Topic: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar

[GSyren]

The US release is available used for £10 from Amazon UK. It has english subs.

[DSig]

Who Framed Roger Rabbit .. what a great inspired film.  Who could have imagined that they could get all the characters from all those studios .. And the great acting and directing along with some pretty hefty production/editing.  And Bob Hoskins that too was an inspired selection.  I watched it again a couple of months ago and it holds up very very well.

[Dragonfire]

I've always liked Roger Rabbit.  I saw it in the theater when it first came out with my mom...unfortunately she doesn't care for it.

[GSyren]

Title	Django, Prepare A Coffin (5-027035-010229)
Director	Ferdinando Baldi
Actors	Terence Hill, Horst Frank, George Eastman, José Torres, Pinuccio Ardia
Produced	1968 in Italy
Runtime	92 minutes
Audio	English PCM 2-Channel Stereo, Italian PCM 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	English
Overview	Django the drifter returns in this classic Sixties Spaghetti Western from Ferdinando Baldi (Texas Addio, Comin At Ya!), starring Terence Hill (They Call Me Trinity) as the wandering gunslinger, hired as executioner to a corrupt local politician who is framing innocent men, sending them to hang in an evil scheme to take hold of their land. But Django has other ideas...
My thoughts	Django, Prepare a Coffin (aka Viva Django) was the sequel to the original Django. Franco Nero couldn't play Django this time, because he was busy in Hollywood doing Camelot. Instead the producers chose a relatively unknown young actor named Mario Girotti, who had just taken the stage name Terence Hill. Two years later Hill would become famous in "My Name is Trinity" (aka "They Call Me Trinity"). In this film, Django works as a hangman, but he saves the lives of innocently convicted men (and a woman) by staging fake hangings. The films doesn't make it clear if he actually hangs any guilty villains. He organizes a gang with these men in order to avenge the killing of his wife, who was shot during the robbery of a gold transport. This is not a comedy western like the many he did together with Bud Spencer. This is quite violent. In fact, when this was first shown in Sweden in 1969, it was with 11 cuts totaling over 7 minutes. Now we can see it uncut, though. And in the aspect ratio in which it was shot, 1.66:1. IMDb claims it was 2.35:1, but that is wrong. It seems, though, that it was shown in several countries matted to 1.85:1. The picture quality of this Blu-Ray disc is good, but not stellar. At times it shows its age. The disc comes with Italian and English audio. As with most spaghetti westerns of this era, both language tracks are dubbed, since they used actors of many different nationalities all speaking their own language. As far as I can determine, the Italian track uses Hill's own voice. The English dub doesn't quite sound like the voice I remember from the Hill/Spencer films, so it seemed a little off to me. The extras consist of a Viva Django trailer and an eight minute interview with Kevin Grant, author of Django Explained. I haven't seen Tarantino's Django Unchained yet. I guess it's time to get that on and see how it compares to this and to the original Django.
My rating	3.5 out of 5

[Piffi]

I havent seen the others, but Tarantino's Django was just amazing. It might be my favorite movie i've seen so far this year!
I think you will enjoy it!

[Achim]

I haven't seen Tarantino's Django Unchained yet. I guess it's time to get that on and see how it compares to this and to the original Django.[/td][/tr][/table]

If comparison is your motivation, then you don'y have to hurry. Django is only used by Tarantino in name and that is a character we know almost nothing about (that's how remember the original, anyway). Actually, he even doesn't carry through with the latter, as we are provided with a back story.

I quite like Django Unchained as well, but it's clearly a Tarantino flick.

[GSyren]

