Cinema Paradiso (Two-Disc Deluxe Edition)

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Giuseppe Tornatore's beautiful 1988 film about a little boy's love affair with the movies deservedly won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film and a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. Philippe Noiret plays a grizzled old projectionist who takes pride in his presentation of screen dreams for a town still recovering from World War II. When a child (Jacques Perrin) demonstrates fascination not only for movies but also for the process of showing them to an audience, a lifelong friendship is struck. This isn't just one of those films for people who are already in love with the cinema. But if you are one of those folks, the emotional resonance between the action in Tornatore's world and the images on Noiret's screen will seem all the greater--and the finale all the more powerful. --Tom Keogh

Amazon.com

Cinema Paradiso's complex, interwoven tales of wartime Italy, a boy's coming of age, and the history of cinema can be viewed in their entirety on the Director's Cut included in this Deluxe Edition. Director Giuseppe Tornatore's additional 50 minutes of footage provides closure for the saga's detailing Alfredo's death, and Salvatore Di Vita's lost relationship with his teenage love, Elena. Most of the 50 minutes serves as a continuation of the story, rather than as previously deleted scenes. The original, already celebrated Cinema Paradiso follows Toto (Jacques Perrin), a Sicilian boy who persuades the town projectionist, Alfredo (Philippe Noiret), to teach him how to show films. Spanning nearly 50 years, the film craftily draws parallels between Toto's life and those lives he sees on screen. As Toto matures into Salvatore, a successful Italian filmmaker, the Cinema Paradiso ages as well. Salvatore's return home for Alfredo's funeral is also a goodbye to his Paradiso, demolished to become a parking lot. The film's heightened sense of nostalgia subtly mirrors our humanistic love of movies, making it a tribute to cinema as an artistic genre. The Director's Cut can be fulfilling if one felt unsatisfied by the more ambiguous ending of the theatrical release, but it also feels slightly overwrought. Two documentaries in this package feature fans and critics praising Cinema Paradiso, proving its endurance as a classic. However, as Salvatore discovers over the course of the film, there is no need to improve a masterpiece. --Trinie Dalton

Description

A famous film director returns home to a Sicilian village for the first time after almost 30 years. He reminisces about his childhood at the Cinema Paradiso here Alfredo, the projectionist, first brought about his love of films. He is also reminded of his lost teenage love, Elena, ho he had to leave before he left for Rome. Cinema Paradiso is one of the most beloved Foreign films of all time! Winner of the 1990 Oscar for Best Foreign Film!

Customer Reviews:

Truly Affecting, Romanticized View of Cinema in a Sicilian Village.......2007-09-11

Before watching this on DVD just now, I had not seen director/screenwriter Giuseppe Tornatore's internationally renowned hit movie - at least the 123-minute version - since its initial 1990 release in the U.S., but I remember having mixed feelings that ran the gamut between being moved by its genuine poignancy and being resentful about what I felt at the time was its shameless heartstring tugging. Nearly two decades later, as I have gotten older and closer to the adult Salvatore's age, I have softened considerably in my opinion of the film, an open-hearted tribute to cinema and its transcendent impact on people's lives. Granted it is awash in sentimentality, but with its unique combination of storytelling elements inspired in equal parts by Chaplin and Fellini, there is a burnished, nostalgic glow to the whole venture as most of it is designed as a flashback.

The plot begins with Salvatore ensconced in middle age as a successful film director based in Rome. Unexpectedly, he makes plans to return to his hometown in Sicily for the first time in almost thirty years. The reason is two-fold: the funeral of Alfredo, the projectionist who first introduced Salvatore to films, and the demolition of the Cinema Paradiso theater where they showed films to the enthusiastic denizens every Saturday night. This triggers memories of Salvatore's childhood at the old theater with Alfredo and then his adolescence and young adulthood when he falls in love with a beautiful local girl named Elena. In true Romeo and Juliet fashion, he is separated from his one true love by her disapproving father, a wealthy banker, and I have to admit this is the part of the film I still find a bit predictable with Tornatore's Baroque sense of romanticism in high gear. The scenes that really have enduring impact are those between the young, energetic Salvatore, nicknamed "Toto", and the surly but lovable Alfredo. Tornatore captures the magical bond between the two, including a tragic episode that forces them to reverse their roles in the projection room.

Interestingly, the 174-minute version presented on the second disc of the 2006 two-DVD set fills in the blanks about Elena's fate. The older Salvatore is reunited with Elena and finds out the truth behind their separation. While I enjoyed and appreciated the longer director's cut, I feel overall the additional scenes don't add as much dimension to the story as the nearly three-hour running time warrants. I think my preference for the heartwarming Alfredo-Toto scenes gravitate me more toward the 123-minute version presented on the first disc. The central performances are memorable with the obvious standouts being Phillipe Noiret (Il Postino) as Alfredo and cherubic Salvatore Cascio as Toto. Looking like a Neapolitan Josh Hartnett, Marco Leonardi (Like Water for Chocolate) takes over as Toto and brings youthful, hormonally-driven fervor to the role, and Agnese Nano brings the requisite dreamy quality to Elena.

As the older Salvatore, Jacques Perrin (Z, The Young Girls of Rochefort) bears so little resemblance to his younger counterparts that his performance feels somewhat removed. In the longer version, his performance resonates more, especially as he shares the screen with Brigitte Fossey (Forbidden Games) as the older Elena. The famous screening room ending is in both versions - the showing of Alfredo's gift to Salvatore, a reel of film clips highlighting kissing scenes excised by the local priest - though I find just as touching the theater demolition scene with the now-aged villagers looking on in a most resigned manner. Blasco Giurato's cinematography is stunning throughout, and enough cannot be said of Ennio Morricone's memorable music score, one of cinema's most beautiful in evoking the movies aura of romantic nostalgia.

