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When Worlds Collide (1951) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (1S/0L)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:54:57 +0200

When Worlds Collide (1951)

What would happen if a rogue planet flew into our solar system and slammed into the Earth? That question is answered in this classic sci-fi tale. An astronomer discovers an object that has just entered the solar system. His calculations show him it's big and headed straight for the Earth. The only problem is convincing the rest of the world. This top notch sci-fi shows humanity at its best and worst.

Richard Derr ... David Randall
Barbara Rush ... Joyce Hendron
Peter Hansen ... Dr. Tony Drake
John Hoyt ... Sydney Stanton
Larry Keating ... Dr. Cole Hendron
Rachel Ames ... Julie Cummings (as Judith Ames)
Alden 'Stephen' Chase ... Dr. George Frye (as Stephen Chase)
Frank Cady ... Harold Ferris
Hayden Rorke ... Dr. Emery Bronson
Sandro Giglio ... Dr. Ottinger

Director: Rudolph Mat

Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (1S/0L)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:54:17 +0200

Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House (1948)

In Manhattan, the American middle class Jim Blandings lives with his wife Muriel and two teenage daughters in a four bedroom and one bathroom only leased apartment. They decide to move to the country and find that buying and building and living in their own home is easier said than done.

Remade in 2007 as 'Are We Done Yet?'

Cary Grant ... Jim Blandings
Myrna Loy ... Muriel Blandings
Melvyn Douglas ... Bill Cole
Reginald Denny ... Simms
Sharyn Moffett ... Joan Blandings
Connie Marshall ... Betsy Blandings
Louise Beavers ... Gussie
Ian Wolfe ... Smith
Harry Shannon ... Tesander
Tito Vuolo ... Mr. Zucca
Nestor Paiva ... Joe Appollonio
Jason Robards Sr. ... John Retch (as Jason Robards)
Lurene Tuttle ... Mary
Lex Barker ... Carpenter Foreman
Emory Parnell ... Mr. PeDelford

Director: H.C. Potter

Runtime: 94 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040613/

Codecs:

Video : 646 MB, 962 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 480*352 (4:3), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 50 MB, 75 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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Anyone who has ever embarked on a construction project, from a tree-house to a skyscraper, will identify with the beleaguered Mr. Blandings. His simple vision of an idyllic life in the suburbs encounters the harsh reality of recalcitrant geology, feuding contractors, exploding costs, and other complications -- all to hilarious effect.

The script has a perfect ear, the director's timing is impeccable, and the sophisticated style of the stars gives the entire production a polished sheen. Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas are all brilliant, but this is much more than a star vehicle. It's one of the best sophisticated comedies Hollywood ever committed to celluloid. And even 60 years later, the story is all too true.

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This film is a fantastic showcase for Grant's bewildered man of America, and he always did that so well. The Blandings, a 'typical New York family, on about 15,000 a year', decide to leave their four room apartment in the city and buy a 'dream house' in rural Connecticut.

Of course, this being a comedy, you know it won't go smoothly (you get a good clue as well from Melvyn Douglas' laconic narration here and there, as the Blandings' long-suffering lawyer, and Mrs B's high school sweetheart). First the picturesque little home is a wreck, then they start to plan a substitute (the scene where Mr and Mrs B plan what rooms their new house will have is classic), then everything that can go wrong goes wrong ... on top of this, Grant's harrassed advertising executive has to find a slogan for the bete noire of his company, Wham! ham.

My particular favourite scenes involve Myrna Loy, perfect as Mrs B, instructing which colours of paint each room will have; and a little room at the top of the house which regularly traps Grant inside. A highly recommended RKO goodie, this film. Hugely enjoyable.

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Manhattan apartment dwellers have to put up with all kinds of inconveniences. The worst one is the lack of closet space! Some people who eat out all the time use their ranges and dishwashers as storage places because the closets are already full!

Melvin Frank and Norman Panama, a great comedy writing team from that era, saw the potential in Eric Hodgins novel, whose hero, Jim Blandings, can't stand the cramped apartment where he and his wife Muriel, and two daughters, must share.

Jim Blandings, a Madison Ave. executive, has had it! When he sees an ad for Connecticut living, he decides to take a look. Obviously, a first time owner, Jim is duped by the real estate man into buying the dilapidated house he is taken to inspect by an unscrupulous agent. This is only the beginning of his problems.

Whatever could be wrong, goes wrong. The architect is asked to come out with a plan that doesn't work for the new house, after the original one is razed. As one problem leads to another, more money is necessary, and whatever was going to be the original cost, ends up in an inflated price that Jim could not really afford.

The film is fun because of the three principals in it. Cary Grant was an actor who clearly understood the character he was playing and makes the most out of Jim Blandings. Myrna Loy, was a delightful actress who was always effective playing opposite Mr. Grant. The third character, Bill Cole, an old boyfriend of Myrna, turned lawyer for the Blandings, is suave and debonair, the way Melvin Douglas portrayed him. One of the Blandings girls, Joan, is played by Sharyn Moffett, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Eva Marie Saint. The great Louise Beavers plays Gussie, but doesn't have much to do.

The film is lovingly photographed by James Wong Howe, who clearly knew what to do to make this film appear much better. The direction of H.C. Potter is light and he succeeded in this film that will delight fans of classic comedies.

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By the late forties the era of the screwball comedy was over, as films were moving in a different direction, comedically and otherwise. With television looming on the horizon, Hollywood would soon be in for a very rough time. Where, one wonders, would movies have gone had television not come along, or its arrival on the scene been delayed by five or ten years? Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House offers one particular way comedy might have developed.

Ad man Jim Blandings, along with his wife and two daughters, are living in a nice but way too cramped New York City apartment, as one day he gets the bright idea that it might be fun to realize his dream of building a house in the suburbs. So he buys some property in Connecticut and has one built to his precise specifications. Well, almost. Had he known the trouble he was in for he might have changed his mind. Then again he might not have. You decide. On this frail premise a wonderful film results, full of conflict between the middle class dream of owning one's own home and the the oftentimes unpleasant reality of acquiring one. Nothing comes easy in this life, as Mr. Blandings learns; but one needn't be miserable just because things don't always go one's way. There is, after all, the long run. But, Blandings asks himself every few minutes, how long is long?

This movie is a delight. It is not, I suppose, a masterpiece in the Capra-McCarey tradition, but it is a worthy successor to their thirties pictures, and may well have been a harbinger of things to come had the arrival of television not changed the cultural landscape so radically. There is real warmth in the picture, and a good deal of (W.C.) Fieldsian hard-edged reality obtruding periodically, but not so much as to leave a bad taste. The people in the film are all very smart and affluent, but decidedly of the professional upper middle not the idle rich upper class.

Lead players Cary Grant and Myrna Loy plays Mr. and Mrs. Blandings to perfection; while Melvyn Douglas is fine as their pragmatic lawyer friend, who often has to bring up unpleasant topics, such as how the real world works. There is, too, a wonderful sense of what for want of a better term one might call the romance of suburbia, which was in its infancy in the immediate postwar years, as one sees the woods and streams that drew people to the country in the first place. These people are most definitely fish out of water in the then still largely rural Connecticut. In a few short years things would change, as the mad rush to suburbia would be in full gear, destroying forever the pastoral innocence so many had yearned for in the small towns, which soon would be connected by highways, littered with bottles and cans, their effluvia rivaling anything one would encounter in the city.

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* The pairing of Irene Dunne and Cary Grant was a consistent box office winner and director H.C. Potter wanted Dunne for the role of Muriel Blandings. Unfortunately, she was already working on another RKO film, I Remember Mama (1948), and wasn't available for this production.

* Grand total for the house and property was $38,000 according to Mrs. Blandings in their first night in the house. Assuming the factor used to arrive at the 2004 value show above is correct, the total cost of the house and property would be $298,000.

* Although this film was from the novel of the same name, much of the story is autobiographical. Eric Hodgins and his wife built the actual house in the rural Litchfield County, Connecticut town of New Milford. Located in the bucolic Merryall section of town, the house recently sold for $1.2 million.

* The house "Blandings' Way" really exists on Indian Hill Road in New Milford, Connecticut. It's a beautiful huge white art deco/colonial house that has many of the actual rooms discussed in the movie--such as a room to cut flowers. Also less than a mile away on Long Mountain Road is executive producer of the movie and MGM head Dore Schary's old country home.

Hot Lead And Cold Feet (1978) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (0S/0L)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:51:44 +0200

Hot Lead And Cold Feet (1978)

A tough father is out to take control of a small western town with the help of his twin sons: one a gunfighter, the other a mild-mannered coward. Before gaining control, they must first win an odd race and then oust the town's corrupt mayor.

Jim Dale ... Eli / Wild Billy / Jasper Bloodshy
Karen Valentine ... Jenny
Don Knotts ... Denver Kid
Jack Elam ... Rattlesnake
Darren McGavin ... Mayor Ragsdale
John Williams ... Mansfield
Warren Vanders ... Boss Snead
Debbie Lytton ... Roxanne
Michael Sharrett ... Marcus
David S. Cass Sr. ... Jack (as Dave Cass)
Richard Wright ... Pete
Don 'Red' Barry ... Bartender
James Van Patten ... Jake (as Jimmy Van Patten)
Gregg Palmer ... Jeff
Ed Bakey ... Joshua

Director: Robert Butler

Runtime: 90 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077698/

Codecs:

Video : 638 MB, 995 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 608*320 (16:9), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 61 MB, 96 Kbps, 32000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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A family film to be sure, Hot Lead and Cold Feet provides antics to please the children and bemuse the adults. It makes attempts at being a western but is overridden by its slapstick comedy and wholesome family values.

The film focuses on a contest rigged by Jasper Bloodsky (Jim Dale), founder of the small western town of Bloodsky, to his twin sons Wild Billy and Eli (both also played by Jim Dale). The problem? Eli is a Bible-thumping preacher from the East and Wild Billy is the region's most feared outlaw.