Title	The Chronological Donald: Volume Four: 1951-1961 (786936-768268)
Director	Jack Hannah et al
Actors	Clarence Nash,
Produced	1951 in United States
Runtime	344 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	English
Overview	In this final volume, our chronicle of Donald's solo-starring shorts wraps up with some of his rarely seen, feather ruffling adventures from 1951 through 1961. And, for the first time on DVD, Donald's CinemaScope cartoons are presented in their original widescreen format. This collection of classics includes two of Donald's Academy Award®-nominated Best Shorts — Rugged Bear (1953) and No Hunting (1955); a retrospective of Donald's career in comic books; and a storyboard presentation for an unproduced Donald Duck cartoon pitched by famed Disney animator Eric Goldberg. From bit player to superstar, Donald gave voice to the frustrations of everyone and in the process endeared himself to the world. Featuring exclusive introductions by film historian LEONARD MALTIN, this is a timeless collection from generations past for generations to come. Disc 1 - The Shorts: 1. Dude Duck (1951) 2. Corn Chips (1951) 3. Test Pilot Donald (1951) 4. Lucky Number (1951) 5. Out of Scale (1951) 6. Bee On Guard (1951) 7. Donald Applecore (1952) 8. Let's Stick Together (1952) 9. Trick or Treat (1952) 10. Don's Fountain of Youth (1953) 11. The New Neighbor (1953) 12. Working for Peanuts (1953) 13. Canvas Back Duck (1953) Disc 1 - From the Vault: 14. Uncle Donald's Ants (1952) 15. Rugged Bear (1953) Disc 2 - The Shorts: 16. Donald's Diary (1954) 17. Dragon Around (1954) 18. Grin and Bear It (1954) 19. The Flying Squirrel (1954) 20. Grand Canyonscope (1954) 21. Bearly Asleep (1955) 22. Beezy Bear (1955) 23. Up A Tree (1955) 24. Chips Ahoy (1956) 25. How to Have an Accident In the Home (1956) 26. Donald in Mathmagic Land (1959) 27. Donald and the Wheel (1961) 28. The Litterbug (1961) Disc 2 - From the Vault: 29. Spare the Rod (1954) 30. No Hunting (1955) 31. How to Have An Accident at Work (1959)
My thoughts	So, after five years I finally got around to viewing this, the final Chronological Donald. In the 1950s I grew up reading “Kalle Anka” (that's Donald Duck in Swedish) and watching the animated shorts in the cinema. Not so much on TV, because we did not yet own a TV set. I did occasionally sneak in to our neighbor to watch Disneyland, though. I was a bit confused over the fact that there were (at least) three radically different Donalds. The one I liked the most was the one created by Carl Barks. Of course, at the time I didn't know about Barks. And then there were the daily comic strips drawn primarily by Al Taliaferro. And then of course we had the cartoons. “Who's got the sweetest disposition? One guess, guess who!” Matinee time! Sundays at 1 and 3 pm were the standard times for matinees. Kids would queue around the block to get into the local cinema. And upon hearing the Donald Duck theme song we all knew we were in for a treat. Life was good! It is, of course, impossible to replicate that feeling sitting alone in your living room in front of a 40” flatscreen TV half a century later, but I still get a buzz every time I hear that tune. While I may prefer the slightly older cartoons, any Donald Duck cartoon still feels like a treat, no matter that I've seen them all (or at least most of them) before. The few widescreen Donalds seem wrong, though. Donald belongs in an academy aspect ratio frame. In the cinema we never got any introductions by Leonard Maltin, obviously. Here we do, and I must say I really appreciate his intros on any Disney DVD. The only thing is – if you watch just a few cartoons at a time, you really don't want to hear the same intro every time you put the DVD into the player. It's almost as annoying as forced trailers. Sure, you can skip forward past Leonard, but I really wish that these intros would have been on the menus rather than being played automatically every time. But that's about my only real complaint. If you didn't buy this title when it was released back in 2008, you're shit out of luck now. Like most of these Walt Disney Treasures it's out of print, and this one can set you back $200 now. But maybe you can get lucky and find some seller who don't know what it's worth. Anyway, it's a great two-disc set, and I'm so glad I bought it when I did.
My rating	4 out of 5

[GSyren]

Title	Earth vs. the Flying Saucers (043396-265738)
Director	Fred F. Sears
Actors	Hugh Marlowe, Joan Taylor, Donald Curtis, Morris Ankrum, John Zaremba
Produced	1956 in United States
Runtime	83 minutes
Audio	English Dolby TrueHD 5.1, French Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles	Arabic, English, French, Japanese, Hindi, Portuguese, Spanish
Overview	Aliens are everywhere, and they're attacking planet Earth in one of Ray Harryhausen's most amazing stop-motion sci-fi classics. Dr. Russell Marvin (Hugh Marlowe) works for Operation Sky Hook, a governement task force sending rockets into space to probe for future space flights. But when the rockets begin mysteriously disappearing, Dr. Marvin investigates along with his wife Carol (Joan Taylor), only to find the rockets are being intercepted by an army of space aliens who give humanity an ultimatum: loyality or death! As the aliens begin attacking cities and landmarks across the Earth - including an unforgettable assult on Washington D.C. - it's up to Dr. Marvin and his wife to figure out how to stop these diabolical creatures before it's too late.
My thoughts	I hate to say it, but Earth vs. the Flying Saucers is possibly my least favorite Harryhausen movie. I might even have liked it more if Harryhausen hadn't been involved in it. The reason is that I think Harryhausen's efforts were pretty much wasted on the movie. There was nothing in the saucers themselves that needed or warranted animation. The spinning motion could easily have been accomplished by other mechanical means. The saucers crashing into various buildings and monuments was interesting, but such crashes usually means falling debris, which is extremely difficult to get to look realistic using stop motion. It almost always screams "fake", even when Harryhausen does it. In addition, the aliens don't seem to have any kind of plan. They just fly around Washington shooting randomly at various buildings, waiting for the humans to pick them off with their hastily constructed weapons. So, I'm sorry, but I have a real hard time getting excited about this film. I know many others love it, but i just don't.
My rating	A magnanimous 3 out of 5

