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Dolby Digital Mono (Spanish)

Almost You

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 4th, 2005

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Synopsis

On its surface, Almost You is potentially interesting. Considering the mid-‘80s production, you have Griffin Dunne, about to appear in Scorsese’s After Hours, but had already appeared in An American Werewolf in London. In this film, he is married to Brooke Adams, a.k.a. Mrs. Tony Shalhoub (Monk), but before that, had appeared in Terrence Malick’s Days of Heaven, and had her own experiences in horror, appearing in The Dead Zone. As husband and wife, Dunne’s …
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What’s New Pussycat?

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 1st, 2005

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Synopsis

Peter Sellers turns in a performance that opens at high do and never looks back as a lunatic psychiatrist. He is treating Peter O’Toole, a man who wants to be faithful to his girlfriend (Romy Schneider) but cannot say no to the innumerable women who throw themselves at him. Into the mix comes Woody Allen, who, unsurprisingly, plays a sexual loser.

Woody Allen’s first feature script has all the characteristics of his work to come: the sexual hang-ups, the non-sequitur dialogue, the …
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Frogmen, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 30th, 2005

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Synopsis

After the death of a popular commander, the stern and inflexible Richard Widmark steps in to take charge of a group of a Navy underwater demolition team. His command gets off to a rocky start, as he is seen as heartless and unwilling to take risks himself. But he eventually proves himself to his men (and old hand Dana Andrews), just in time for a particularly dangerous mission.

The disliked new commander is hardly an original concept in war films, and Twelve O’Clock High th…
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Satisfaction

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 26th, 2005

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Synopsis

Satisfaction is a transitional project in so many ways. This was one of the first American films of Liam Neeson, who would go on to mildly excite the world as Henry Ducard in Batman Begins. Before Mystic Pizza came out, the world was exposed to Julia Roberts as Daryle.

And what of the main attraction of the film? Well, the film was apparently intended to be a starring vehicle for Justine Bateman, whose previous claim to fame was from Family Ties, playing the do…
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Kiss of Death

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 22nd, 2005

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Synopsis

Victor Mature is an ex-con driven by financial desperation to take part in a jewel heist. The job goes wrong, and he is nabbed. He’s sent to prison, and agonizes over his family. When he’s double-crossed by his lawyer, he agrees to DA Brian Donlevy’s deal and testifies against psychotic hoodlum Richard Widmark. He gets out, and starts his life over, but then Widmark beats the wrap, and is on the prowl for revenge.

Mature is the star, and Coleen Gray is the eternally patient love in…
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The Fernando Arrabal Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on November 16th, 2005

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Viva La Merte (1970) was surrealist playwright and all-around provocateur Fernando Arrabal’s feature film debut. Set during the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, this is the deeply autobiographical (no matter how bizarrely presented) story of the a young boy whose father was betrayed by his mother to the security forces of the Fascist General Franco. Oedipal nightmares, extreme violence and brutal eroticism are present in force.These elements are present in the other two films as well. I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse (1973) has a man suspected of killing his mother flee into the desert, where he falls in love with a holy man, and when the two return to society, our hero is disgusted by what he finds.
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Two for the Road

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 28th, 2005

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Audrey Hepburn and Albert Finney are a couple whose marriage appears to be reaching its end. They travel through France, which was the scene of so many other memories, and they (and we) experience, through interlocking flashbacks, the history of their relationship.From the moment the animated credit sequence and Henry Mancini score begin, one is clearly watching a Stanley Donen film from the peak of his career (the presence of Hepburn is yet another reminder of Charade from just a couple of years prior).
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Melinda and Melinda

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

Two playwrights argue over whether life is inherently tragic or comic. To illustrate their point, they each tell the tale of Melinda (Radha Mitchell) who unexpectedly bursts in on a dinner party, creating all kinds of romantic complications. The film then alternates between the two stories. The set-up could hardly be more utterly Woody Allen, simultaneously pretentious and shallow. One story is comic (with Will Ferrell taking Allen’s usual role), the other is tragic, but you’d be hard-presse…
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Mark of Zorro, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2005

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This release is identical in every respect but one (the colourization) to the previous Studio Classics edition, and so what follow below is the same review, with an additional note about colour.

