made Noir Noir. The Maltese Falcon was too static and stagy to qualify as noir. The first good example of Noir by my definition is Out of the Past with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas and the most outlandish series of landscapes ever stuffed into a single movie. A moment in Out of the Past captures what Noir is. Mitchum's face is seen in half shadow lighting a cigarette as he turns slightly to confront something happening behind him in the half-lit darkness. All Noir has the usual poisonous darkness of the central character, but that's not really enough. Real Noir has the shadowed faces and the Noir lighting at a moment when active violence is in progress or in the offing. Its a concoction of effects that stirs the viewer to just the right level of appreciation. Its something some of the better filmmakers tried to add to what the Hard-Boiled pulp writers had created between pages.

Tyrone Power at his darkest.......2006-10-07

Produced by none other than George Jessel, "Nightmare Alley" is a bizarre trip into madness and degradation.
Ty Power gives one of his strongest performances and is backed with a strong supporting cast.
The plot has been outlined in detail by other reviewers, so I won't go into that here.
This DVD was made from a good print and the transfer is excellent. It also contains some bonus extras.
All-in-all, a "must see" for film noir fans.

The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy)

Average customer rating:

Tracy and Hepburn - What a Duo
A Must See....
Two of the best actors, three of their best films
"Hepburn...Tracy...Stevens...Cukor ~ Katharine & Spencer (1940 - 1967)"
movies

The Hepburn & Tracy Signature Collection (Woman of the Year / Pat and Mike / Adam's Rib / The Spencer Tracy Legacy)
Starring: Spencer Tracy , Katharine Hepburn , Judy Holliday , Tom Ewell , and David Wayne
Director: George Cukor , and David Heeley
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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