Possible spoiler below

Despite Billy's best attempts to rig the race in his favor, Eli always manages to overcome the obstacles (such as a canoe with holes drilled in it) to be only one step behind Billy. As the race continues, the two orphans that Eli brought with him, discover that Mayor Ragsdale (Darren McGavin) plans on killing both brothers and keeping the money for himself.

So the kids - along with their pretty school teacher - go on the rescue. After many humorous mishaps they find the brothers and tell them what's going to happen to them. Several hours later, Wild Billy rides into town the victor, just as the mayor is taking off with the money. They catch the mayor, and Billy agrees to share the money with Eli; and they set forth to change the wild town into a respectable community.

end of spoiler

And - as in all good Disney films - they lived happily ever after.

It should be noted that the truly outstanding performance of Don Knotts as the sheriff made the movie. His nervous mannerisms and cocky style bring back memories of him as Barney on The Andy Griffith Show. Perhaps the best scenes in this film are the shoot-outs between the sheriff and his one-eyed nemesis Rattlesnake (Jack Elam). Something always happens on the count of three to prevent them from shooting each other.

If you are worried about the violence of today's films, pick up a copy of Hot Lead and Cold Feet, sit down with the kids and rest assured knowing the harshest language you'll hear will be `gosh darnit.' This is truly the wholesome family entertainment Disney is known for.

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I seen this movie at the movie theater when I was a little girl....it is one of my first memories of being at the movies.....and I loved it....very funny with little life lessons along the way..after all these years I never forgot hot lead and cold feet...I even remember the theme song..."hot lead and cold feet..may the best man win...hot lead and cold feet..may the best man win.." dadadada....What stands out in this movie is the performance of the lead character playing both parts of the gunfighter twin and the mild mannered twin...I think that kids today need to rediscover this movie....it should be remembered as a family classic...I cannot wait to purchase this on DVD and you should to especially if you have young children....

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Howdy! It's time to talk about that rootin-tootin crazy old classic funny family Disney western live action film from 1978 (whew!), "Hot Lead and Cold Feet!" It has many stars; Don Knotts being one of them, and it's a funny film that took place in the old west! There's a funny locomotive race included as well! And the best part is the theme song: it combines the pride of a western movie theme with the retroness of the 70s; in this case, for a second, it sounds like that "da-da-da-da" part from Stevie Wonder's "Living For The City!" LOL

I've seen this first on DVD because I was learning French and I needed a fresh start (as always), and I thought this movie was awesome, considering that Disney was about to go down to meltdown mode major in a few years after the film was released. My family thought the same as well.

"Hot Lead and Cold Feet" is awesome!!!!!

10 stars

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Goofs:

# Continuity: People shoot more than six bullets out of six shooters, without reloading.

# Plot holes: The kids take the pistols from the Sheriff, but later Jenny finds them and sends them off. She is left to unload a shotgun, yet the kids never stole a shotgun.

Harper (1966) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (1S/0L)

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:50:35 +0200

Harper (1966)

Paul Newman IS Harper, a cynical private eye in the best tradition of Bogart. He even has Bogie's Baby (Lauren Bacall) hiring him to find her missing husband, getting involved along the way with an assortment of unsavory characters and an illegal-alien smuggling ring.

Paul Newman ... Lew Harper
Lauren Bacall ... Elaine Sampson
Julie Harris ... Betty Fraley
Arthur Hill ... Albert Graves
Janet Leigh ... Susan Harper
Pamela Tiffin ... Miranda Sampson
Robert Wagner ... Allan Taggert
Robert Webber ... Dwight Troy
Shelley Winters ... Fay Estabrook
Harold Gould ... Sheriff Spanner
Roy Jenson ... Puddler
Strother Martin ... Claude
Martin West ... Deputy Sheriff
Jacqueline deWit ... Mrs. Kronberg

Director: Jack Smight

Runtime:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060490/

Codecs:

CD1:

Video : 667 MB, 1725 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 672*288 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 34 MB, 88 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

CD2:

Video : 659 MB, 1378 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 672*288 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 42 MB, 88 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR,

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While perhaps not as taut as "The Maltese Falcon", but just as intricate as "Chinatown" or "L.A. Confidential", "Harper" is an under-acknowledged gem of a film that's as cool as it's leading man. It's with this film that I began to get a better appreciation of Paul Newman, easily one of the most versatile leading men Hollywood has ever produced. Here, he plays Harper as something of a SOB, always looking at the paycheck as his top priority. Not that the pond he has to swim in is any better; a frigid woman client, a hot-to-trot teen daughter, a duplicitous servant, an attorney who's the closest thing to a friend Harper has, a washed-up nightclub singer, her sinister, Texan husband, and a cult leader aren't exactly what one would call charming dinner company. It also doesn't help that the guy Harper's trying to find isn't even liked by the wife who hired him (thanks to the under-appreciated fire and spirit of Lauren "Betty" Bacall, one of the true originals) or anybody else. The only thing they like is his money.

Like a good boxer, the plot bobs and weaves, never letting the audience know when the next surprise is coming until it's too late. While Chandler is cited when talking about this film, it also makes me think of Hammett's many, many tales of the Continental Op. Not everybody always tells the truth, not everything is what it seems, and the best laid plans of mice and men (to paraphrase Bobby Burns) wind up falling through. Some people may not have the patience for this film in our razzle-dazzle, in-your-face age of entertainment, but for those who prefer their movies with a soft, subtle touch, this is one for you.

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A highly successful film in it's own right, HARPER is no less considered to be controversial by fans of Ross Macdonald's mystery series (from which this film is based). Not only was Macdonald's detective hero's name changed from "Lew Archer" to "Lew Harper" (long-rumored to be because Newman felt that "H" was his lucky letter after 1961's THE HUSTLER and 1963's HUD), but many fans also felt the film simply did not capture the true feeling of the series of detective books that they had come to love. This is a shame because, when taken on its own terms, HARPER is a whole lot of fun. Either way, the film was a major hit at the box office, so this remains the major exposure of Macdonald's universe for the majority of the public.

I have never read Macdonald's Archer books so I cannot compare them to this picture, but I can say that this film's intelligent, quick-witted take on the detective makes this perfect vehicle for Paul Newman's screen personae. The supporting cast is absolutely star-studded, with Shelley Winters, Arthur Hill, Lauren Bacall, and Robert Webber all perfectly type-cast, and Janet Leigh turning a potentially thankless role into a small little gem. Only Julie Harris (who is woefully miscast) and Pamela Tiffin (who seems inexperienced) really miss the boat here. The script by William Goldman has plenty of good twists and turns, and director Jack Smight indulges just enough in the light kitsch tone without undermining the film's tension.

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It ought to have everything going for it. What a cast! And they're all good -- with Paul Newman's Lou Harper at the top of his game, and, somewhere closer to her usual norm, Pamela Tiffen. Newman's performance is among his best. He's a gum-chewing cynical PI who's determined the find the truth behind the disappearance of millionaire Sampson. He has all the necessary tics, nudges, winks, and shrugs. And he registers exquisite pain when somebody clobbers him. There is, for instance, a scene in which a big thug named Puddler sucker punches Newman in a bar, then takes him out back and begins to deliver one or two heavy, deliberately placed body blows. R. J. Wagner sneaks up on Puddler, knocks him out, then gaily begins to help Newman walk back to his car. But Newman groans and leans against the wall, puffing and holding his belly, and begs Wagner, "Wait a minute." A less imaginative actor would have had the character shake his head a few times to clear it, then stride off snapping out orders.

Shelly Winters is equally good in a comic role as an overripe over-the-hill ex-movie star and alcoholic. I can't imagine anyone doing better than Winters when she's berating a hotel orchestra for not playing La Cucaracha, shouting that they can't be REAL "Mescins" or they'd have their guitars, and then stumbling off the platform. Shelly Winters is often nailed for spoiling the pictures she's in but I'm not sure why. Her whining evokes both irritation and pathos. She's brought some pizazz to some other films she's been in too. Ham should always be considered a part of any proper buffet.

So why doesn't the picture come together? Why is the sum less than its parts. Where is the subtrahend? It has a flattish made-for-TV quality. Settings are all comfortably upscale, as in an episode of "Colombo." The L.A. locations seem to be carefully chosen but because of the photography or Mandel's below-average score, they have little impact. Compare "Chinatown" or "Farewell My Lovely." William Goldman's script tries for the telling wisecrack ("Only cream and bastards rise") but there aren't enough of them and they're mostly cracks without wit. The best repartee is between Lauren Bacall and Pamela Tiffen, two women who hate one another and delight in mutual insults. "I love your wrinkles. I revel in them." Still, Goldman's script does manage to hold together a plot that is bilaterally symmetrical. On the one hand, Newman is hired to rescue the kidnapped millionaire Samson and save the half million paid for his return. On the other hand Newman stumbles into an unrelated plot having to do with the smuggling of illegal aliens. The two stories have absolutely nothing to do with one another until more than halfway through the film when Newman alerts one gang to the operations of the other. It's all pretty easy to get lost in, especially when so many disparate characters are involved.

The plot lacks an engine too. I didn't believe for a moment that Newman was genuinely dedicated to his craft, that it was a point of pride with him to "crack this thing," as he puts it. Humphrey Bogart was a cynical, wisecracking PI in "The Maltese Falcon" but what was driving him, as we discover at the end of the film, was the murder of his partner, Miles Archer. Certainly, concern about the fate of the kidnapped rich guy isn't much of a motive. We never even meet him and everybody hates him anyway.

What drives Newman's character? Nothing that we can discover. His marriage is a disaster, he lives in his office, he drives a beat-up car, he has practically no friends. In fact, when you come right down to it, Newman is not a particularly admirable guy in this film. He has a nasty habit of using people. He gets Winters' weak character drunk and then insults her as she lies passed out. He charms some information out of a good-natured barmaid with his New York accent and, when he's finished with her, blows her off by asking directly, "Where's the boss?", and her face falls with the realization that she's been had. He deliberately lies to his emotionally vulnerable but estranged wife, from whom he gets some sympathy and a night in bed before leaving her flat the next morning. He, in turn, has no sympathy for anyone else.

