Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 20th, 2003
In 1962 Ed Sabol purchased the rights to film the NFL and history was made. NFL films came to pioneer so many styles of filming that are still in use today like slow motion and the tight spiral football shot. The footage contained in these discs have never been seen before, it is old archived footage that was never used and it is amazing. The three discs are as follows…
Disc 1 – The Creation (1962-1965): This film looks at the beginning of what would become NFL Films. Watch as Ed Sabol and his ...on Steve pioneer the use of slow motion, multiple cameras and wireless microphones all while seeing amazing players like Jim Brown in never before seen footage.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 12th, 2003
This is the story of Frida Kahlo, now recognized as one of Mexico’s greatest artists. Most particularly, the film is the story of her tempestuous love affair with fellow artist Diego Rivera --their loves, their clashes, their politics, their infidelities, their betrayals, and so on. So much attention is paid to this relationship that Kahlo’s art itself slips into the background, which is too bad. That said, this is a tremendously engaging film, with great performances all round.It is also a spectacular movie to look at. If Kahlo’s art doesn’t take centre stage in the narrative, it does in the look of the film, informing almost every frame. The visual impact is not simply eye candy,however. Every colour is thematically relevant. This is a film made by creators very conscious of the visual possibilities of cinema.
Audio
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on June 3rd, 2003
Spanning a good thirty years, Giant tells the tale of the Benedicts, a Texas family on an immense cattle range. The patriarch is Rock Hudson, whom we first meet as a young man visiting Maryland to buy a horse. There he meets Elizabeth Taylor and falls in love. His new bride initially finds Texas difficult to adjust to, and Texas has difficulty adjusting to her, as she does not hold with the local attitudes towards women and, most especially, Mexicans. The third major player is James Dean, a rather sullen ranch hand who winds up changing everybody’s lives when he strikes oil on his small parcel of land.
This is a big film, with big scope, big stars, big performances, big virtues, and big flaws. It is at its best as it works out the family dynamics, with Hudson and Taylor bouncing off each other.James Dean, though he has comparatively little screen time, turns in a remarkable performance,and as the characters move into middle-age, his is the most convincing transformation. The film is at its weakest in its ham-fisted handling of the racial issues. These scenes play out in deeply predictable fashion, and the symbolism of the final scene is so obvious, yet takes itself so seriously, that the film ends on a note of high camp. But even these problems make up part of the charm, and its 201 minutes go by surprisingly quickly. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore,and nor should they, but thank God they did in 1956.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 28th, 2003
This, the third DVD release of T2, reiterates the genius behind this film. With this disc, we are given the same extended edition and theatrical version as found on the Ultimate Edition release, but the new High Definition transfer found on this Extreme Edition makes this 10+ year old film look brand new.
This disc is set to play the 16-minute extended version of the film. If you prefer the theatrical version, on the main menu, go to Sensory Control, and hit the right arrow on your remote 5 times. After ...ou have done this, you will notice “The future is not set” appear on the right, and the theatrical version is now accessible.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 27th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 7th, 2003
Set to coincide with the theatrical release of Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Columbia-Tristar releases the highly successful Charlie’s Angels as the latest Superbit Deluxe DVD. This film is wildly enjoyable… with a wonderful mix of action and comedy. I cannot imagine another trio pulling this film off as well as Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu. Their acting chemistry, along with the direction of McG, has made this a film that can be enjoyed over and over again.
”They're beautiful, th...y're brilliant, and they work for Charlie. In the sexy, high-octane comedy update of the '70s television phenomenon, bookworm Natalie (Diaz), tough girl Dylan (Barrymore) and tech-savvy Alex (Liu), alongside faithful lieutenant Bosley (Bill Murray - Rushmore), must foil an elaborate murder-revenge plot that could not only destroy individual privacy and corporate security worldwide, but spell the end of Charlie and his Angels.” – Columbia-Tristar
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Chihiro is a ten-year-old girl moving to a new home. On the way there, her father takes awrong turn, and they find themselves in an abandoned amusement park. I really don’t want tosay too much, as this is a film whose wonders should be discovered without too muchforeknowledge. Suffice to say that Chihiro soon finds herself in a magical world of spirits,striving to free herself, her parents, and a new friend. Spirited Away is a stunning film, worthyof comparison to Alice in Wonderla...d and other children’s classics, and I don’t mean just otherfilms, either. The witch queen looks like something out of a John Tenniel illustration. The filmmight be too frightening for very young children (especially in the first half-hour), but everyoneelse is in for an unforgettable treat. This is a masterpiece.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on May 3rd, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 19th, 2003
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 14th, 2003
The X-files was one of the best written and directed shows on television, this unfortunately is the last year that the show held onto it‘s audience and originality. We start the season off with the two part season opener “The Sixth Extinction” and “The Sixth Extinction II” with Scully in Africa looking for a cure for Mulder’s mental state. In the middle we have the strangely sublime “X-cops” that finds Mulder and Scully on patrol with the Cops TV crew. We also find the typical mix of X-files weird and wonderfulness i... episodes like “Hunger” and “Je Souhaite” and outright weirdness in “Millennium”. To close things off for the year we see the show take a fairly dramatic left turn with the disappearance of Mulder and Scully’s discovery that she is pregnant, let’s also not forget that this is the season of the infamous kiss between Mulder and Scully (in the Millennium episode).
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