Beyond the director's cut of the movie, the 2006 Limited Collector's Edition DVD has several extras of note, the best being an informative, somewhat academic commentary track from Italian film historian Millicent Marcus interspersed with periodic personal recollections from Tornatore, as well as a fifteen-minute retrospective featurette, "Exploring a Timeless Classic". Of more anecdotal interest are a four-minute short on how Baltimore's Little Italy neighborhood has embraced the film with an annual outdoor showing encouraging more than a few romances; two theatrical trailers - the original and the director's cut released in 2002; and most inconsequentially, a Food Network show with Napa chef Michael Chiarello with recipes inspired by the movie.

Cinema Paradiso is Fabuloso!!.......2007-08-23

Great movie to watch.... one that you never get tired of watching over and over again. Will be remembered forever...

A story of life, frienship, love, boyhood and the emotions we carry deep inside .......2007-07-17

A msterprice by Tornatorre and Morricone! The critical acclaim is fully deserved - the performances are strong (particularly that of Philippe Noiret in what is one of his best roles), the music is wonderful, the cinematography memorable.

Yes, the film is ostensibly about the role that movies play in our lives, but in reality Tornatorre is using the "cinema" as another one of his vehicles (as the ship in "The Legend of 1900") through which he tells us the important story of how important and charater-forming our early friendships, loves, fascinations and disappointments are. As the years are going by, the main character has all grown up, but part of the little boy is still alive insde and it does not take much for the memories to flood the silver screen accompanied with the poignant Morricone music.

This movie is a gem for those who like Tornatorre, Italian cinema and a "must see" for all seirous movie fans!

Cinema Paradiso.......2007-07-11

Shot on location in Tornatore's hometown of Bagheria, Sicily, this gorgeously nostalgic semi-autobiographical film pays tribute to the magic and wonderment of movie-going while spinning a bittersweet wartime tale about love and lingering disappointment. A masterly evocation of time and place, mood and feeling spiced with Fellini-esque humor, the decades-long story gingerly unfolds alongside well-chosen clips from Lang, Renoir, and Welles. Tornatore's bold direction of spunky young actor Cascio and Marco Leonardi, who plays Toto as a lovestruck teen, adds to the ease with which we identify with his predicaments. And Noiret is superb as the humble but soulful Alfredo. Winner of an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, "Paradiso" will capture your heart and imagination.

Great, But ..........2007-07-05

The original release of the movie is timeless storytelling and a great work of art. Ennio Morricone's beautiful music is both uplifting and heartbreaking at the same time.

In a nutshell, a young boy (Salvatore) loses his father to war. He is befriended by the projectionist (Alfredo) at a local movie house, where he learns to love the cinema. As he grows up in his home town, he experiences the trials and tribulations of adulthood, including the pain of a lost love. He eventually leaves the little town and becomes a famous director in Rome. He returns thirty years later to attend the funeral of his old projectionist friend, who has bequeathed him a single can of film. Upon his return to Rome, he views the film and is transformed by what he sees.

This was the perfect end to a great film, but the director (Giuseppe Tornatore) must have felt the need to bring a little more closure to the lost-love bit. So he adds another hour to the movie, including Salvatore's rediscovery of the love of his youth, Elena. They park in a lonely spot near the beach and talk about their lives (fittingly, the flickering of a malfunctioning overhead street light gives the impression that they are at a drive-in movie). Salvatore learns from Elena that the philosophical Alfredo had essentially sabotaged their love thirty years before.

And then the two middle-aged lovers "do it" in the car.

Sorry, but this kind of "closure" doesn't "do it" for me. For one thing, Alfredo loved Salvatore like a son, and the betrayal bit just doesn't fit in. And while I was happy to see the star-crossed lovers nostalgically reunited for a while, the action in the front seat of the car just isn't my idea of romance (but maybe I'm old-fashioned).

Nevertheless, the original movie (which deservedly won the 1989 Oscar Award for Best Foreign Picture) is hard to beat.

Average customer rating:

Sergio Leone's Greatest Western
The greatest cowboy "art film" ever made. I cried.
One of the Best Westerns Ever Made.
pants
The definitive Western film

Once Upon a Time in the West
Starring: Henry Fonda , Claudia Cardinale , Jason Robards , Charles Bronson , and Gabriele Ferzetti
Director: Sergio Leone
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000AUHPG
Release Date: 2003-11-18

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The so-called spaghetti Western achieved its apotheosis in Sergio Leone's magnificently mythic (and utterly outlandish) Once upon a Time in the West. After a series of international hits starring Clint Eastwood (from A Fistful of Dollars to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly), Leone outdid himself with this spectacular, larger-than-life, horse-operatic epic about how the West was won. (And make no mistake: this is the wide, wide West, folks--so the widescreen/letterboxed version is strongly recommended.) The unholy trinity of Italian cinema--Leone, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Dario Argento--concocted the story about a woman (Claudia Cardinale) hanging onto her land in hopes that the transcontinental railroad would reach her before a steely-eyed, black-hearted killer (Fonda) does. (The film's advertising slogan was: "There were three men in her life. One to take her ... one to love her ... and one to kill her.") Meanwhile, Leone shoots his stars' faces as if they were expansive Western landscapes, and their towering bodies as if they were looming rock formations in John Ford's Monument Valley. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews:

Sergio Leone's Greatest Western.......2007-09-05

What else can be said about Once Upon A Time In the West? Sergio Leone released his greatest western with this movie. It's a fun from the opening credits to the end credits. A wonderful movie at that.

Finally, on this Two Disc collection we get a commentary track, three featurettes, they can be split. And the movie looks absolutely gorgeous.

It's a definite must have.

My other favorites from him (Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition) and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - Extended Cut (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)) are also must haves.