And then there's the end of the film, a freeze frame that leaves us wondering whether Newman will turn his only friend Arthur Hill over to the police or whether Hill will shoot to stop him. The technique may be an integral part of the movie, as it is in "The Four Hundred Blows," in which a delinquent child is frozen while looking at the camera, as if waiting for the audience to judge him. Or it may, as in this case, be an arbitrary gesture, a way of ending a movie that nobody could think of a good ending for. You know, though, having said that, I still prefer an ending like this to the phenomenal shootouts that have since become so commonplace.

See it for the performances.

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# The character Lew Harper is based on novelist Ross Macdonald's character Lew Archer. The name was changed for the film supposedly because Paul Newman had recently enjoyed success with Hud (1963) and the producers wanted the movie's title to begin with "H". Also, the Macdonald estate did not want the name "Archer" used in the movie.

# Average Shot Length = ~8.5 seconds. Median Shot Length = ~7.9 seconds.

# The opening credits sequence (where Harper makes himself a terrible cup of coffee, among other things) was written and shot after the first cut of the film had already been delivered to the studio.

The Reluctant Dragon (1941) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (1S/34L)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:33:18 +0200

The Reluctant Dragon (1941)

Humorist Robert Benchley visits the Disney Studios to sell Walt on the idea of animating the story of The Reluctant Dragon. While evading an officious young studio guide, Benchley stumbles into various studio activities and departments, including an art class, a sound effects session, the multiplane camera studio (at which point he notices the film has switched to Technicolor), the paint lab, a storyboard session for the "Baby Weems" segment, a movieola screening of the Goofy cartoon "How to Ride a Horse", and finally catches up with Walt in a screening room just as he's previewing the studio's latest film... The Reluctant Dragon!

Robert Benchley ... Himself
Frances Gifford ... Doris (Studio Artist)
Buddy Pepper ... Humphrey (Studio Guide)
Nana Bryant ... Mrs. Benchley
Claud Allister ... Sir Giles (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Barnett Parker ... The Dragon (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Billy Lee ... The Boy (segment "The Reluctant Dragon") (voice)
Florence Gill ... Herself (Voice Artist)
Clarence Nash ... Himself (Voice Artist) / Donald Duck (voice)
Norman Ferguson ... Himself (as Norm Ferguson)
Ward Kimball ... Himself (Goofy animator)
Jimmy Luske ... Jimmy, Baby Weems model
Alan Ladd ... Al, Baby Weems storyboard artist

Director: Alfred L. Werker / Hamilton Luske

Runtime: 74 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0034091/

Codecs:

Video : 385 MB, 733 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 576*432 (4:3), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 58 MB, 112 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR,

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This little classic spends just short of an hour touring the Disney Studios in the company of Robert Benchley, the humorist who acts like a big kid in a candy store (and is thus the perfect guide for something like this).

We see how the cartoons are made, moving from the recording studio - where the real-life voices of Donald Duck and Clara Cluck sing an aria - through to clay models of the characters to be animated - the sound effects dept. (we see the full Casey Junior sequence, some of which ended up in 1941's 'Dumbo') - the scenario department (we see a whole cartoon - Baby Weems - in storyboard format) - the animation department (we see a cartoon feature on riding a horse, and see Donald Duck showing us how he walks) - and much more. There's also a neat segue from black and white to Technicolor.

'The Reluctant Dragon' is a book which Benchley hopes to pitch to Disney, only to find the film has already been made; the last 20 minutes of this feature is the cartoon about the (rather camp) dragon, and a classic bit of Disney work.

The whole movie is engrossing and a fantastic overview of the state-of-the-art work being done by the Disney Studios at the beginning of the 40s.

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God, I love this film. It's just such fun.

At the time this film was made, Disney was primarily known for his animation but was positively itching to branch out into live-action. This is his first venture into "traditional" filmmaking. The story concerns comedic actor Robert Benchley (whose "How To" film series inspired many classic Goofy shorts) who, at the urging of his wife, searches the Disney studio top to bottom trying to sell Walt on the idea of making a movie about Kenneth Grahame's "The Reluctant Dragon" (Grahame's masterpiece "The Wind in the Willows" wouldn't become a Disney film for many years yet.) On the way he meets voice actors, musicians, animators (one played by Alan Ladd) and even Donald Duck and Goofy. When he finally finds Walt, he is shocked to see that his story has already been produced as one of Disney's most charming animated shorts.

Needless to say, this film is pretty dated in the age of "Toy Story" and "Finding Nemo" (I refuse to put the Dreamworks' "S" word in the same category as these two features) but the interesting thing is how many of these tried-and-true practices remain in effect to this day.

Surprisingly, this live-action film is ideal for animation fans. Not so much for the "How does it work?" element, but just the thrill in being immersed in that world. From sound effects recording to paint application. And Benchley's funny, let's not forget that.

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I happened upon this film during a late night when nothing else was on TV, and couldn't have been happier that I came across it.

In this, we're taken behind-the-scenes of Disney studios circa 1941, and given a humorous (and, I'm sure, highly fictionalized) tour of the studio and its various departments. While I've always been a fan of Disney's animation, I'd never been given a glimpse of the animators themselves, and I always thought that they deserved to be as well known as the Warner Brothers stable of talent. Well, here they're given a chance to hog the spotlight (as Disney himself doesn't show up until the final few moments of the film) and show off their talents.

Not only is this a good chance for you to see how some of your Disney favorites were brought to screen, the linking device with comic Robert Benchley is charming throughout, and the attitude is more than a little self-deprecating (playing up the notion that one is indoctrinated into the "Disney way of life" in working for the Mouse, Benchley's guide is portrayed as a militarily-garbed, wormy little walking Disney Rule Book). The animation itself is great (as is usual for Disney of this vintage) and the live-action work is funny in a way that most Disney live-action works aren't. All of this adds up to a most rewarding, and highly neglected, classic from the Vaults of Disney.

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After filming the live-action sequences of "Fantasia" and hurting for a "feature release" following the financial fiascos of the aforementioned feature, presumably Disney rushed this into production (with most of it live-action, it not only cost less than a fully-animated counterpart of equal length, it took much less time to complete).

It purports to tell the story of how Disney animated cartoons are made, but, courtesy of a disclaimer at the beginning of the movie, it turns out to be more fiction than fact.

Various processes - like sound recording, paint-mixing, cell-photographing, multi-planing, etc - are all upended for the sake of humor (in one instance, a complete cel of Donald Duck comes to life, in another instance, the sound effects crew creates an "unplanned" cacophony by knocking over all the equipment).

More to the point is that the sequences are not just staged, but they employ professional actors (such as Alan Ladd!) portraying Disney animators and other staff (although in certain instances, actual animators such as Woolie Reitherman and Ward Kimball make appearances).

The "Baby Weems" sequence is often commended by many for being innovative and the forerunner of the UPA-style that would dominant the art of animation in the 1950s, but the fact is that "Weems" is nothing more than a sleek, streamlined version of a "leica reel" (a film which combines the pre-recorded soundtrack with the animators' storyboard sketches, as a way of assessing how story pacing and timing are before *before* any time and effort are spent creating fully-animated sequences). The story is cute, the drawings are more fully- rendered than they would be in a genuine Leica reel so they are nice to see, but "innovative"? I don't think so.

The Goofy "How-to" sequence is okay (I never cared for the "How-To" series, but I know a similarly-themed version in "Saludos Amigos" with Goofy trying to be a Gaucho is funnier).

The title short - "The Reluctant Dragon" - is cute and funny. I don't think it rates as a classic, but because it is such a rarely-viewed piece it needs to be watched by all Disney-philes.

Considering its historic value, this movie is hardly a waste of time. It's just not one that deserves repeated viewings.

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* Portions of this film had to be redone because of objections by the Hays Office. The dragon was originally drawn with a navel which had to removed before the film could be passed.

* Some of the maquettes shown are from early versions of Peter Pan (1953) and Lady and the Tramp (1955).

* The Donald Duck parodies of Old Master paintings were originally made for an unproduced cartoon in which Donald is a guard at a museum. The film was being developed by Frank Tashlin during his brief, uneventful stay at the studio. The paintings were later used for promotional print stories.

* The Mickey Avenue/Dopey Drive signpost was built specifically for the movie, and was supposed to be removed afterward. It wasn't, and it still stands at the Disney studio.

* This is the first full-length feature for Disney where the voices are credited.

* Features How to Ride a Horse (1950), the first of the Goofy "How-to" cartoons. When narrator John McLeish was brought in to record the narration, he was asked to read it in a very straightforward manner, as if for a serious documentary about horse riding. He was shocked when he was told that the narration he recorded would be used in a Goofy cartoon.

* Film debut of John Dehner'.

* Maquettes in the model department include Jiminy Cricket and the drunk cuckoo clock from Pinocchio (1940), characters from Fantasia (1940) including Chernabog, a black centaurette that Robert Benchley takes with him, and the Knight from The Reluctant Dragon (1941).

* In the sound effects department the workers are creating sound effects for a piece of film with the train Casey Junior. Casey would pop up in Disney's next film, Dumbo (1941). Likewise in the art department, the animators are making sketches for "Dumbo". Bambi also makes a minor appearance in this film, a year before Bambi (1942) was released.

* How to Ride a Horse (1950) was the first of several "How-To" films made in which Goofy doesn't speak. These were made during a period when Goofy's voice artist Pinto Colvig was temporarily unavailable.

The Atomic Submarine (1959) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (1S/54L)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:32:05 +0200

The Atomic Submarine (1959)

In the far and distant future of 1968, many ships and planes are crossing the North pole to transport passengers and cargo. However lately more than eight ships and seven submarines have vanished mysteriously. The Tigershark is sent out to investigate their whereabouts and - if possible - remove the cause of their disappearance. But the life form Commander Vandover and his crew encounter may be too powerful even for their weapons of newest technology...