Synopsis

Returning to California after some years in Spain, Don Diego (Tyrone Power) finds that his father has been deposed and that the region is ruled by a venal, corrupt governer under the thumb of tyrannical lieutenant Basil Rathbone. Pretending to be a useless fop by day, Diego dons mask and sw…
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Fly, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 17th, 2005

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Synopsis

Seth Brundle (David Goldblum) is on the cusp of perfecting an functioning teleporter, a device that will transform the world. Eager to share his creation with someone, he strikes up an acquaintance with science journalist Geena Davis. She is initially skeptical, but is soon converted, and as the work progresses, the two fall in love. Then, in a fit of misplaced jealousy (he believes that Davis is seeing ex-boyfriend John Goetz), Goldblum teleports while drunk, not knowing a fly is also in th…
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Platoon

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 11th, 2005

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Synopsis

There are a good number of people who have labeled Oliver Stone as a fan of conspiracy theories, out to destroy foundations of conservative ideology, while at the same time re-visiting 60’s nostalgic icons. Despite the jokes and the stereotyping, one has to admit that, as a filmmaker, he has helped bring to screen some of the most talked about cinematic experiences of our time, including Midnight Express, Scarface, not to mention Conan the Barbarian. As a director, his works, s…
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Somewhere in the Night

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 9th, 2005

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Synopsis

John Hodiak plays a soldier who wakes up after being wounded with no memory. All he knows is what he is told: that his name is George Taylor. He makes his way to LA, and before long is looking for one Larry Cravat, a man who is apparently his friend. But lots of other people are looking for Cravat too, both hoodlums and cops, and our hero is quickly up to his neck in danger, without even knowing why.

An early storyline centred around amnesia, Somehwere in the Night’s twists …
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House on 92nd Street, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 8th, 2005

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Synopsis

As the US enters the conflict of WWII, a ring of Nazi spies works to uncover American research into the atomic bomb. The are based out of a dress shop at the house of the title, and they are infiltrated by double agent William Eythe. Will he uncover the traitor in the nuclear program before the Nazis uncover the traitor in their own midst?

This isn’t, properly speaking, a noir, something that the commentary itself points out, adding that this is, rather, the first of the pseudo-doc…
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Cabinet of Caligari, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 7th, 2005

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Synopsis

When Glynis Johns’ car breaks down, she seeks help at the mansion run by Dr. Caligari (Dan O’Herlihy), who promptly makes her prisoner. He won’t let her leave, he says, until she tells him everything about her most intimate life. All of the other guests at the house won’t help her, and everyone has a tendency to speak in riddles. Our heroine descends deeper and deeper into a nightmarish psychological trap.

Not a remakes, as such, of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, this does owe…
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Harry and Tonto

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

Art Carney is a spirited senior (the Harry of the title) who is evicted from his home (the building is going to be torn down to make way for a parking lot). He sets out with his cat Tonto on a cross-country journey that sees him bouncing off family members and strangers on their own journeys.

Some of these encounters are less believable than others (the Hooker With The Heart of Gold, for example), but the tone of the film is a gentle, wry, observational humour. Carney is excellent,…
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Doctor and the Devils, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 5th, 2005

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Synopsis

In 19th-Century Edinburgh, medical doctor Timothy Dalton needs bodies in order to further medical science. He avails himself of the services of two scoundrels (Johnathan Pryce and Stephen Rea), who provide him with extremely fresh specimens. Disturbingly fresh, as assistant Julian Sands is quick to realize. Dalton contends that the ends justify the means, even if those means are murder.

The story of murderous grave robbers Burke and Hare has been committed to screen in one form or …
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Innocents, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 4th, 2005

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Synopsis

Based on Henry James’ novella The Turn of the Screw, this is the tale of a repressed governess (Deborah Kerr), who arrives at a country estate to care for two young children. She soon becomes convinced that the ghosts of the valet and the previous governess are haunting the place, and have evil designs on the children.