The greatest cowboy "art film" ever made. I cried........2007-09-05

I'm not a big fan of western movies...... but this is nothing short of an "art film" masterpiece that has no equal. Morricone's music actually brings tears to my eyes. It is arguably Leone's masterwork. Georgous scenery and incredibly beautiful cinematogophy. This film is a stunning work of beauty and art. I still can't watch it without a tear welling up. Yes, it's terribly slow moving compared to today's "I want explosions, fireballs and laser beams every five seconds" type of films. If you want that kind of film, stick your head inside a strobe light for two hours. "Once Unon a Time" is still the greatest piece of cowboy western cinema ever made.

One of the Best Westerns Ever Made........2007-09-02

Cast, story, locations, can't ask for anything more! Had one problem with my DVD package in that the spoken dialogue was at one sound level but ALL music performed was WAY louder. I had to ride the volume control to watch this great movie, and that is not right. I can't understand how/why they could have screwed things up so much with the audio and still released it for sale. Too bad that they are not forced to have recalls for product problems that are this bad. Do I have the only DVD set with this problem?

pants.......2007-08-25

this version is missing the qoute "why would you wear suspendoers and frank shoot's him. Paramont should be ashamed.

The definitive Western film.......2007-08-23

Together with "Once upon a Time in America" this is to be considered the best tribute Sergio Leone could pay to the United States in its growth to become the power it is now by means of a film. I always loved western films (since black and white, I'm 61).I think that our Italian Director gave a deep psychological view of all the characters and I put at the top of the list a very bad Henry Fonda - especially thinking that he seldom played negative roles (Grape of Wrath, perheaps).
The music of Ennio Morricone is something sublime and I really don't understand why he never won an Oscar in his outstanding career as a composer.
As for the book prefaces it is highly recommended to view in anticipation the DVD with Documentary and Interviews.
Fulvio Arman, Italy

Average customer rating:

Well Done
The Bride...The Bill...THe Resolution
The more I watch the more I like...
Awesome end for this masterful epic.
Q.T, teenage artist

Kill Bill, Volume 2
Starring: Larry Bishop , Sonny Chiba , Sid Haig , Samuel L. Jackson , and Gordon Liu
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
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ASIN: B00005JMUA
Release Date: 2004-08-10

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"The Bride" (Uma Thurman) gets her satisfaction--and so do we--in Quentin Tarantino's "roaring rampage of revenge," Kill Bill, Vol. 2. Where Vol. 1 was a hyper-kinetic tribute to the Asian chop-socky grindhouse flicks that have been thoroughly cross-referenced in Tarantino's film-loving brain, Vol. 2--not a sequel, but Part Two of a breathtakingly cinematic epic--is Tarantino's contemporary martial-arts Western, fueled by iconic images, music, and themes lifted from any source that Tarantino holds dear, from the action-packed cheapies of William Witney (one of several filmmakers Tarantino gratefully honors in the closing credits) to the spaghetti epics of Sergio Leone. Tarantino doesn't copy so much as elevate the genres he loves, and the entirety of Kill Bill is clearly the product of a singular artistic vision, even as it careens from one influence to another. Violence erupts with dynamic impact, but unlike Vol. 1, this slower grand finale revels in Tarantino's trademark dialogue and loopy longueurs, reviving the career of David Carradine (who plays Bill for what he is: a snake charmer), and giving Thurman's Bride an outlet for maternal love and well-earned happiness. Has any actress endured so much for the sake of a unique collaboration? As the credits remind us, "The Bride" was jointly created by "Q&U," and she's become an unforgettable heroine in a pair of delirious movie-movies (Vol. 3 awaits, some 15 years hence) that Tarantino fans will study and love for decades to come. --Jeff Shannon

Description

With this thrilling, must-see movie event, writer and director Quentin Tarantino (PULP FICTION) completes the action-packed quest for revenge begun by The Bride (Uma Thurman) in KILL BILL VOL. 1! Having already crossed two names from her Death List, The Bride is back with a vengeance and taking aim at Budd (Michael Madsen) and Elle Driver (Daryl Hannah), the only survivors from the squad of assassins who betrayed her four years earlier. It's all leading up to the ultimate confrontation with Bill (David Carradine), The Bride's former master and the man who ordered her execution! As the acclaimed follow-up to the instant classic VOL. 1 -- you know all about the unlimited action and humor, but until you've seen KILL BILL VOL. 2, you only know half the story!

Customer Reviews:

Well Done.......2007-09-09

I have seen both Volume 1 and Volume 2 of Kill Bill by Larry Bishop. I do recommend you see Volume 1 first then Volume 2, these are must see movies, but I will say one thing. The story is well done, but it does contain violence, however, it is just so different than anything I have ever seen before. I highly recommend both.

The Bride...The Bill...THe Resolution.......2007-09-09

Quentin Tarantino completes his epic tale with this worthy sequel. The Bride finally gets to Bill and her revenge is ready to be had. There's plenty to love about this movie. It's got action, a good story, and all the things that make a Tarantino movie, a Tarantino movie.

It's definitely worth your time.

Highly recommended.

The more I watch the more I like..........2007-08-01

You know how some action movies you'd watch and because you know whats going to happen you get a little turned away? This isn't one of those. I've watched this film so many times and I still can't get enough. Besides the whole thing of Uma looking really hot, (and I don't even like blondes)she just does her damn thing in this movie. You have to have this in your collection!

Awesome end for this masterful epic........2007-07-19

Kill Bill Vol. 2 is a very different from the first film. Vol. 1 is a Hong Kong/Japanese Samurai flick, Vol. 2 is more of a Spaghetti Western. What comes to mind when I watch this great film, is Sergio Leone's Dollars Trilogy. Tarantino keeps up the pace with his smooth dialogue, funny scenes and honorable emotion. I hope you enjoy this wonderful film as much as I did. Be sure to check out Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair, coming soon!

Q.T, teenage artist.......2007-07-13

Looks great; Is fun; but never sheds the image that it was made by a 16-year-old with an enormous hard-on, drunk on his first six-pack of beer.