Arthur Franz ... Cmdr. Richard 'Reef' Holloway
Dick Foran ... Capt. Dan Wendover
Brett Halsey ... Dr. Carl Neilson
Paul Dubov ... Lt. David Milburn
Bob Steele ... CPO 'Grif' Griffin
Victor Varconi ... Dr. Clifford Kent
Joi Lansing ... Julie
Selmer Jackson ... Adm. Terhune
Jack Mulhall ... Secretary of Defense Justin Murdock
Jean Moorhead ... Helen Milburn
Richard Tyler ... Seaman Don Carney
Sid Melton ... Yeoman Chester Tuttle
Kenneth Becker ... Seaman Al Powell (as Ken Becker)
Frank Watkins ... Watkins
Tom Conway ... Sir Ian Hunt

Director: Spencer Gordon Bennet

Runtime: 72 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052587/

Codecs:

Video : 536 MB, 1060 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 560*392 (4:3), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5
Audio : 64 MB, 128 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR

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Something about this movie makes me believe it was inspired by some article in an old Popular Science magazine about giant atomic-powered cargo subs of the near future plying the short route to the Pacific under the polar ice cap. (I must have missed that development while I was commuting by hovercraft to my all-plastic cabin in the mountains, where a home breeder reactor supplies me with power too cheap to meter.)

The actors are (mostly) competent, with B-movie stalwart Arthur Franz in the lead. The script is serviceable, containing some creepy moments as well as an occasionally interesting clash of ideologies between military tough guy Franz and the peacenik scientist son (Brett Halsey) of his revered mentor. Though they despise each other at first, they find they can agree on the need to kick alien booty.

The sfx team of Jack Rabin, Irving Block and Louis DeWitt collaborated on quite a few low-budget sci-fi's in the 50's -- the most notable example being "Kronos", with its bizarre, energy-sucking giant cubist robot -- and manage to achieve a few interesting effects in this one, too.

The most fascinating thing about this film is that I believe it's the first sci-fi movie to use the concept of a "living" spaceship. And I'm willing to bet money that the film's slime-dripping, tentacled alien Cyclops is the direct inspiration for The Simpsons' Kang and Kodos. Even the voice is similar.

All in all, "Atomic Submarine" is not a bad little low-budget romp.

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'B' grade Sci-Fi which attains, for the first half at least, the heights of a reasonable thriller, as a submarine is dispatched to the arctic circle to investigate the cause of shipping accidents and disappearances.

While the effects are never up to much, the plot and script are more than adequate. The climax of the film is a glorious return to B-movie hokum as an underwater flying saucer is discovered to be the cause of the problems. The scientists reason that the saucer returns to the pole for magnetic energy and they decide to lie in wait in the sub to ram it !! In doing this however, the sub becomes stuck in the saucer and some crew members are dispatched to go inside the saucer and dislodge it.

There is the usual character tension between the young inexperienced scientist on the mission, and the older, wiser navy man, who just happens to be friends with the younger man's father etc. etc. The inside of the spaceship is a lesson in minimalism - simply illuminated gangways in a sea of darkness. These scenes lead to the creature in the saucer which is an octopus-type figure, with one huge eye on a stalk. The creature speaks ( in Queens English ) through thought and turns out to be looking for suitable planets as homes for its advanced race of bug-eyed-hairy-octopi.

Saucer is blasted by a ballistic missile, contradicting the 1950's sci-fi theme of warning against the nuclear arms race. A difficult film to dislike, but a few leagues below 'It Came from Beneath the Sea'.

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What a difference the three years separating ATOMIC SUBMARINE and VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA made! Of course, Allen's much larger budget sure helped too. Still, one can see The Tigershark as being the direct parent of The Seaview.

We have an advanced nuclear sub capable of firing missiles or torpedoes and equipped with a secondary submarine. The Seaview originally carried a small fleet of 2-man submersibles but they got eclipsed by the flashier Flying Sub. And of course you have the senior officer, the younger guy who actually handles the action scenes, and a couple onboard scientists just for the heck of it.

The plot itself is pretty much the model for many of the Voyages to the Bottom of the Sea. The hidden mystery at the heart of an otherwise normal mission, the unexpected monster.... Yeah, this could have been a VOYAGE episode. And in fact, eventually IT WAS! VOYAGE did an episode that adapted ATOMIC SUBMARINE pretty much straight, just changing the sub, the crew names, and a few details (and ditching Joi Lansing's character, alas!).

While ATOMIC SUBMARINE does look frightfully low budget compared to VOYAGE, let alone today's super-bloated budget busters, it works pretty well for a product of its time. And the minimalist, barely illuminated alien saucer interior is surprising effect. I know it creeped me out when I first saw this late one night in '66!

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* The trailer for this Allied Artists release played down the science fiction elements and made it look more like a military action film.

* This was the last feature for the team of Jack Rabin, Irving Block and Louis DeWitt.

* The film inspired the movie and TV series VOYAGE TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA. It was also remade as an episode of that series.

* Last film of Victor Varconi.

Billion Dollar Brain (1967) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (1S/61L)

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:31:26 +0200

Billion Dollar Brain (1967)

Harry Palmer has left the British Secret Service and become a private detective. One of his first assignments is to deliver an apparently innocent thermos flask to an old friend in Helsinki, Palmer is suspicious of the flask contents and begins to doubt the motives of his friend and those of his boss a Texan billionaire.

Michael Caine ... Harry Palmer
Karl Malden ... Leo Newbigen
Ed Begley ... General Midwinter
Oskar Homolka ... Colonel Stok (as Oscar Homolka)
Fran

The Quiller Memorandum (1966) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (13S/40L)

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:37:11 +0200

The Quiller Memorandum (1966)

Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. Soon Quiller is confronted with Neonazi chief "Oktober" and involved in a dangerous game where each side tries to find out the enemy's headquarters at any price...

George Segal ... Quiller
Alec Guinness ... Pol
Max von Sydow ... Oktober
Senta Berger ... Inge Lindt
George Sanders ... Gibbs
Robert Helpmann ... Weng
Robert Flemyng ... Rushington
Peter Carsten ... Hengel
Ernst Walder ... Grauber
Edith Schneider ... Headmistress
Philip Madoc ... Oktober's Man (Man with brown trousers)
G

The Night Of The Iguana (1964) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (9S/33L)

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:36:28 +0200

The Night Of The Iguana (1964)

When American minister Reverend T. Lawrence Shannon is expelled from his Virginia church, he travels to Mexico in search of his destiny and sanity. There he becomes a tour guide for a bus load of spinsters and a teenage nymphet named Charlotte Goodall, who is being chaperoned by the group's leader, the inflexible Judith Fellowes.

Miss Fellowes, who is quite jealous of Charlotte's attentions to Shannon, discovers the young woman in his room and vows to have him fired. To thwart her plot, Shannon takes control of the bus from Hank, the bus driver, and speeds the tour group on a wild ride through the Mexican jungle to the crumbling, secluded hotel of an old friend, the recently widowed Maxine Falk. Eventually Shannon becomes enamored with another guest at the hotel, the rather genteel Hanna Jelkes, an itinerant quick sketch artist and her poet grandfather Nonno. As the wise Hanna partially restores Shannon's fractured world, Shannon struggles to get back the rest of his sanity and his self-respect.

Remade in 2000.

Richard Burton ... Rev. Dr. T. Lawrence Shannon
Ava Gardner ... Maxine Faulk
Deborah Kerr ... Hannah Jelkes
Sue Lyon ... Charlotte Goodall
Skip Ward ... Hank Prosner (as James Ward)
Grayson Hall ... Judith Fellowes
Cyril Delevanti ... Nonno
Mary Boylan ... Miss Peebles

Director: John Huston

Runtime: 125 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058404/

Codecs:

Video : 637 MB, 756 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 544*304 (16:9), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 62 MB, 74 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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It is possible to watch a film on a wide range of emotional and intellectual levels. One can pay attention only to the visuals, only to the minute trivia related to actors and actresses, to the most obvious displays of physical action, to appeals to one's sympathies, or to the underlying content and profundity trying to be expressed and communicated to the viewer. Thus, films can be judged to fail on the one hand when they succeed on the other, and this, I think, explains the lukewarm response to what is the finest films ever made in the English language. Whether or not Richard Burton always plays a drunk, whether or not it should have been in colour, are not in the least bit relevant to the significance, the concepts and the issues at play in this brilliant film, this monument to the resilience of human souls, to the compassion that can bring such succour on long, tortured nights, to the precious decency that is for some a perpetual struggle to attain, and the search, the life-long search, for belief, love and light.

The backdrop to the exploration of these issues that are so fundamental to individual lives is a Mexican coastal hotel. The central character is a de-frocked and unstable priest, T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton) who, like the iguana that is tethered up in preparation to being eaten, is at the end of his rope. He walks alone, without the crutch of facile beliefs or human companionship beyond sterile physical conquests which only serve to heighten his own self-loathing and isolation. He arrives at the hotel in search of sanctuary in light of his mental deterioration. On his arrival he meets his old friend, the lascivious but no less desperate Maxine (Ava Gardner), a poet on the verge of death who is nevertheless striving for one last creative act, one last stab at beautiful self-expression, and his grand-daughter Hannah (Deborah Kerr), a resilient woman painfully trying to reconcile herself to loss, loneliness and the bitter struggle she faces with her own personal demons. They are united in that they are divided, in that they are all tortured souls seeking beauty, life, meaning and engaged in battles to stand tall, to live with integrity and love. On a hot, cloying night, a night of the iguana, when all their ropes snap taut, they meet.

The pivotal and most crucial part of this film is the conversation between Lawrence and Hannah. The former is in the throes of a nervous breakdown, the latter has survived and endured through the same. They are kindred souls that aid one another through the therapy of human connection, of empathy in the long, lonely walk. It is in this conversation that Tennessee Williams explores the issues make this film so important: through his characters, who are throughout depicted not as mere shallow cliches but individuals with histories and feelings that run deep, with subtleties that bring them to life, he meditates upon the struggle to find meaning in one's life, the need for companionship, the importance of compassion, and the way in which people endure, all the time grasping at what dignity they may have, and which may be forever threatened by trials, doubts and pain. These are not issues that date, that diminish in relevance, or that relate only to certain people - they are concepts that are universal, that speak to each individual and relate to fundamental facets of the human mind and spirit.

