Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 13th, 2001
Intro
I’m guessing here, but I bet that it’s the DVD format’s ability to store vast quantities of information that is behind the sudden home video releases of twenty-year-old TV mini-series. This one is suitably epic.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2001
Intro
‘Tis the season of bangs and booms it seems, as the release of big war movies of the past continues. This isn’t one of the best, but, produced as it is by Dino De Laurentis, it is big.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 12th, 2001
Intro
Lo how the mighty have fallen. There was a time when Patrick Swayze and Melanie Griffith were A-level stars with a certain guaranteed box office. No more, it seems. Now they’re starring together in made-for-cable efforts like this one, originally titled Forever Lulu.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 10th, 2001
Intro
Here’s a unique opportunity: the chance to see director Paul Verhoeven’s very first theatrical release. We’re a long, long way from Total Recall and Starship Troopers here, but perhaps not so far from Showgirls, at least as far as subject matter is concerned.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 1st, 2001
Hoooo boy! I bet you had forgotten what movies were like in 1979, right? Let me sum it up for you then: slow moving, and brown. The contrast in cinematic styles alone is shocking – this movie is full of long, long, long 20 second shots accompanied by ear-straining orchestrals; contrast this to the frenetic pace of today’s movies where camera angles change every three seconds and you’ll see how film styles have evolved in the 20 years since this movie was made to match waning attention spans. The highlight of this fil... for me was Spock uttering “Resistance would be futile, Captain…” Now we know where today’s producers get their ideas.
Enough about the style though, let’s get digital: this is a great DVD release. Trek fans should buy it, without question. The movie features new scenes in the “Director’s Cut,” new visual effects, and a mountain of extras. One of the best things about this release is that the production crew worked with the mandate that they wouldn’t do anything that couldn’t have been done in 1979; as such the new scenes blend seamlessly with the rest of the movie. Contrast this with the Star Wars re-releases of a few years back where painfully new looking CGI animations attempted and failed to co-mingle with original footage; seamlessness makes this re-release a masterpiece (see the “Redirecting the Future” documentary included on the second DVD for more on this).
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 29th, 2001
Intro
Weary of 24-hour CNN war coverage? Want to see a more emotionally satisfying version of war? Then look no further than this 1944 Oscar nominee.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 29th, 2001
Just in case you thought war propaganda was incompatible with good filmmaking, here’s this release in Fox’s War Classics series.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2001
Fans of Saving Private Ryan are hereby advised to look in to this 1950 effort, one of the original platoon films.
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 22nd, 2001
Intro
We’re all pretty familiar with Demi Moore shorn of hair in GI Jane. But do you remember her with a blonde wig? No? Time to refresh your memory.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 16th, 2001
I must say that upon learning about the SuperBit Series from Columbia-Tristar, I was very intrigued. I did not know what to really expect… no special features? I must say, that at least for Fifth Element: SuperBit, I am very impressed. Fifth Element was originally released on DVD a few years ago with no special features and very good video and audio quality… similar to the SuperBit ideology. Before I get into this disc, here is a bit about the plot…
Synopsis