[GSyren]

Title	Neverland (5-039036-050388)
Director	Nick Willing
Actors	Keira Knightley, Charlotte Atkinson, Charles Dance, Anna Friel, Bob Hoskins
Produced	2011 in United Kingdom
Runtime	162 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles	English
Overview	The legend of Peter Pan begins. After accidently opening a magical gateway, young ragamuffin Peter (Rowe) and his friends are transported to a magical world filled with danger and mystery at every turn. This strange new world pushes their bravery and friendship to the limsits as a remarkable series of events set Peter on the path to becoming the Boy Who Never Grew Up. Featuring thrilling action and a superb A-list cast, Neverland explores the origins of Peter Pan and Captain Hook and puts a brilliantly original twist on a truly classic tale.
My thoughts	This two-part mini-series is a prequel to Peter Pan. It's a lot darker than the Disney version of Peter Pan, so it might be better to consider it a prequel to the 2003 Jason Isaacs movie. Anyway, I liked the way they had imagined back stories for all the characters. It's not entirely flawless, though. Q'orianka Kilcher as Aaya (aka Tiger Lily) seemed rather wooden, and some of the CGI betrayed the productions TV roots. It was real fun to see Bob Hoskins doing Smee twenty years after doing the same role in Hook. Rhys Ifans was good as James Hook - before he lost his hand and became Captain Hook. The film plays a bit of a trick on the viewer by showing the pirates with a female captain with a hook. So the first impression is "What? A female Captain Hook?" But she's actually Captain Elizabeth Bonny (played by Anna Friel), and she's about to be replaced by James Hook. Charlie Rowe is quite good as Peter Pan. Actually, he is never refered to anything but just "Peter". He does play a flute, but not a pan flute, so I'm not sure where the Pan name comes from. Reactions to this Peter Pan prequel has been varied. Some people didn't like it at all, but I quite enjoyed it. Perhaps it gets to be a bit much if you watch it in one sitting. I watched the two parts one day apart, and that worked fine for me. I would say it's highly recommended. (Should I have posted this in "TV on DVD" reviews? Well, I consider mini-series and TV movies to be movies. I know that people on DVD Profiler forums don't agree with me, but for me only TV shows belong in the Television genre. So there!)
My rating	4 out of 5

[GSyren]

Title	They Came From Beyond Space (5-055201-820204)
Director	Freddie Francis
Actors	Robert Hutton, Jennifer Jayne, Zia Mohyeddin, Bernard Kay, Michael Gough
Produced	1967 in United Kingdom
Runtime	82 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	None
Overview	Aliens have developed a way of transforming brain power into pure energy, at the expense of their physical form. Needing new bodies to house the incredible force, the aliens invade planet earth to export human beings. No one is immune from the invasion except for scientist Dr. Curt Temple whose skull, as the result of an accident, is reinforced with a silver plate.
My thoughts	The title suggest a really cheesy movie. It's not quite as bad as it may sound. I actually quite liked it. But you would have to remember that this is a low budget sixties sci-fi movie made by Hammer-wannabe Amicus Productions. They even borrowed one of Hammers best directors, Freddie Francis. The basic concept isn't bad. The script by Milton Subotsky doesn't quite make it justice. Subotsky clearly isn't of the same caliber as Hammer's Jimmy Sangster. And I can't quite decide if the ending is a good peaceful message or just a wimp-out. Robert Hutton in the lead role isn't bad at all. And Michael Gough is... well, he is Michael Gough. Somehow he's always enjoyable even when he hams it up. So, if you're expecting action and effects on the scale of todays movies, you'll be sorely disappointed. But if you like a good old sci-fi movie you might do worse than this. One caveat though, the music that accompanies the (few) fight scenes is terribly annoying. Just someone going at it at a snare drum. I give it a weak 3 out of 5. If they had put Michael Ripper in a supporting role I might have given it another half point. Yes, I'm a Ripper fan (Michael, that is, not Jack). Oh, another warning - the cover art has absolutely nothing to do with this film. Totally wishful thinking :-(
My rating	3 out of 5

[GSyren]

Oops, I did it again!