Because Night of the Iguana sets out to tackle such issues, it is elevated far beyond the level of most films. It is profound, but also deeply emotional, made more so by the superb characterisations (aided, in addition, by universally superb performances). One is afforded an insight into characters, into people, who live, breath, cry, shout, scream, and endure. They are fallible, capable of spite, caprice, and baseness, but they are also thoughtful, courageous and strangely noble. To watch them interact, thrown together as they are on a Mexican veranda, is affecting both emotionally and intellectually, and it is this interaction which is responsible for creating a film that stands (tall and dignified) above nearly all others.

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The Night of the Iguana was a Tennessee Williams masterpiece, probably the last one he ever did. It ran 316 performances on Broadway during the 1961-1962 season and starred Bette Davis, Margaret Leighton, and Patrick O'Neal in the roles played on the screen by Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, and Richard Burton. For some astonishing reason, John Huston changed the ending and ruined the whole thing. Why couldn't Huston follow the wise example of Elia Kazan who brought A Streetcar Named Desire intact to the screen is beyond me.

Not that the performers do so bad here. Ava Gardner for instance is wonderful in the part of the earthy hyper sexed hotel owner from Puerto Vallarta living on her meager income and her two Mexican beach boys for those cold nights. Then again this was no stretch for Ava because she was merely playing herself in this part at this time of her life.

Ava is reunited with Deborah Kerr who she co-starred back in their salad days at MGM in The Hucksters. Kerr is the itinerant artist who travels with her 97 year old grandfather Cyril Delevanti doing sketches for supper.

Richard Burton chews up the scenery with his part as the disgraced Episcopal minister who let his libido get the better of him. With nubile Sue Lyons around, he's about to let it happen again.

Margaret Leighton got a Tony Award for her performance on stage, but the only acting nomination for this film went to Grayson Hall as the repressed lesbian tour guide who takes an uncommon interest in Sue Lyons's virtue. Words like 'butch' and 'dyke' are used in the script to describe her character showing the Code was coming down. Tennessee Williams's work is loaded with sexual innuendo, but this was even kind of daring for him to be that upfront. Grayson Hall was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but lost to Lila Kedrova for Zorba the Greek.

I'd see a stage production of The Night of the Iguana before seeing this film. It's the only way you can understand my critique about how the new ending turned a great film into a good one.

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The Night of the Iguana is a fantastic piece of drama that examines the human condition through a brilliant script adapted from Tennessee Williams' play of the same name.

From the arresting opening to the heart-warming ending (well, near-ending), this classic motion picture directed by John Huston will have your attention in it's grasp and won't let go until it's finished mesmerising you with all its beauty. I say 'beauty' because not only does the film feature the beautiful Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr but also has some of the crispest black and white film photography I've seen in classic film to date. Every shot whether it's in the crummy old bus or on a cliff looking down in the cradle of life, looks magnificent on screen and gives the film a fresh feeling and tone throughout.

As can be expected from a film adapted from a Williams play, the writing and dialogue present is criminally witty and charming, often showing it's intelligence but always in the background, never destroying the real focus of the story being the characters. The cast all bring their characters to life magnificently too, giving fitting performances to their already well developed and insightful characters. Reverend Lawrence Shannon in particular is one of the most interesting and versatile characters I have ever seen in a movie, often moving between emotions and mind states faster than he can drive a bus, but never without cause and always with focus.

The plot to the film is admittedly very much on the thin side but nevertheless more than makes up for it with thought provoking themes and dialogues that fill in the spaces where such action may have otherwise been noticed as missing. There was a couple of other little problems I had with the story including the sometimes slow pace and the contrived ending or epilogue as I like to refer to it. However, these aspects don't do much damage to an otherwise perfect and timeless classic.

With an intelligent insight into the human condition, loneliness and the overwhelming need to love and be loved, this has to be one of the best pieces of classic cinema I have seen to date. In the end, The Night of the Iguana should not be overlooked and I recommend it to everyone who really enjoys good film.

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* In order to diffuse the tension prior to shooting (due mainly to the isolated location the stars would be working in together), John Huston made each lead actor a gold encrusted pistol with bullets- one with each actor's name on it. This way, when the actors wanted to kill one another, they would use the designated bullet. This proved to be successful. No problems between the cast arose.

* This movie put Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, on the map - it didn't even have scheduled air service before John Huston shot the film there. Elizabeth Taylor's appearance on the set and her ensuing scandalous affair with Richard Burton made headlines around the world. Now it's a top resort destination with thousands of hotel rooms and is a popular cruise ship port.

* Ava Gardner kept changing one of her lines in the film from "In a pig's eye, you are!" to "In a pig's ass, you are!", much to the delight of the rest of the cast and crew, including director John Huston.

* Nearly half the film's $3 million budget was used to pay the three major star's salaries: Richard Burton ($750,000), Ava Gardner ($400,000) and Deborah Kerr ($250,000).

* According to one of the biographies of Tennessee Williams, "The Kindness of Strangers," by Donald Spoto, the character of Maxine, who is portrayed in this film by Ava Gardner, was purportedly based upon Williams' landlady of the apartment he rented in Santa Monica while he was working at MGM Studios in the 1940's. Her mannerisms, her attitudes and even her distinctive one-syllable laugh were detailed by Williams and are expertly performed by Ms. Gardner.

* "The Night of the Iguana," which made its Broadway debut on December 28, 1961 and ran for 316 performances, was Tennessee Williams last hit play.

* The characters of the Rev. T. Lawrence Shannon (Richard Burton), Maxine Faulk (Ava Gardner), and Hannah Jelkes (Deborah Kerr) were played in the original 1961 Broadway production by Patrick O'Neal, Bette Davis, and Margaret Leighton. The play, its producer and Leighton all were nominated for 1962 Tony Awards, but did not win.

Running Brave (1983) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (7S/16L)

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 09:35:36 +0200

Running Brave (1983)

This is the true story of a man's triumph over prejudice, pain and himself. Billy Mills, a North American Indian brought up on the reservation, destined against all odds to become the best distance runner in the world.

Robby Benson ... Billy Mills
Pat Hingle ... Coach Bill Easton
Claudia Cron ... Pat Mills
Jeff McCracken ... Dennis Riley
August Schellenberg ... Billy's father
Graham Greene ... Eddie Mills
Denis Lacroix ... Frank Mills
Kendall Smith ... Young Billy
George Clutesi ... Ben
Margo Kane ... Catherine
Derek Campbell ... Fight Bookmaker
Maurice Wolfe ... Uncle Chester
Albert Angus ... Bud
Barbara Blackhorse ... Young Catherine
William Berry ... Carny Barker

Director: D.S. Everett, Donald Shebib

Runtime: 106 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086220/

Codecs:

Video : 640 MB, 847 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 512*384 (4:3), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 60 MB, 80 Kbps, 32000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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Running Brave is a wonderful film. It sends out strong, positive, messages of life, and pursuing goals. As a Cross-Country and Track runner, Running Brave gave me the inspiration to continue to work hard and focus to be the best out there (like the Prefontaine movies did). Billy Mills did not let the stereotypical attitude towards his origins bring him down, it just fuelled him even more to showcase his talents.

The last segment of the 10,000 meter final is filmed exceptionally well.

--If your a runner, then Running Brave is for you. If your a person that likes inspirational, good-hearted films, I highly recommend this movie.

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While there are many films made "based" upon a true story, few come as close to portraying the actual events as Running Brave. Billy Mills' amazing finish to win the gold medal in the 10,000 meters, not to mention announcer Jim McKay's call of this race, have become legendary. Robbie Benson's understated acting style and athleticism made him an ideal choice to play the shy Mills, a Native American who was uncomfortable with the attention and notoriety his Olympic fame caused. Also, watch for veteran character actor, Pat Hingle, who gives an excellent performance in the role of Mills' college coach at Kansas.

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This would have to be one of the best true sporting stories ever created on the screen. Billy Mills is a Native American Indian who has to fight against the odds to get to the top. A gifted athlete who is very proud of his heritage works his way to the top and wins the 10,000 metres at the Tokyo Olympics. It highlights the ups and downs an American Indian must face to get recognition as a man and athlete. Robbie Benson seems to be born for the part. He portrays Mills very well to the extent that the running style is very alike. The actual race brings a chill to your spine, especially the way he finishes down the straight. This is a great Movie and any budding athlete should watch it just to see how to become a winner and win against all the odds.

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Quote:

Pat Mills: Are you really going to run in the Olympics?
Billy Mills: Sure, why?
Pat Mills: Oh, because everyone here says they'll do things and never do them. You're really doing something.

The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (4S/35L)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 10:00:25 +0200

The Taking Of Pelham One Two Three (1974)

Four armed men hijack a New York City subway train and demand 1 million dollars - which must be delivered in 1 hour - for the train and the lives of the passengers held hostage. Lt. Zachary Garber of the New York City Transit Police must contend with City Hall red tape, the unrelenting demands of the hijackers, and the ever-ticking clock in his efforts to save the passengers and bring the hijackers to justice.

Walter Matthau ... Lt. Garber
Robert Shaw ... Blue
Martin Balsam ... Green
Hector Elizondo ... Grey
Earl Hindman ... Brown
James Broderick ... Denny Doyle
Dick O'Neill ... Frank Correll
Lee Wallace ... The Mayor
Tom Pedi ... Caz Dolowicz
Beatrice Winde ... Mrs. Jenkins
Jerry Stiller ... Lt. Rico Patrone
Nathan George ... Ptl. James
Rudy Bond ... Police Commissioner
Kenneth McMillan ... Borough Commander (as Kenneth Mc Millan)
Doris Roberts ... Mayor's Wife

Director: Joseph Sargent

Runtime: 104 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072251/

Codecs:

Video : 1.32 GB, 1889 Kbps, 25.0 fps, 720*304 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 137 MB, 192 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x2000 = AC-3 ACM Codec, CBR,

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It is my belief that the finest era for films was the 1970's. Consider all the classics that were produced in that era (Godfather I and II, Patton, The Sting, Jaws, Mean Streets, The Exorcist, The French Connection, Star Wars etc). My belief was recently validated by Jodie Foster, who essentially said the same thing. One of the reasons why the films were great was that the directors were ostensibly in control of the films, rather than by a committee of the usual Hollywood "insiders" who think they know what people want to see, but rarely make the correct decisions.