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Simon Birch
Little Simon Birch
an often overlooked gem
Simon Birch
Kudos for Simon Birch

Simon Birch
Starring: Ian Michael Smith , Joseph Mazzello , Ashley Judd , Oliver Platt , and David Strathairn
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
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ASIN: 0788815466
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Amazon.com

This screen adaptation of John Irving's novel A Prayer for Owen Meany was appreciated much more by audiences than by the majority of disapproving critics. Irving's books have fared only moderately well on film, and while The World According to Garp garnered critical praise, The Hotel New Hampshire was waiting in the wings to counteract the fanfare. Simon Birch is one of those nostalgic movies--determined to view the past in rose-colored hues--despite the fact that its protagonist, a dwarf named Simon Birch, is wholeheartedly unsympathetic. The film opens weepily, with Jim Carrey as the adult version of the film's main character and narrator, Joe Wenteworth (played as a youth by the serious young actor Joseph Mazzello). He's mourning at the grave of his best childhood friend, Simon Birch, with whom he had bonded instantly because both were misfits--one a dwarf, the other illegitimate. The deck is stacked from the beginning, especially when the camera dwells on Joe's luscious mom, Rebecca (Ashley Judd), who refuses to reveal the identity of Joe's father, which in turn urges Simon and Joe to embark on a quest to discover Joe's paternity. In a plot point that resembles The Scarlet Letter, the tide of fate turns on the "immoral" mom just as she's on the verge of finding true love with a decent fellow (played by Oliver Platt). Simon Birch ultimately descends into crudeness, though it asks the audience to continue to engage with its crass lead character. By the end, the film is reduced to drivel, cliché, and melodrama to tug our heartstrings into submission. All the things that should have been the film's focus--guilt, self-loathing, and redemption--remain elusive. --Paula Nechak

Description

A heartwarming and funny hit that's earned overwhelming critical acclaim, SIMON BIRCH features great performances from stars Ashley Judd (DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD, HIGH CRIMES, KISS THE GIRLS) and Oliver Platt (BICENTENNIAL MAN, DON'T SAY A WORD) in an outstanding cast! Even though Simon Birch is the smallest kid in town, deep down he knows that he was born to do something big! He's on a constant search to discover his destiny, but somehow manages to find nothing but trouble! Meanwhile, Simon's loyal best friend, Joe (Joseph Mazzello -- JURASSIC PARK, RADIO FLYER), is searching for the identity of his father, a secret his beautiful mother (Judd) has guarded Joe's entire life. Discover for yourself the undeniable charms of this uplifting and inspirational motion picture as these two share the hilarious, and sometimes tragic, ups and downs that will forever bind them together!

Customer Reviews:

Simon Birch.......2007-09-09

Simon Birch is an awesome movie, mainly because it apprears that Simon (the super short 12 yr. old) has more faith in God than even the Priest or his sunday school teacher. The sunday school teacher and others, except for his special friends, treat him really bad. The ending will amaze you!!!!

Little Simon Birch.......2007-08-07

This movie is absolutely wonderful! You have to get past the handful of sexual references to see the true meaning behind the movie. It's def. not a movie for children under the age of 13. Other than that, Simon Birch is an absolute gem! Funny and very uplifting!

an often overlooked gem.......2007-07-28

Simon Birch is an overlooked gem. This is a must see. Great for the whole family.

Simon Birch.......2007-07-19

This is almost as good as The Mighty. Funny, dramatic, thoughtful, wonderful. Great movie for the whole family!

Kudos for Simon Birch.......2007-07-14

What a wonderful movie!!! This is a movie to watch again and again. Ian Michael Smith does a wonderful job in his role as Simon Birch, as does the rest of the cast. I personally don't go out to the movies often, there isn't much good stuff out there, but I'm sorry I missed this when it was in the theaters. This movie will warm your heart. It will make you laugh and bring tears to your eyes and truly touch your heart. I think this movie should have won many awards. I know this is on my list of all time favorite movies. This movie has a message.

Average customer rating:

ALWAYS ENTERTAINING - NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES SEEN
Astonishingly good!
One of the Best
Great Sci-Fi
A CLASSIC THAT LOOKS BETTER THAN EVER!

Alien (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
Starring: Tom Skerritt , Sigourney Weaver , Veronica Cartwright , Harry Dean Stanton , and John Hurt
Director: Ridley Scott
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00011V8IQ
Release Date: 2004-01-06

Description

The terror begins when the crew of a spaceship investigates a transmission from a desolate planet, and discovers a life form that is perfectly evolved to annihilate mankind. One by one, each crew member is slain until only Ripley is left, leading to an explosive conclusion that sets the stage for its stunning sequel, "Aliens."

Customer Reviews:

ALWAYS ENTERTAINING - NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES SEEN.......2007-09-12

I have always enjoyed futuristic Sci-Fi - Do not really remember if it appeared in comic form.

Have yet to look at disc 2 -- have thoroughly enjoyed the actors concept of their characters - it is very hard to describe the feelings invocked upon seeing that ugly old Alien Queen - the nasty Company that wanted the Alien alive - no matter who has to die in the meantime.

Oh Yeah! those guys were in for the fight of their lives. And the danger even came from one of their own. A Company man. And a synthetic person.

Has become a classic and well worth adding to your collection - for pure entertainment. This is one to get without believing anyone's comments, good or bad. It is a matter of taste.
Great characters - great action - Nasty determined enemy - dark and dangerous - great cat.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED -- Not good for anyone prone to nightmares.

Astonishingly good!.......2007-09-04

Somehow, despite my intense interest in movies, and despite having seen the other three 1/2 films in this series, I had never, until today, seen the first movie.

It is good.

Watching this film I was really taken aback by how well it's aged. You know how sometimes you can watch a movie, and it doesn't matter when it takes place, you can still peg roughly when it was made? that's not the case here. This is a movie that's only slightly younger than I am, and yet it looks and feels as fresh as something that could've been made in the last few years by die-hards who have no interest in CGI.

