Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 11th, 2006
The Academy Awards ceremony continues to devalue itself by giving honors to films, which are mediocre at best, or films that try desperately to force a political agenda down the American people’s throats, while gems such as 2004’s Downfall linger in relative obscurity, and certainly do not receive the recognition they deserve. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel’s study of Hitler’s final days transcends the triviality of being considered a film and instead functions as a window into the past. And for a little more th...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on January 6th, 2006
Peter Weir’s Gallipoli is a remarkable film. Starring an inexperienced model, who was only intended to be used for a photo shoot to promote the picture and shot on a small budget, this film's longevity and frequently attained levels of excellence could have never been predicted. That doesn't mean Gallipoli will be turning up on any all-time best lists any time soon, as the first half has a tendency to drag its feet. However, a solid hour two punctuated by one of the most haunting images I have seen in a...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 30th, 2005
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 18th, 2005
Synopsis
Operation Market Garden is the most famous Allied defeat in the Second World War. An audacious plan scuppered by bad luck and worse decisions, it is recounted in this visually spectacular film. The goal is to seize a group of bridges across Holland, culminating in the brdge at Arnhem. Everything imaginable goes wrong. Richard Attenborough’s film stars just about every big name actor under the sun, and his re-enactment has so many extras and so much hardware that one feels he could have convi...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 24th, 2005
The Battle of Britain was a famous turning point in the World War Two theatre. The movie, Battle of Britain, was brought to your home theatre a few years ago. This single disc edition, with very few features, seemingly cried out for more. Now we have it in Battle of Britain: Collectors Edition, 2 discs of military goodness.
The film itself has spectacle. The planes used for this film helped create an air force equal to a medium sized country. No CGI here. The director is Guy Hamilton (b...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 11th, 2005
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...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 26th, 2005
Synopsis
Lloyd Bridges is the Major in the Canadian forces who is seeking redemption for a failed raid. His audacious plan is to attack the German’s fortified docks in occupied France. His scheme is opposed by Brit Captain Andrew Keir, whose son died in the earlier raid, but Keir finds himself captaining the substandard ship as the raid begins.
This is pretty run-of-the-mill WWII action, the kind of film that is virtually indistinguishable from uncountable others, all fodder for three-a.m. ...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 7th, 2005
Synopsis
Two brothers, Jin-seok and Jin-tae, are drafted into the South Korean army when war eruptsin 1950. Jin-seok is bookish and has a bad heart -- there is no way he can survive the war withouthis older, stronger brother’s help. Jin-tae takes on one insanely risky mission after another,having been given the hope that if he performs sufficient acts of bravery, his brother will be senthome. He begins to lose sight of this goal, however, as he starts to like the glory of being a hero...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 17th, 2004
I am sure that many consumers have noticed the disturbing trend taking place in DVD land with regard to the same movie being released in multiple versions. This practice, commonly referred to in the industry as “multiple bites at the apple”, is a cheap way for studios to persuade consumers to buy movies that they already own over and over again, since each new release offers some sort of extra upgrade from the previous versions. Even those of us in the DVD community sometimes get burned on this type of thing, as ther...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 4th, 2004
Synopsis
Set in France in 1918, What Price Glory centres on a company of marines headedby James Cagney. He and his more conventionally military First Sergeant (Dan Dailey) arequickly at loggerheads over the same woman, an omnipresent theme in the recent releases of theFox War Classics series. Equally obligatory, it seems, is the presence of Robert Wagner, whoseromance is a side-story here. So is the war, which really doesn’t play much of a part until the lastact. Most of the ...