I know that this film was re-made( for TV)--God knows why--but I'm sure if they attempted another film version Matt Damon would be playing the grizzled transit police cop (Matthau's role) and Jude Law would be playing the Robert Shaw role. That's another reason why the original and other films of the 70's were so great: the casting was more believable. Today Hollywood is so incredibly youth-obsessed that actors are completely miscast.

I am not stating that this is another 70's classic, but even this film is far superior to many of today's films. And yet, I'll bet you couldn't find "Pelham" in your local video store.

I love several things about this film. The first thing to hit you is that wonderful, funky score that in some parts sounds like controlled chaos. I love the script, which is not completely dark despite the underlying theme, as there are some very funny moments throughout the film: for instance, the chagrined look on Matthau's face when he discovers the Japanese visitors can speak English.

There are many examples of mistaken identity in this film: the supervisor who is gunned down is called "goombah", but he isn't Italian; Matthau thinks the black police captain is white over the radio; Matthau mistakes the long-haired undercover cop (who was shot on the train tracks) for a female. I also love the character who plays the mayor, who unbelievably bears a striking resemblance to Mayor Koch, who was elected 3 years later!!!! All in all a great action film, and one that will hold up for years.

Addendum: Well, they're doing it--they're re-making this film because Hollywood is almost completely bereft of new ideas (see "Josie and the Pussycats" "Bewitched" the upcoming "I Dream of Jeannie"). I half-expect they will remake "The Paper Chase" next with P.Diddy as Professor Kingsfield.

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There are many disappointing action pictures out there

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (15S/20L)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:59:41 +0200

Tarzan and the Leopard Woman (1946)

An African tribe devoted to the leopard cult is dedicated to preventing civilization from moving further into Africa. Tarzan fights them when the cult first attacks a caravan and next attacks Jane and Boy. Tarzan is captured. Boy is bothered by the Leopard Priestess' younger brother. Cheetah saves the day.

Johnny Weissmuller ... Tarzan
Brenda Joyce ... Jane
Johnny Sheffield ... Boy
Acquanetta ... Lea, the High Priestess
Edgar Barrier ... Dr. Ameer Lazar
Dennis Hoey ... Commissioner
Tommy Cook ... Kimba
Anthony Caruso ... Mongo

Director: Kurt Neumann

Runtime: 72 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0039011/

Codecs:

Video : 659 MB, 1277 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 528*384 (4:3), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 39 MB, 75 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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MY favorite of the Johnny Weisemuller Tarzan movies, contains great B-movie over-the-top performances and classic lines.

The Tarzan family's shopping trip to Zambezi is cut short by the arrival of a bloodied,dying man, the only survivor of a caravan apparently attacked by leopards. But the Jungle Man knows something is not quite right. "Man not killed by Leopard" he declares, pointing out that leopards use not just their claws but their teeth to kill. Challenged by skeptics to give an alternative explanation, he responds with the classic line "Something Leopard that isn't Leopard".

That something is this freakish cult of Leopard people,who enjoy dressing up in animal skins, attacking people, and ripping out their hearts to sacrifice to their god. They are led by Lea (Aquanetta) (based loosely on the character of the high priestess "La" in the Tarzan novels) and her lover, Lazar, a proto-environmentalist?- who is obsessed with stamping out civilization - a great "over-the-top performance by Edgar Barrier.("Away with them! Down with them!")

But the character to watch is "Kimba" Lea's brother, deliciously portrayed by Tommy Cook - as a conniving, sadistic little creep, who despises Lazar and harbors a not-so-secret lust for his sister and for Jane, the "lady with golden hair".

Taunted by his friends for his pretentiousness,Kimba boasts "When I come back,I will show you a heart". Kimba ingratiates himself into the Tarzan family, then turns on the unsuspecting Jane and Boy declaring "Now I take back TWO hearts". It stretches credulity when the bumbling Boy temporarily overpowers the clever and calculating Kimba.

Tarzan knows more about the ways of the jungle and its inhabitants than anyone, so of course NO ONE in the movie takes his warnings seriously until another caravan is attacked, and the "Zambezi maidens" (student teachers who have been hired to civilize the natives)are captured, along with the entire Tarzan family, and all are bound and prepared for sacrifice to the leopard god. Following classic adventure movie logic, the leopard folks bind Tarzan to the main support beam of their temple, providing him (with the aid of the ever-helpful Cheetah)not only with the opportunity to escape but to literally bring down the house. In a final moment of dramatic retribution, the dying Kimba finally gets his coveted heart - Lazar's heart.

As a kid, I just loved this movie.

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This is one of the two best RKO Tarzan films. I must disagree with a previous comment that Johnny Weissmuller had shown signs of weight gain in this movie. On the contrary, this was probably the best he had looked as Tarzan since the MGM days. He had lost quite a bit of the weight he had in the earlier RKO films and his physique had regained quite a bit of its definition. With the weight loss, one can see his pectorals regain the muscularity that made him "king of the jungle."

Likewise, watching the movie, you can see that RKO looked to capitalize on Weissmuller's improved physique by trimming his loincloth to its perhaps briefest form since Tarzan Escapes, where quite a bit of pelvic and hip area is exposed for his adoring female fans. Additionally, RKO somehow shifted the appeal in their Weissmuller films from the romance of Tarzan and Jane and geared it more towards Tarzan's conflict or cozy surroundings with other attractive females. The titles of the later films (Amazons, Leopard Women, Huntress, & Mermaids) reflect this, which in a way is unfortunate because I felt Brenda Joyce made quite a lovely Jane and wish they would have retained more of the romance from the Maureen O'Sullivan films.

As previously mentioned, this film features a very suggestive adult scene like none other in the Weissmuller Tarzan series. While attempting to rescue the Zambesi maidens, Tarzan is attacked and captured by the "leopard men" wearing steel claws, leaving Tarzan with countless deep scratches all over his body.

Tarzan is then brought to the cult's cave and is bound before the cult's beautiful queen, Lea. Lea attempts to extract information from a weakened Tarzan, who refuses to reply. Lea then retrieves a Spanish tickler and begins to slowly approach Tarzan with intention to further inflict torture on the jungle man.

This scene strongly intimates a sexual dominatrix theme with the scantily clad Lea approaching the bound and helpless Tarzan, clad only in his loincloth, prepared to torture him with additional clawing of Tarzan's chest and body.

Indeed, a brilliant camera angle appears as Lea is slowly approaching Tarzan. The claw is held outward in a way where it appears in the foreground over Tarzan's left pectoral at all times, as if Lea intends to claw his chest open.

While Lea is stopped from further attacking Tarzan, the suggestive nature of the scene was quite different and thrilling for adult Tarzan audiences. While Tarzan had always been able to conquer giant hungry crocodiles, other wild animals, and devious men alike, here the "King of the Jungle" has been rendered utterly helpless at the hands of a beautiful woman.

Likewise, Weissmuller's chest was quite the sexy symbol of his strength, prowess, and manhood as Tarzan. And the threatened emasculation of him at the hands of Lea was a large part of the film's promotion effort, proving quite unique and titillating for both male and female audiences.

Certainly the appeal of this scene lies in viewing a scantily clad, visually appealing physique being threatened with peril they may not be able to escape from. Usually this is accomplished pulp style in monster movies where a dainty swimsuit wearing beautiful lady is captured by the monster. But here the tables are turned with Tarzan nearly naked in the submissively helpless and vulnerable state, with the hint of sexual tension between he and his beautiful torturer.

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With the end of WWII, every Hollywood studio faced some major financial problems (a return of the high-priced talent, under contract and expecting to work, smaller audiences, as people had other ways to pass the time, increased production costs, government investigations into the industry), and for the smaller studios, the effect was most pronounced, as shooting budgets would be slashed on many features. TARZAN AND THE LEOPARD WOMAN marked the beginning of the decline of the RKO-Johnny Weissmuller films, with a BIG drop in quality from the previous year's TARZAN AND THE AMAZONS.

The film is a routine tale of a leopard cult which terrorizes the local African community, while attempting to thwart the government's plan to 'bring civilization' to another village, by capturing caravans and killing everyone, dressed in some REALLY cheesy, leopard-skin, clawed costumes! A dying survivor only has time to utter "leopards" before he expires, and while Tarzan quickly realizes this wasn't the work of animals (and HE would KNOW!), nobody believes him, and the cult turns loose an actual pack of leopards on the next caravan, to discredit him. Even Jane (Brenda Joyce, in her second outing in the role), thinks the Ape Man is getting a bit 'balmy', so Tarzan shrugs off his suspicions, and returns home to do some plumbing work on the tree house(??!!) Naturally, the cult, led by their 'plant' in the government, Nazi-like 'Dr. Lazar' (Edgar Barrier) and buxom, exotic high priestess, Lea (Acquanetta), worries about Tarzan again disrupting their 'Master Plan', so she sends her weaselly little brother (Tommy Cook) to spy on the Ape Man and his family.

Eventually, Tarzan DOES again get involved; he, Jane, and Boy are captured, and dragged into the cult's cave headquarters to be executed, so, of course, Cheeta has to save Tarzan (as always...) The Ape Man rescues the innocents, kills the baddies, and destroys the cult and their hideout...but, by this point, who really cares?

The film has little to offer, other than some silly, if unintentionally camp 'cult dances', the ever-reliable humor of Cheeta, and the novelty of seeing Boy (Johnny Sheffield) in the midst of puberty. Johnny Weissmuller, at 42, looked more 'middle-aged' than ever, and his once-graceful swimmer's physique had packed on some pounds!

The series was definitely on a downward slide, and things would only get worse...

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Goofs:

# Continuity: Before Kimba goes off to spy on Tarzan and later befriend him, Lea and Kimba are both talking in front of a mirror, approximately two feet from each other. When the camera pans back for a wide shot, they are both further apart.