The only thing that to me seemed at all out of place was the smoking. Otherwise, it looked like something recent, rather than something from 1979. It's certainly aged far better than Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition) or even the first Star Wars movie.

I'm not sure what to attribute this to. Clearly the excellent performances, exceptional writing and incredible directing are a part of it. The sets seem very modern without slipping over into "ultra-modern" and that helps.

Also in watching this I became ever more depressed by what the franchise has become. This was a thoughtful, intelligent horror movie. Aliens (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) was a thoughtful, intelligent action movie. Alien 3 (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) and "Alien: Resurection" were... well, movies. The less said about AVP - Alien Vs. Predator (Widescreen Edition) the better.

This first film, however, was as flawless of a science fiction film as any you'll ever see. Heck, it even makes me want to go back and watch "Blade Runner" again, which I did not care for when I saw it the first time.

Roger Ebert has included this movie in his collection of "Great Movies" essays. He puts it into the same areas of greatness as films like Citizen Kane, Rashomon - Criterion Collection and All About Eve, a judgement I entirely agree with.

In short, don't do what I did. Don't watch the other films in the series and miss out on this one. If you haven't watched it, do so. If you have, then go back and see it again. It's worth your time.

One of the Best.......2007-08-30

Alien is a beautiful film and is the greatest sci-fi/horror film ever. All of the sets used are magnificent, from the interior and exterior of the Nostromo to the very organic alien setting. The different stages of the alien are done perfectly and are surprisingly realistic and very believable. The creature itself is extremely original and hasn't aged with time.

The film works kind of slow (in a good way) and manages to build a lot tension. They really gave it a feeling of emptiness that complements the space element. All of the actors are perfect and to this day it has one of the most shocking scenes in movie history.

This is one of my favorite movies and is a must own for fans of all genres.

Great Sci-Fi.......2007-08-26

All the gadgets on the ship, landing the ship I thought was the best part of the movie.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows.

A CLASSIC THAT LOOKS BETTER THAN EVER!.......2007-07-29

I saw this film at the theater when first released and I have seen it numerous times on TV, but this was the first time I watched the 2 disc special edition(actually the 9 disc box set)in my home theater and I must say I was very impressed! The Transfer is exceptional and the movie has never looked better. There are a few good scares in this well made Sci- Fi story. This is really a remake of "It The Terror From Beyond Space" The Box set is incredible and a worthy purchase. If you are not a fan of the entire series then buy the two disc set of the first two.

Dazed & Confused (Widescreen Flashback Edition)

Average customer rating:

That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age.
Dazed and Confused
One of the most accurate movies about adolescence
Great Movie!
Not quite "Slacker"; worth it for Wiley Wiggins and others

Dazed & Confused (Widescreen Flashback Edition)
Starring: Jason London , Rory Cochrane , Wiley Wiggins , Sasha Jenson , and Michelle Burke
Director: Richard Linklater
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00029RTAI
Release Date: 2004-11-02

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You remember high school? Really remember? If you think you do, watch this film: it'll all really come racing back. After changing the world with the generation-defining Slacker, director Richard Linklater turned his free-range vérité sensibility on the 1970s. As before, his all-seeing camera meanders across a landscape studded with goofy pop culture references and poignant glimpses of human nature. Only this time around, he's spreading a thick layer of nostalgia over the lens (and across the soundtrack). It's as if Fast Times at Ridgemont High was directed by Jean-Luc Godard. The story deals with a group of friends on the last day of high school, 1976. Good-natured football star Randall "Pink" Floyd navigates effortlessly between the warring worlds of jocks, stoners, wannabes, and rockers with girlfriend and new-freshman buddy in tow. Surprisingly, it's not a coming-of-age movie, but a film that dares ask the eternal, overwhelming, adolescent question, "What happens next?" It's a little too honest to be a light comedy (representative quote: "If I ever say these were the best years of my life, remind me to kill myself."). But it's also way too much fun (remember souped-up Corvettes and bicentennial madness?) to be just another existential-essay-on-celluloid. --Grant Balfour

On the DVD
With a perfect combination of awesome '70s-era packaging and a totally rockin' selection of bonus features, the Criterion Collection's director-approved special edition two-disc release of Dazed and Confused instantly qualifies as one of the very best DVDs of 2006--the 30th anniversary of the Bicentennial, man! That's what I'm talkin' about! As a sublime companion piece to Criterion's release of Richard Linklater's previous film Slacker, the set comes in a slipcase (complete with "Physical Graffiti"-like picture-windows) festooned with Flair-pen high-school "doodling" (just like you'd scribble on your Pee Chee folders, back in the day), and the features get off on a high note (kinda like Slater, y'know?) with writer-director Linklater's feature-length commentary, which offers all aspiring filmmakers an important lesson protecting your vision and knowing when not to compromise. In recalling the many struggles he endured during production, Linklater covers a lot of territory (notes from the studio, the fantasy abundance of muscle cars, selection of music, and his acute disappointment when Robert Plant--but not Jimmy Page--refused to allow Led Zeppelin songs to be used in the film), and his engaging, good-humored perspective (and appropriate sense of vindication) clearly arises from his film's eventual acceptance as a classic. (For all you film buffs out there, Linklater quite rightly recommends Tim Hunter's Over the Edge and Lindsay Anderson's If... as "great teenage films" that defined the genre before Dazed.) The film itself never looked or sounded better (Linklater and cinematographer Lee Daniel supervised the high-def digital transfer), and a generous selection of deleted scenes will be welcomed by the film's legion of loyal fans.

