Topic: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar

[GSyren]

Hm, yeah, it will be interesting to see if they can manage to put a new spin on that. It feels like that story has been told every which way you can imagine. But who knows...

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

It feels like that story has been told every which way you can imagine.

You mean like "Evil person(s) take(s) a group of (mostly) innocent people hostage and doesn't realise that he forgot the one who lets a NAVY S.E.A.L. look like a buddhist monch"?

I really don't see how this could EVER get boring and overtold

[DSig]

If the action is good and little twists or turns then it never gets boring  

[GSyren]

I was actually refering to this story line

supposidly Bryan (liam) gets accused of a murder he didn't commit ...

And even if they can't put a new spin on it, it doesn't have to be boring.

[GSyren]

Title	The Amazing Colossal Man (8-033650-557343)
Director	Bert I. Gordon
Actors	Glenn Langan, Cathy Downs, William Hudson, Larry Thor, James Seay
Produced	1957 in United States
Runtime	77 minutes
Audio	Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	Italian
Overview	Lt. Col. Glenn Manning is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size. As he grows, his heart and circulatory system fail to keep pace with his growth, and he is gradually losing his mind as a result of reduced blood supply to his brain. He reaches 50 feet tall before his growth is stopped. By this time he has become insane. He escapes and wreaks havoc upon Las Vegas before he is finally stopped.
My thoughts	It would be a gross overstatement to say that The Amazing Colossal Man is a good movie. It's not. But it's a fun little movie. The script is way out there. Not only is the whole notion of anything growing like that totally bogus. It also makes some really WTF claims. “His heart grows slower than the rest of the body because the heart is a single cell.” What on earth was the scriptwriter smoking when he came up with that? Most of the effects are also laughable. Worst of all, the final effects shot, when the Colossal Man falls down from the Boulder Dam, is so pitiful that it taints the whole experience of the film. This movie is really hard to find on DVD. I got hold of an Italian release. I was dismayed when I started the film, because it was widescreen 1.78:1, and I knew it was supposed to be 1.37:1. Strangely enough it seemed to work. The composition hardly ever felt cramped. It was as if it was shot with matting in mind. However, I have never read anything that suggests that it was actually meant to be shown that way. You probably have to love 50's black-and-white genre movies in order to appreciate this film. It is a turkey, but it's a lovable turkey!
My rating

[DSig]

This made me laugh.  I remember seeing it when it came out and it was pretty serious then.  We all were living with "the bomb" and the horrors of nuclear anything.  Pretty serious stuff.  Then saw it again in the later sixties and man I way way too sophisticated for something like that.  Now i find it a fun watch .. occasionally.  Like 'Dark Star' it is a fill soo bad that you just have to like it  Thanks for reminding me.  Think i will try to find a copy.  Thanks again

Update: found a copy at a place never dealt with .. guess will see how that works out.

[GSyren]

I'm going to have to dig out the sequel, War of the Colossal Beast, and watch that one, too. I thought the makeup on the beast was cool in that one. Reminded me a lot of The Cyclops. The Colossal Beast was featured on the cover of the very first issue that I read of Famous Monsters, back in '63. It was that image that made me buy the magazine. Since FM has had an important influence on me, that illustration (by Basil Gogos, if I'm not mistaken) has a lot to answer for. Like col Manning, I was never the same again... 

Btw, in Colossal Man the dam is refered to by its original name, Boulder Dam. Any reason for that? Wasn't it renamed Hoover Dam about a decade before the film was made?

[DSig]

"Btw, in Colossal Man the dam is refered to by its original name, Boulder Dam. Any reason for that? Wasn't it renamed Hoover Dam about a decade before the film was made?"

The naming was more political than anything else.  I couldn't remember the bits but found this on wikipedia Naming Controversy.

I can remember as a kid it being called Boulder Dam. 

[DSig]

By the way ... you are a bad bad man (can't blame myself ) ... I just went on a tear and orders 6 more oldies including Jason and the Argonauts and several more that I have been holding off on but ... You keep reminding me of great films from my youth and young adulthood.  Boy my wife is going to be mad at you

[GSyren]

Boy my wife is going to be mad at you

Maybe I should send her flowers to placate her? 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Boy my wife is going to be mad at you

Maybe I should send her flowers to placate her? 

Or you send her a copy of "Love Story", after all "Love means never having to say you're sorry" ( )

[Dragonfire]

 

I find it works well to blame others when I buy new Blu-rays...and that person has been Jon for a few years now, since I broke down and double dipped for North by Northwest. 

[DSig]

you guys are no help at all

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

As was to be expected.

You find here a bunch of confessing DVD-Addicts that are far beyond help.

[Dragonfire]

Help?  What sort of help do you want?  Suggestions for new shelves for your ever growing collection?  Suggestions for new movie purchases to then blame on others?   

Sorry....couldn't resist.