# Continuity: When Cheetah sneaks up on the Commissioner and Doctor Lazar, he sprays the Commissioner with the soda water from the bottle on the ground. You see him hit squarely in the face with the water, yet right after he gets up from his chair, his face and clothes are dry.

# Continuity: Two crocodiles are on the river bank that the raft with the women on it drift toward. After Tarzan goes to save the women, he moves the raft to another shore, except it looks like the same shore, minus the crocodiles, making one wonder where the crocodiles went to. For that matter, they don't even attack the women when they're close enough.

Phantom From Space (1953) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (7S/8L)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:59:07 +0200

Phantom From Space (1953)

An alien being with the power of invisibility lands in Santa Monica. Killing two people who attacked him due to the menacing appearance of his spacesuit, the creature takes it off while being pursued by government authorities.

Ted Cooper ... Lt. Hazen
Tom Daly ... Charlie [Agent Charlie]
Steve Acton ... Mobile Center Dispatcher
Burt Wenland ... Agent Joe (Mobile 7)
Lela Nelson ... Betty Evans
Harry Landers ... Lt. Bowers
Burt Arnold ... Darrow
Sandy Sanders ... First Policeman
Harry Strang ... Neighbor
Jim Bannon ... Desk Sgt. Jim
Jack Daly ... Joe Wakeman
Michael Mark ... Refinery Watchman
Rudolph Anders ... Dr. Wyatt
James Seay ... Maj. Andrews
Noreen Nash ... Barbara Randall

Director: W. Lee Wilder

Runtime: 73 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046186/

Codecs:

Video : 632 MB, 1222 Kbps, 29.970 fps, 512*400 (5:4), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5,
Audio : 67 MB, 129 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 2 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR,

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Phantom from Space is a rare little treat for classic monster movie/sci-fi fans. The first half is incredibly dull with not a single monster sighting for about 25 minutes! Instead of thrills, the beginning offers a set-up of the boring police/news reporter/government agent business that seems to permeate many old moster flicks. BUT, once you get to the good stuff it really holds up well. It's always fascinating to watch the old invisibilty tricks harking back to Universal's Invisible Man. And check out that cool space suit! The ending tops all, thought, with a really cool effect that finally lets the viewer see the man behind the mask. Alpha Video has a release of this film on DVD with spectacular, color cover art, a quite nice print of the film, and a budget savvy price of around $5-$6 bucks! Definitely worth the price of admission for classic monster fans!

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This is a minor movie, but not without interest.

The idea of having the 'space invader' invisible for most of the time is so manifestly a cost-saving measure that you cannot help smiling at the audacity of the producers. However, the few invisibility effects that there are in the picture are not bad for its budget level. I can view this movie with some fondness, but I have to accept that it is probably very hard going for any but the most avid fans of Fifties' SF.

There is little that I can add to the other reviews on this site, but there is one issue I do want to raise.

I purchased it on a budget DVD in a mediocre print that makes it difficult to properly evaluate. However, there is one aspect of the DVD version for which I am unable to account. When dark objects move across a light background, there is very noticeable bleed-through so that they become transparent. Similarly, when characters are moving quickly, the image becomes very hazy and the movement somewhat jerky. In fact, the image breaks up and parts of the people simply disappear. I checked this by freezing the picture.

These problems are characteristic of early TV technology and the picture looks very much like low resolution CCTV footage, but I have never heard of them in connection with film, however poor the film stock. It set me wondering. Was this movie originally shot on video and transferred to film for the theatrical release? It seemed a plausible explanation, but from what I can determine, there were no viable video systems available that early and the ones that did exist were so expensive and cumbersome that no low-rent movie producer could have afforded to use them. In any case, there are no detectable scan lines.

I can only assume that this artifact is a consequence of some cheap DVD transcription system being used, but it is something I have never seen on any other DVD before or since.

Curious!

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Hadn't seen this film since I was a kid in the early 60s. It was one of those films that stuck in my mind, I remembered the weird spacesuit with an invisible alien inside and something about climbing a ladder. It was a treat to see it again after all these years.

I love old sci-fi B films. You probably have to appreciate the time they were made in to truly enjoy them. The FX were primitive by todays standards, but got the job done nicely. What I liked most about this film was that it didn't have the typical "monster" from space story. Instead the alien was a misunderstood sympathetic character stranded on earth and needing help. He tried to communicate with humans but failed. I like to think that the more technologically advanced a race is, the less violent they might become or need to be. Therefore I find a film like this much more believable than a typical 50s "monster from space" film like 'The Thing from Another World' (1951). Don't get me wrong 'The Thing FAW' is an excellent film, but the advanced alien in it acted like a killer maniac. Hard to believe he could have built a ship able to travel millions of light years. This alien in 'The Phantom from Space' was also stranded here, but wanted to find a way to communicate and survive in our atmosphere, not kill. I found that refreshingly different for a 50s sci-fi film. In some ways this film reminded me of 'The Man From Planet X' maybe it was the role an unusual looking spacesuit played in making the alien seem more menacing then he actually was and adding a weird unearthly atmosphere to the film.

Some of the scenes seemed a bit inexplainable, like the nude alien climbing at the end before falling to his death. Why was he doing that? Seemed like a sort of 'King Kong Empire State Building' ending to an otherwise novel film idea. I half expected him to pound his chest and grab at imagined biplanes attacking him. A few things that also gave me a chuckle were the characters and some of the dialog. Oh and everyone seemed to be lighting up a cigarette ! - LOL One guy, looked like Clark Kent, another seemed to be doing a Rod Serling imitation. I expected to see his name at the end as "Irving Serling", Rods older brother or something ;^). Don't get me wrong, all this just added to my enjoyment of the film.

'The Phantom from Space' was a refreshingly different early 50s sci-fi film worth seeing IMO. If you have an open mind I recommend it.

Belle's Comments:

This was typical sci-fi 50's fare to me, based on many movies we have watched. There are usually lots of night scenes and outdoor scenes where the creature is involved. Probably easier for special effects. And making it invisible helped with that aspect, too.

I would have liked to understand more about the Phantom, like how it ended up there. Naturally, the people didn't understand it and feared it, etc. - the usual paranoia in these types of films. Maybe I missed something, but I didn't think it was intentionally going around killing people the way the characters assumed. I can't recall the details of those deaths right now. And it conveyed that usual self-centeredness of Earthlings. The being died, huh?...oh well, whatever...let's call it a day and get back to our daily business. Oh, by the way, I rate it a 6 out of 10. The way they mentioned that his clothing had no weave and was impervious to acid, etc., was imaginative, I thought. I wasn't sure why the woman screamed when she saw his hand appear - maybe she was thinking that he looked so human-like, which she somehow found horrifying. At least she was relatively composed, especially when it joined her in the lab again,considering the penchant for depicting women as hysterical was so common.

We were laughing at how often everyone lit cigarettes...that one guy (the detective?) seemed to have a permanent one in his hand. And what about Clark Kent there? I couldn't help but think that about the guy with the glasses and hat. That one scientist, the German? one, was an arrogant SOB, by the way. It was fun all in all, even though it left out some background on the creature that I would have liked. I also hoped he would have been able to communicate.

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When it comes to 1950's sci-fi, there's good bad, and bad bad; "Phanton From Space" isn't bad, if you know what I mean. There's an interesting back story about the alien's arrival, your typical lab scenes played out with scientific endeavor, and an invisible alien that comes to play on the viewer's sympathy once it's learned that all he's trying to do is survive in Earth's atmosphere.

I got a kick out of some of the governmental jargon thrown around. There's Washington, D.C.'s 'Central Bureau', the 1950's version of an early warning system (hey, it's got a yellow and red alert!), and the mysterious apparatus known as the Communications Commission. The best though were vehicles Mobile #1 and #7, rigged up with those goofy roof top antennas; how did they make it through tunnel overpasses?

There were some clever bits thrown in to keep you guessing about the alien, Dr. Wyatt (Rudolph Anders) refers to him as 'superhuman'. Some fuss was made over the creature's spacesuit, it couldn't be cut and was resistant to flame and acid. Pretty comical though when the Major (James Seay) tried to rip it apart with his bare hands, how scientific was that? Fortunately, the Randall's dog was on hand to keep everyone on track, what do you expect from a canine named Venus?

Also imaginative was the ultra violet light gimmick used to expose the alien's footprint and human like hand. His full disclosure at the end of the story is amazingly similar to descriptions of alien beings today, compliments of writers like Whitley Strieber. How curious is that?

The cast by and large is a group of relative unknowns, though I did get a kick out of seeing Michael Mark as the oil refinery watchman. He would graduate to a top billed role as the beekeeper/inventor in 1960's "The Wasp Woman".

One final thought - the various folks trying to sort out the alien mystery often refer to him as the 'X-Man', pre-dating by a decade the beginning of one of Marvel Comics' most popular titles. I'd be interested to find out if this was the first time the term was ever used - Anyone?

Firecreek (1968) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (7S/27L)

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 09:58:31 +0200

Firecreek (1968)

Farmer and family man Johnny Cobb moonlights as a $2 a month sheriff in the quiet little town of Firecreek. When a gang of freebooters passes through, their leader Larkin, who is suffering from a minor wound, decides to spend the night. The gang members prove to be vicious, sadistic sociopaths who take advantage of the frightened townspeople, humiliating them for their own perverse amusement.

Although Larkin disapproves of their behavior, his leadership role is tenuous, and he is reluctant to test it by exercising control over his men. The mild-mannered Cobb also seems hesitant to challenge the gang's antisocial behavior. Things come to a head when Meli, an Indian woman with a mixed race child, is sexually attacked by one of vicious psychopaths. Arthur, a mentally-challenged stable boy, comes to her aid and accidentally kills him. Cobb locks up Arthur pending a trial, but when the sheriff visits his pregnant wife, the gang breaks into the jail and lynches the boy. Cobb now realizes the time has come to act.