The Disc 2 supplements are highlighted by Making "Dazed", filmmaker Kahane Corn's decade-in-the-making 50-minute documentary, chronicling all aspects of the production from casting to the Dazed tenth-anniversary celebration in Austin, Texas, in 2003. "Beer Bust at the Moon Tower" allows random viewing of a 118-minute compilation of behind-the-scenes footage, on-set interviews (with cast members both in and out of character), audition footage, and recollections from the anniversary bash. The accompanying 72-page booklet is a Criterion master-stroke: Designed like a small-scale high-school yearbook, it's filled with more "doodling" artwork, lots of photos, three appreciative mini-essays (the best being by journalist/author Chuck Klosterman), recollections by cast and crew, and humorous "Profiles in Confusion" portraits of the characters in Dazed, reprinted from the film's similarly designed companion book. It's all topped off by a miniature reproduction of the film's original poster, designed by Frank Kozik. In terms of capturing "The Spirit of '76" and the film's celebratory sense of anti-nostalgia, this is surely one of Criterion's finest releases to date. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age........2007-07-13

This is the best burn out movie around. I caught it on tv the other night and it made me remeber how much I love it. It's hilarious portrayal of the 70's high school scene has earned it the title of a cult classic with good reason.

The movie takes place in Texas 1976. It's centered around a guy named Randall Floyd and a group of his friends, a soon to be freshman named Mitch, and a group of nerds during their high school days.

Defintely fun to kick back and watch.

Dazed and Confused.......2007-07-11

True-to-life, intelligent, often hilarious movie wins you over with its sheer exuberance and dead-on recreation of the wild and wooly seventies. Director Linklater satirizes the period with considerable affection, so we feel nostalgia for a period many of us thought (at the time) was a mediocre follow-up to the swinging sixties. Terrific line-up of seventies rock classics and those distinctive cars add pungent flavor. Posey and Affleck are terrific, but in truth, so is entire lesser-known cast. Ideal double feature with "American Graffiti" or "Fast Times At Ridgemont High". Fun, with capital letters.

One of the most accurate movies about adolescence.......2007-06-25

Dazed and Confused is smart, funny, and honest. It gives most every side of high school life in suburban America, and every stereotypical clique, fair treatment. The first time you watch it you will be entertained. Upon each successive viewing you will discover more elements of the fine storytelling, character development, and nuanced commentary on the dynamics of adolescent development in the ubiquitous setting of a boring, suburban, football-crazed town. Though it's fun to watch this filim with friends and maybe have a beer or two to feel some of the buzz that the characters have practically thoughout the story, it's also a good idea to watch this film attentively. There's a lot to see.
Many potential buyers will likely be interested in the deleted scenes. As is the case with most DVDs, you can clearly see why these ended up on the cutting room floor. All but one are totally worthless. In the most interesting one, an argument on the Vietnam War ensues between Pink, the "protaganist" we love, and Benny, his one-dimensional football teammate. Pink argues that the U.S. lost the war and ruined a country, while Benny argues that the U.S. won because "we killed way more of them dooks (sic) than they did us." Dawson says nothing. It presents a deeper view on Pink's dissatisfaction with his football scene, but it's not necessarily one we need. It's anything but subtle.

Great Movie!.......2007-06-09

We loved this movie, and apparently someone else loved the movie just as much because whoever it was, stole our movie! It was so great, if you love old movies, this one is a great one!

Not quite "Slacker"; worth it for Wiley Wiggins and others.......2007-05-29

I moved to Austin, Texas in June 1976. This movie is supposedly set in Austin during that time, but I think it fits more into West Texas. I don't think the hazing and the guns portrayed here were characteristic of Austin, which was a sleepy little college and state government town in 1976.

But the film is a period piece, which is a favorite genre for me and one has the chance to see if the producer/director gets things right, whether it's clothes, hairstyles, cars, etc. or whatever. Here they get most of that right. The "muscle cars" again suggest West Texas more than Austin; so does the football and the hazing. "Slacker" is explicitly set in Austin, and I recognize scenes from thirty years ago in that movie. But I need to check on this, because the "moonlight towers" scene here suggests that the movie is set in Austin. (Alas, I think those are gone now, as are some other landmarks.)

One of the most interesting things about this film is that actors like Ben Affleck and Matthew McConaughey are big stars now, but Wiley Wiggins steals every scene here, and BA and MM are cardboard characters. And the director failed to elicit some kind of ambiguity about the Affleck character. Why does he want to go around spanking these young boys?
Was this kind of hazing really a tradition at the school or what? Then again, the '70s were pretty free for kids compared to what we see today.

I think Wiggins in this movie is easily the best actor. And he is the central character. He doesn't have Jason London's classic good looks, but he has those "geeky" good looks that remind one of high school reunions where people see a classmate in a new light and wonder how anyone could have overlooked guys or girls who were maybe not that "popular" but who were really cool at the time and not that many people noticed. And like those kids, "Mitch", the Wiggins character here, is trying to figure out how he fits in or if he does, so the film reminds you maybe of yourself or of kids you knew who struggled.

You know the type. Maybe you were the type. So in a way, this movie is kind of like "Ridgmont High" meets "The Wonder Years".

Let's hope to see more of Wiggins; he's apparently still active in Austin, which is a great city but not as cool in some ways as it was thirty years ago. And thanks to stuff like cell phones, kids don't have the kind of adventures and fun they did back then, in Austin or anywhere.

The Battle of Algiers - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

Terrorist Prime
Gripping movie about two opposing forces without any real choice
A Masterpiece
Oldie but Goodie
Lessons of history indeed!

The Battle of Algiers - Criterion Collection
Starring: Brahim Hadjadj , Jean Martin , Yacef Saadi , Samia Kerbash , and Ugo Paletti
Director: Gillo Pontecorvo
Manufacturer: Criterion
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ASIN: B0002JP2OI
Release Date: 2004-10-12

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Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie The Battle of Algiers concerns the violent struggle in the late 1950s for Algerian independence from France, where the film was banned on its release for fear of creating civil disturbances. Certainly, the heady, insurrectionary mood of the film, enhanced by a relentlessly pulsating Ennio Morricone soundtrack, makes for an emotionally high temperature throughout. Decades later, the advent of the "war against terror" has only intensified the film's relevance.