I was channel surfing and I happened upon Rio Bravo on TCM. It was about the last half hour, and it's a movie that I like very much. In no small part is this thanks to Walter Brennan. His character Stumpy is brilliant. John Wayne, Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson are very good, too. The one who often get panned is Ricky Nelson, and yes, he's way too young to play his character, but I think he did a pretty good job of it, all considered.

So I wasted half an hour watching a non-anamorphic version of a film that I have a perfectly good version of on DVD. Some films just grab me and won't let go. Now I just have to make sure I stay away from TCM when they show Where Eagles Dare, which they do again and again...
 

[Dragonfire]

My mom was watching that on TCM again too.  She's seen it I don't know how many times and she has the DVD.  At least the station doesn't put in a ton a commercials.

[DSig]

Oops, I did it again!

I was channel surfing and I happened upon Rio Bravo on TCM. It was about the last half hour, and it's a movie that I like very much. In no small part is this thanks to Walter Brennan. His character Stumpy is brilliant. John Wayne, Dean Martin and Angie Dickinson are very good, too. The one who often get panned is Ricky Nelson, and yes, he's way too young to play his character, but I think he did a pretty good job of it, all considered.

So I wasted half an hour watching a non-anamorphic version of a film that I have a perfectly good version of on DVD. Some films just grab me and won't let go. Now I just have to make sure I stay away from TCM when they show Where Eagles Dare, which they do again and again...
 

<G> yeah there are several that I really try hard not watch while channel surfing .. especially on regular channels as I ususally have the disc .. why put up with the commercials??? but some films I just get sucked into  like you.

And i agree ... Walter Brennan was always a hoot.  I really loved him in To Have, and To Have Not I can't think of anyone who could have played the character better.  I like most everything he did.  "You ever been stung by a dead bee?"

[GSyren]

A recent discussion about Bergman's films started me thinking of Swedish films that I would recommend. Here, in no particular order, are some suggestions. Most of them are only available subtitled, so I guess they're of no interest to Pete. But for those who can stand reading subtitles, you can do worse than watching a few of these films.