The Turn of the Screw is not only one of the masterpieces of the ghost story in English literature, it is also the very model of ambiguity. Are the gho…
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Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 20th, 2005

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Synopsis

Gregory Peck is having trouble making ends meet in his current job. A more lucrative one opens up, but with it comes many more demands that create more stress in his family. There is also a secret from his past that is coming back to haunt him.

Eminently watchable, this is also hugely melodramatic, very long, and quite dated. Jennifer Jones as Peck’s wife comes off almost immediately as an intolerable shrew, berating her husband for lack of ambition and complaining about the suppos…
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Anna and the King of Siam

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 30th, 2005

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Synopsis

Strong-willed Englishwoman Irene Dunne (the Anna of the title) arrives at the court of King Rex Harrison to teach his wives and 67 children. The clash of cultures is immediate, with the very British Anna refusing to bend to the more outlandish demands of her new surroundings, and Harrison himself torn between modernity and tradition.

The 1946 film is something of a cultural relic itself, now, and is something of a postcolonialist’s nightmare, what with constant references to the “h…
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Razor’s Edge, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 16th, 2005

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Synopsis

Society belle Gene Tierney is in love with the dashing but penniless Tyrone Power, much to the displeasure of her snobbish uncle Clifton Webb (turning in another of his signature bitchy roles). Tierney wants Power to settle down and earn a good living in order to keep her in the manner to which she is accustomed, but Power needs to find some meaning in life, and he heads off to find enlightenment, first in Paris, later in India. Tierney doesn’t wait for him, and marries millionaire John Payn…
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Seed of Chucky

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 16th, 2005

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Synopsis

Years after the events of Bride of Chucky, evil dolls Chucky (voice of Brad Dourif) and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly) are dormant and being used to make a Chucky movie, starring in-decline sexpot Jennifer Tilly. (I know: very postmodern already, and we’ve only just begun.) Their offspring (voice of Billy Boyd), of indeterminate gender and gentle spirit, escapes its evil ventriloquist captor, travels to Hollywood and revives the demonic duo, unaware of their psychotic natures. Chucky wants …
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Buffalo Bill

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 12th, 2005

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Synopsis

One of the unique parts of the Western film genre is the lore behind Buffalo Bill. And while the western has faded as a favored film genre through the years, it’s still the subject of various films, stage plays and other adaptations. This particular film tells the story of a white man living in the West who was sympathetic to and friends with the Native Americans, Bill Cody, who later became a scout for the Army and was the head of a sideshow in the later years of his life.

The film stars…
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House of Bamboo

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 31st, 2005

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Synopsis

This remake of The Street With No Name shifts the scene from mid-40s US to mid-50s Japan. Robert Ryan heads up a ruthless gang of ex-GIs, and uses pachinko parlours as acover for his robberies. He recruits Robert Stack into his gang, little suspecting that Stack is, infact, an undercover investigator.

Samuel Fuller’s reworking plays up the homoerotic undercurrent (which Richard Widmarknonetheless conveyed quite effectively in the original), and Robert Stack i…
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Street With No Name, The

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 28th, 2005

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Synopsis

The FBI, determined to crack a gangland case involving two murders, sends undercoveragent Mark Stevens to the mean streets. Posing as a lowlife, he is recruited by sinister crime bossRichard Widmark. Stevens soon discovers that Widmark is indeed the man responsible for thekillings, but he needs concrete evidence before the FBI can move in. Meanwhile, Widmark hasan agent of his own in the ranks of the police, and Stevens’ cover may soon be blown.

The opening minutes …
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Spaceballs

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on May 10th, 2005

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Synopsis

The evil Spaceballs, led by Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) plan to steal the atmosphere of thepeaceful planet Druidia. Daphne Zuniga, as the Leia-like princess of Druidia, accompanied byher faithful robot Dot Matrix (voice of Joan Rivers) teams up with the vaguely Han Solo-ish BillPullman and his dog/man/Wookie parody Barf (John Candy) to defeat the evil.

I think, maybe, if you’re eleven, this might be hilarious. But I have my doubts. As ever withMel Brooks, the humour …
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