Shot in a gripping, quasi-documentary style, The Battle of Algiers uses a cast of untrained actors coupled with a stern voiceover. Initially, the film focuses on the conversion of young hoodlum Ali La Pointe (Brahim Haggiag) to F.L.N. (the Algerian Liberation Front). However, as a sequence of outrages and violent counter-terrorist measures ensue, it becomes clear that, as in Eisenstein's October, it is the Revolution itself that is the true star of the film.

Pontecorvo balances cinematic tension with grimly acute political insight. He also manages an evenhandedness in depicting the adversaries. He doesn't flinch from demonstrating the civilian consequences of the F.L.N.'s bombings, while Colonel Mathieu, the French office brought in to quell the nationalists, is played by Jean Martin as a determined, shrewd, and, in his own way, honorable man. However, the closing scenes of the movie--a welter of smoke, teeming street demonstrations, and the pealing white noise of ululations--leaves the viewer both intellectually and emotionally convinced of the rightfulness of the liberation struggle. This is surely among a handful of the finest movies ever made. --David Stubbs

Description

One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers focuses on the harrowing events of 1957, a key year in Algeria's struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film vividly recreates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French in the 1950s. As violence escalates on both sides, the French torture prisoners for information and the Algerians resort to terrorism in their quest for independence. Children shoot soldiers at point-blank range, women plant bombs in cafés. The French win the battle, but ultimately lose the war as the Algerian people demonstrate that they will no longer be suppressed. The Criterion Collection is proud present Gillo Pontecorvo's tour de force—a film with astonishing relevance today.

Customer Reviews:

Terrorist Prime.......2007-08-20

Gillo Pontecorvo is one of the most intense of the so-called "political directors", and he has been described as a "volatile maverick". A former Communist and resistance fighter (WWII) himself, his first foray into directing films was as a documentarian; much like Werner Herzog. He won some acclaim for his film KAPO (1959) with Susan Strasberg. It was not uncommon of him to spend several years doing research for one of his films. He turned down twice as many films as he directed, only credited with 20 films from 1953-1997. After THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966), he went on to direct QUEIMADA (BURN) (1969) with Marlon Brando. Another fine film came later, OGRO (1979), about resistance during the Franco regime. But oddly only ALGIERS and BURN are available in DVD or VHS.

Pontecorvo could have been a film composer as well, and again like Herzog he spent a long time working on the film scores with whatever composer he hired. For ALGIERS he hired the young Ennio Morricone, and then fought with him the entire time. They did come up with a very haunting and subdued score however. Pontecorvo was working initially with Franco Solinas on a script called PARA, for paratrooper. The main character was a European who got caught up in the Algerian war for independence. Paul Newman was being considered for the part. But then Yacef Saadi, the former FLN leader, came to them with his script about the Algerian struggle -but they had to rewrite it. It was presented mostly as a political manifesto. Interestingly, Saadi was hired as a technical consultant, and got to play himself in the film.

Pontecorvo was very fond of the Neo-realist cinema of post-WWII Italy, the films of Rossellinin, De Sica, and Fellini. He especially liked BICYCLE THIEF (1948). He decided to cast mostly non-actors for THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS. When he wrote a character, he had an image of their face in his mind. The Algerian who is being tortured in the opening scene of the film was a petty thief in real life, but the director "liked his look". The condemned criminal in the prison sequence, who yelled "Vive Algeria!" was actually a condemned criminal who later was guillotined. He only used one professional actor in ALGIERS -the French actor Jean Martin to play Col. Mathieu. Brahim Hadjudj, who played the street thug and boxer, Ali La Pointe, had a great face. His piercing looks seemed to burn holes in the camera lens, much like a young Brando in VIVA ZAPATA (1952) -a classic film directed by Elia Kazan about another revolution, shot in black and white, using many unknown faces; like the uncredited Henry Silva.

In 1965, Pontecorvo, squired about the Casbah by Saadi, was treated like a hero; all doors were open to him. It really was a remarkable achievement to film this movie only three years after the Algerians had won their independence. The movie was banned in France for over 10 years. At the Venice Film Festival, the entire French delegation walked out because of this film. In 1974, director Louis Malle screened the film in four theaters, and it became an instant classic. THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) remains a film like none other, a kind of reliving of the Algerian revolution, made with many of the participants. In 2003, the Pentagon screened the movie for our military and civilian "experts" in Iraq. The flyer for the screening read, "How to win a battle against terrorism, and lose the war of ideas."

Gripping movie about two opposing forces without any real choice.......2007-07-24

Watching this, I could not help but observe how "Homeric" the film is -- i.e. both sides, the French general and the FLN leaders, seem to recognize quite distinctly what the broad progression of events will be and say so repeatedly. The general speaks about "the inevitable phases of revolutionary warfare", while the Algerians are also quite sure what the next step taken by the French will be at any moment.

The Algerians apparently have to use terrorism to jumpstart the whole process (as the political will in this case seems to require the social will of the populace first), the French have to use torture to get information and so both sides go on provoking each other more and more and the situation escalates. The (real) events unfold(ed) as if in a script, but the movie itself feels realistic, spontaneous, and unscripted. How ironic...

At the outset it is pretty much clear what will follow, both to us and the characters, with the French quelling the rebellion in the short run by sheer military force, but the Algerians eventually winning in the long run through superiority of numbers and patriotic determination. But the characters act as if they have free will, and they do, but not enough to change the bigger flow of events. But maybe that's not what they are interested in, anyway.

I guess that is similar to what the Greek heroes did -- even if they knew exactly when and how they were going to be killed, far from being demotivated by this knowledge, they continued their struggle. Jaffar (played by himself) is the only character who decides in the last minute that saving his life is more important than being blown up for the cause and somehow that decision does not quite fit the tone of the rest of the movie.