	Mio min Mio (Mio in the Land of Faraway) This is a story written by Astrid Lindgren (author of Pippi Longstocking and many other childrens books). It's a Swedish/Russian/Norwegian coproduction, and unfortunately not very easy to find. It's interesting for several reasons. It's a good (but not a great) film on its own. Many people have pointed out that it has some similarities to The Lord of the Rings. It's possible that Lindgren was inspired by Tolkien, I don't know. It's also interesting because it's Christian Bale's first movie role. And Christopher Lee is in it, too. Plus I love the title song "Mio My Mio" written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson (of ABBA). This one is in English, so it's "Pete safe"
	Det sjunde inseglet (The Seventh Seal) If you're only going to see one Ingmar Bergman film, I would vote for this. If for nothing else, then for the iconic scene with the man playing chess with the grim reaper. It is perhaps not an easy film to watch, but it's so worth it if you're the least bit interested in film.
	En kärlekshistoria (A Swedish Love Story) Directed by Roy Andersson, this is probably the sweetest story of young love that I have seen. It's available in the UK on DVD, but I don't think it as been released in the US. Absolutely worth looking out for.
	Evil Ed (Evil Ed) Well, he he, if you're into splatter movies, this is the best known Swedish splatter movie. That's not saying much, though, because we have produced very few. I'm sure there are others, but this is the only one I'm aware of. Not too easy to find anymore.
	Fanny och Alexander (Fanny and Alexander) From the description of the Criterion Collection (and I couldn't have said it better myself): Through the wide eyes of ten-year-old Alexander (Bertil Guve), we witness the great delights and conflicts of the Ekdahl family—a sprawling, convivial bourgeois clan living in turn-of-the-century Sweden. Intended as Ingmar Bergman’s swan song, Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) is the legendary filmmaker’s warmest and most autobiographical film, a triumph that combines his trademark melancholy and emotional rigor with immense joyfulness and sensuality. You can get the 5 hour TV version, which was Bergman's prefered version, or the theatrical 3 hour version.
	Jungfrukällan (The Virgin Spring) Together with The Seventh Seal, this is probably the most important of Bergman's films. It's a story of rape, death and revenge in the 14th century. I've heard that Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left is supposed to be a remake of The Virgin Spring. I haven't seen Last House, but I can say that The Virgin Spring isn't a horror story, even though the story is horrific. It's a drama. A very gripping drama.
	Låt den rätte komma in (Let the Right One In) I don't think I need to say much about this. Directed by Tomas Alfredson, this is a rather different vampire tale. Far removed from Bram Stoker's Dracula, this is about a 12 year old (forever) vampire in contemporary Stockholm (a suburb named Blackberg, to be precise). If you have seen the US remake Let Me In (which is not bad at all), you should see the original.
	Mannen på taket (Man on the Roof) Based on the Sjöwall/Wahlöö thriller "Den vedervärdige mannen från Säffle" (The Despicable Man from Säffle), this is arguably the best police thriller ever made in Sweden. Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, who was actually best known as a comedian, is superb as detective Martin Beck. The film starts with a very bloody murder of a policeman in a hospital bed and ends with the chase of a rooftop sniper. Director Bo Widerberg is probably best known abroad for the love story Elvira Madigan with the very beautiful Pia Degermark in the title role. However, most people seem to rank Man on the Roof as Widerberg's best picture. The Swedish R2 DVD has English subtitles. Available from ginza.se for SEK 49 (c:a Euro 5.65) plus postage within the EU.
	Mitt liv som hund (My Life as a Dog) Although Lasse Hallström had made quite a few films in Sweden (among them ABBA, The Movie), it was My Life as a Dog that catapulted him to fame. The weird thing is that although I rated it 4.5 out of 5 when I saw it seven years ago, I can hardly remember anything about it. Maybe there is something in there that I don't want to remember...?
	Millennium-trilogin (The Millenium Trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire / The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest) You may have seen Fincher's remake of the first film, but you should really see the full original trilogy. It started as a six part mini-series. The "Extended Version" is actually the full mini-series as shown on TV, 9 hours in total. I only saw the theatrical versions. I liked them all a lot, but the first film is the best. All are worth seeing, though.
	The Ninja Mission (The Ninja Mission) Here's another one that is hard to find. And maybe not worth looking for... Mats Helge (Olsson) can be said to be Sweden's answer to Ed Wood. Well, maybe not quite that inept, but not far from it. He has directed 14 movies between 1975 and 1994. I've seen two of them. This one is the better of the two, but that doesn't mean much. These films falls into the "so bad it's good" classification. For turkey lovers only!
	Sommaren med Monika (Summer with Monika) Now here's a Bergman film that you don't need to be a masochist to watch. While it's a bit of a sad tale, it doesn't show any trace of the dark demons that haunted Bergman in his later works. It's actually a subtle and beautiful film. Harriet Andersson is beautiful and sexy, but not in any cheap way. Truly recommended.
	Så som i himmelen (As It Is in Heaven) Once again I find myself in need of a quote, from Amazon: Nominated for Best Foreign Film at the 2005 Academy Awards®, As It Is In Heaven is the story of Daniel, a successful international conductor who returns to his childhood village in Sweden. Soon thereafter, the local church choir seeks him out to solicit his advice. He can't refuse, and nothing in the village is the same again. As the amateur choir develops and grows, he is drawn to the people of his old hometown, makes friends and finds love... A beautiful and engaging film, As It Is In Heaven is a wonderful story about life and love that is sure to inspire and delight. From the title you might think that this is a religious movie. Yes, it's about a church choir but you don't have to be religious to appreciate it. I would say it's uplifting.
	Utvandrarna / Nybyggarna (The Emigrants / The New Land) Two films based on the books by Vilhelm Moberg. This is the story of a group of people who, in the middle of the 19th century, found living in rural Sweden so impossible that they decided to emigrate to the land of opportunity, The United States of America, and how they settled in Minnesota. These are truly gripping films with an outstanding cast, lead by Max von Sydow and Liv Ullman. Unfortunately I don't think these are available on DVD with English subtitles.

[DSig]

<lot of bits snipped>

Millennium-trilogin (The Millenium Trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire / The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest)
You may have seen Fincher's remake of the first film, but you should really see the full original trilogy. It started as a six part mini-series. The "Extended Version" is actually the full mini-series as shown on TV, 9 hours in total. I only saw the theatrical versions. I liked them all a lot, but the first film is the best. All are worth seeing, though

If you want the full blunt traumatic force of Ingmar Bergman, then 'The Seventh Seal' is the one to see.  Be sure to have tranqs available <G> or large glass of Makers Mark.  But is kind of the 'holy grail' for film lovers.

And 'The Millenium Trilogy' i could not agree more.  Although I liked the American remake .. it was the pace and not the content/acting that made it *better* to me.  The original is really a must see.  The first film, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" is to me the best of the three BUT the other two really tie together the characters and their stories.  It gives the first one reason and meaning.  An I always love it when the powerful get it stuck to them for a change