But basically this movie is a good opportunity to reflect on how it is part of a soldier's job to fight even if he knows the end result will not change one bit. And in this case we have soldiers on both sides, even if only side wears uniforms. The label "terrorists" does not quite apply, at least after the initial bombings are over.

Another observation is that the documentary-style filmmaking works well here, because the dialogue (or lack of it) complements the visual style. Hollywood has too often in recent years tried to do more "gritty, authentic" movies (and this was of course already tried in the 1970s with countless closeups of sweaty faces in "Dirty Harry", etc.), but these efforts (like "Memento") usually fall short because, even though the picture is grainy and apparently filmed with a Shakicam(TM), the dialogue is the usual Hollywood, Disneyland-esque, schmaltzy, excessively emotional tripe it always is. Form and content have to go together, and they do so beautifully here.

Many of the key scenes have no dialogue at all, while Jean Martin gets to spout fittingly existentialist monologues, perhaps more suited for the stage. But this at all times distances us from the action and keeps us a more or less impartial observer of two sides at war, where the end justifies the means, and the result is clear before the game has even started.

A Masterpiece.......2007-07-18

My review is based on the film alone, since I have not seen the extras included in the Criterion edition.

This film was commissioned, according to IMDB, by the Algerian government. And yet it is, in my opinion, balanced, nuanced, and complex, not propagandistic. Crimes against innocents are committed by both sides, and are portrayed with the gravitas of a Biblical epic or Greek tragedy. If an objective movie about any revolution could be made, it would look like this. The filmmakers did not preach, did not lead viewers to preordained conclusions based on flimsy caricatures of difficult people. Was Ali La Pointe a hero? Yes, and an anti-hero as well. French Colonel Mathieu was also hero (he was in the Nazi resistance, after all) and anti-hero (he orders torture, but will not call it that). The people of Algeria wanted their independence from France as passionately as the people of India from England and the people of the American colonies from England. Who was a freedom fighter? Who was a terrorist? Jaffar, one of the revolt's leaders, says (I'm paraphrasing) that terrorism is an effective way to begin, but after that the people have to commit to a revolution, and after the revolution is won, the hard work begins.

If current affairs seem to you to be a clear case of right and wrong, black and white, I highly recommend this film. It throws a stark light on the struggle between law-and-order and freedom-and-justice: the two principles do not always live comfortably together. It will remind you of The Godfather, of Citizen Kane . . . and any other film that boldly shows that nobility and barbarity thrive in both the best and the worst of us. As other reviewers, and even the Pentagon, have recently noted, this film is highly relevant to today's world. Not many peoples will welcome, or even tolerate, an occupying force for very long. When they decide to throw off that yoke, the occupying country is in for a very difficult time.

Oldie but Goodie.......2007-05-26

By Far the best movie to document the algerian war. A Must See for Film Buffs

Lessons of history indeed!.......2007-05-11

This film now being touted as a 'lesson in history' (even though there is little comparason to the Iraq war)it is indeed a lesson in history.

Almost every war/civil war since the Algerian war of independence has been veiwed through the eyes of the Algerian war, even Robert Fisk during the recent Algerian civil war gave us the idea that the civil war was something of a 'continuation' of the initial F.L.N struggle. It should be kept in mind however, that this film was and always has been the darling of the far left and has little if anything to do with recent Islamist movements.

Regarding the historical lessons there are many to gather, the use of bombing campaigns against civiliam targets (a cafe in one scene) The use of females to carry bombs past checkpoints because the French would "not dare to search an Algerian woman" On the part of the French, the enclosing of entire sections of the city turning them into impoverished ghettos, torture to 'gather information', target killing of leaders asuming that this will 'quell the rebellion'

Lessons indeed, not least events that followed in Algeria, how those who fought for independence turned a country into their own personal property, a military that cancelled a legitimate election, lessons indeed not just for Algeria but for Africa and the Middle East. The same lessons have not been learned Zimbabwae being the perfect example, ex revolutionary turns dictator.

While the film surrounds the life of an ex petty criminal turned revolutionary (how very leftist!) and attention is given to the lives of ordianry people in the Arab quarter, how marriages were conducted under the terrible conditions of near seige and not least how the F.L.N. began to administer their own law within the lawless Arab quater. Little is given to the rural battles where some of the bitterest fighting took place and while many today may think there are some comparasons with the current situation in Iraq please keep in mind, this film along with Land and Freedom was the film to watch if you were a young left wing student it's hardly a blueprint of current conflicts.

An interesing film but would be far more useful if watching wishing to learn something of the struggle for independence and the post independence struggle in what is called the 'developing world', something that continues to this day.

Average customer rating:

WHAT IS TRUTH? Pontius Pilate
"If men don't trust each other, this earth might as well be hell"
Not a "whodunnit"
A movie that truly belongs to world cinema's history
Required viewing at most film schools

Rashomon - Criterion Collection
Starring: Minoru Chiaki , Fumiko Homma , Daisuke Kato , Machiko Kyo , and Toshiro Mifune
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Manufacturer: Criterion
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ASIN: B00003CXC6
Release Date: 2002-03-26

Amazon.com essential video

This 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa is more than a classic: it's a cinematic archetype that has served as a template for many a film since. (Its most direct influence was on a Western remake, The Outrage, starring Paul Newman and directed by Martin Ritt.) In essence, the facts surrounding a rape and murder are told from four different and contradictory points of view, suggesting the nature of truth is something less than absolute. The cast, headed by Kurosawa's favorite actor, Toshiro Mifune, is superb. --Tom Keogh

Description

Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, Rashomon is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an ingenious use of camera and flashbacks, Kurosawa reveals the complexities of human nature as four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife. Toshiro Mifune gives another commanding performance in the eloquent masterwork that revolutionized film language and introduced Japanese cinema to the world.

Customer Reviews:

WHAT IS TRUTH? Pontius Pilate.......2007-08-18

It would be difficult to over estimate this movie's effect on college age movie goers of the early 60s. In that age of conformity it confirmed some of their worst fears: That they w