James Stewart ... Johnny Cobb
Henry Fonda ... Bob Larkin
Inger Stevens ... Evelyn Pittman
Gary Lockwood ... Earl
Dean Jagger ... Whittier
Ed Begley ... Preacher Broyles
Jay C. Flippen ... Mr. Pittman
Jack Elam ... Norman
James Best ... Drew
Barbara Luna ... Meli
Jacqueline Scott ... Henrietta Cobb
Brooke Bundy ... Leah
Robert Porter ... Arthur (as J. Robert Porter)
Morgan Woodward ... Willard
John Qualen ... Hall

Director: Vincent McEveety

Runtime: 104 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062975/

Codecs:

Video : 648 MB, 870 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 608*256 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 52 MB, 70 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR,

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"Firecreek" is a somber, downbeat Western, photographed in bleak, striking colors... It has the benefit of Alfred Newman's musical inspiration

They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (4S/28L)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:28:32 +0200

They Shoot Horses, Don't They (1969)

Gloria (Jane Fonda) is a young woman of the Depression. She has aged beyond her years and feels her life is hopeless, having been cheated and betrayed many times in her past. Fantasizing about movies, she sees herself as an actress and decides to head for Hollywood, having got the idea from a movie magazine while recuperating in the hospital from a suicide attempt which resulted from another unhappy love affair.

Robert (Michael Sarrazin), a desperate Hollywood citizen unsuccessfully trying to become a director, never doubting that he'll eventually make it. Robert and Gloria meet and decide to enter a dance marathon, one of the crazes of the thirties. The grueling dancing takes its toll on Gloria's already weakened spirit, and she tells Robert that she'd be better off dead, that her life is hopeless - all the while acting cruel and bitter, alienating those around her, trying to convince him to shoot her and put her out of her misery. After all, they shoot horses, don't they?

Jane Fonda ... Gloria Beatty
Michael Sarrazin ... Robert Syverton
Susannah York ... Alice LeBlanc
Gig Young ... Rocky
Red Buttons ... Harry 'Sailor' Kline
Bonnie Bedelia ... Ruby
Michael Conrad ... Rollo
Bruce Dern ... James
Al Lewis ... Turkey
Robert Fields ... Joel Girard
Severn Darden ... Cecil
Allyn Ann McLerie ... Shirley 'Shirl' Clayton
Madge Kennedy ... Mrs. Laydon
Jacquelyn Hyde ... Jackie
Felice Orlandi ... Mario

Director: Sydney Pollack

Runtime:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065088/

Codecs:

CD1:

Video : 660 MB, 1668 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 640*272 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 35 MB, 90 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, VBR,

CD2:

Video : 657 MB, 1424 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 640*272 (Unknown), XVID = XVID Mpeg-4,
Audio : 41 MB, 90 Kbps, 48000 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" is such a fascinating film that it made worthwhile a little research into the dance marathon craze of the 1920s and early 1930s. According to the DVD extra, the set was modeled on the old Aragon Ballroom, built in the 1920s on the Lick Pier at Santa Monica, California. The once-elegant ballroom had grown seedy by the early 1950s, at which time it enjoyed a brief revival as the location of early Lawrence Welk show broadcasts. In the 1960s, the Aragon was again revamped under a different name as a short-lived rock concert venue - with appearances by Alice Cooper (is his pre-Cooper days) and Jim Morrison of the Doors. It was destroyed by fire shortly afterward.

Marathon dancing was, according to most historians, as brutal and exploitive as it is depicted in "Horses." It was for that reason that this early 20th century variety of Roman coliseum culture was banned in much of the country by the late 1930s.

This movie uses fictitious characters to tell a story that appears to be remarkably accurate from a historical point of view. Jane Fonda's ultra-cynical, sharp-tongued character, Gloria, along with ruthless manager/promoter Rocky (played by Gig Young), contrast perfectly with the eerily-resigned and unpretentious Robert (Michael Serrazin). The casting and dialogue are brilliant. The visual effects are haunting.

This film is not for everyone. But for those interested in the social pathology that allows human suffering to become a form of amusement, the malicious ill-treatment of the poor, or the harsh realities of the depression era, this is multifaceted cinema that can be watched again and again, each time yielding new subtleties. It is a morbidly fascinating character study that reflects a truly desperate time.

The movie is unforgettable, a true classic.

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In this movie's only moment of deadpan black humor, a nurse asks Gloria Beatty (Jane Fonda) after an exhausting dance session that has lasted nearly 1,000 hours, "Can I get you something for your feet?" Her response, as black as night, is, "How about a saw?" Taken out of context, her retort would inspire at least a barf of nervous laughter -- comic relief mirroring the temporary relief that particular something would give Gloria. But knowing the fury that her character has, this dissatisfaction with life in general, it wouldn't be a far stretch to see her amputate her feet right off and be done with it as the band plays on and Gig Young herds his cattle into mindless motion, for a promise of a little over one grand as a prize. She has nothing, she expects nothing -- and this is her last exit to a better life.

Such is the heroine of Horace McCoy's novel of the same name, which appeared in 1935 and told a story so lurid it could not possibly be true: that of the horror of dance marathons in which people down on their luck danced for interminable hours with brief "rest periods" no longer than 15 minutes, and all for free food and money. The ultimate price to pay for an era of abundance turned inside out into the belly of the beast the Depression Era was. All the time while Ginger and Fred danced under the stars and brought Hollywood magic to their eyes, all false promises. The greater irony is that its plot is set right at the edge of the world: the West, where dreams have been known to come true, especially for aspiring actors looking for their Big Break. That it was written by someone who was himself in the fringes is only fitting: some of the more effective stories come from people at the edges of society.

In a tone similar to Hubert Selby's REQUIEM FOR A DREAM, several characters are caught under the wheels of the American Dream and the need to escape the rampant poverty that had the nation under a vise. Dancing with Gloria are Robert Syverton (Michael Sarrazin), who seems to have committed a crime which makes this a story told in extensive flashbacks; Alice LeBlanc (Susannah York), who with partner Joel (Robert Fields) aspired to be a star; Ruby (Bonnie Bedelia) and James (Bruce Dern), a young married couple expecting their first child; and the Sailor (Red Buttons), a veteran of dance marathons. Rocky (Gig Young), the emcee, holds the ultimate poker card as to who will win this coveted prize and has the morals of a two-dollar bill.

What neither of them begin to suspect is that there is no light at the end of this tunnel. Rocky, the emcee, as corrupt as he is, is the only one who knows the final outcome and plays the game and each contestant until many of them literally fall dead... or worse, become raving lunatics moving for the sake of moving. Like the quick fix that the characters of REQUIEM were hooked on, he is just that to these people who soon progress from dancers full of life to zoned-out zombies in one horrific shot where we see their reflections through shards of broken glass, their eyes staring, looking at nothing, as they shuffle about in mock-dancing.

Alice will lose her dreams and turn into a shell of her former self: a scene in which she tries to seduce Robert is painful, especially when it happens right by a picture of an actress she emulates, Jean Harlow. Gloria will become even more bitter, and a sense of Hell on Earth will be the dominant feeling once the stakes become higher. And throughout it all, the dance.

But if the dancing in itself is punishing, nothing can account or compare to the two horrifying sequences where all of the contestants must race around the ballroom and avoid at all costs at being the last three couples, grounds for elimination. The first of them runs for the entire duration of its ten minutes and is a reverse chariot sequence in BEN HUR: instead of chariots, there are desperate people -- one of them, Ruby, is seven months pregnant -- and instead of a whip we have the emcee. It is interminable, and hits home at just how inhuman this contest is. The second one is even more terrible: the unforgettable image of Jane Fonda dragging the Sailor behind her back, a symbolic horse trying to remain in the game.

THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? comes with a heavy dose of nihilism that would be the tone set throughout the Seventies and in many ways, it can be said that Seventies cinema began in 1969 with this and with MIDNIGHT COWBOY, both films about the underbelly of society. Every performance in the movie is on-target including that of Michael Sarrazin who is looks like a non-entity but is more the chewed-up remains of the dream machine. Sydney Pollack uses a number of flashy techniques appropriate of the time -- flashcuts, stylized sequences that seem out of a narrative structure -- and in doing so has created his own masterpiece. Timeless, the story of human exploitation is even more relevant today with the advent of reality game shows like Fear Factor and its self-degrading contestants. It's an ugly portrayal of us as a society, willing to partake in the spectacle of seeing people worse than we are acting little more than animals destined for carnage.

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A brutally bleak screen adaptation of the pulpy Horace McCoy novella, about a Depression-era dance marathon where down-and-outers drive themselves to the brink of exhaustion to win the cash prize.

This film has become relevant again today in the age of reality T.V., where people tune in to watch strangers be humiliated, rejected and made fun of. Meanness and suffering sells today, and apparently it sold back then as well. The M.C. of the dance marathon, played wonderfully by Gig Young in one of his last (if not the last) film performances before the troubled actor murdered his wife and then killed himself, creates little narratives and dramas around each of the dancers, so that the audience can have their favorites to root for. Every once in a while, someone will show off a special talent, singing a song or hoofing a little dance number, and the audience will throw change at them, which the performer then frantically scrabbles up like a desperate pigeon. The cast of dancers is led by Jane Fonda, in a break-out role as Gloria, the jaded woman-of-the-world who's seen it all and doesn't want to see anymore; Susannah York, as a pretentious wannabe actress, who acts up a storm during a mesmerizing breakdown scene; Red Buttons, as an aging ex-serviceman who struggles to keep up with the young kids around him; and Bruce Dern and Bonnie Bedelia, as a sweet couple of country bumpkins who are desperate to win the cash for their unborn baby. And yes, that is Al Lewis (aka Grandpa Munster) lurking around in the background as one of the dance marathon officials.

Director Sydney Pollack vastly improves on the source material, making something much richer and deeper out of McCoy's lurid novella. He uses an edgy, jarring style that's suited perfectly to the material, and which he would never again display.

"They Shoot Horses, Don't They?" holds a sort of grisly fascination over its audience. Bleak as it is, it's also entertaining in a rather morbid way, making us feel like we're members of the audience watching this sick spectacle and making it that much harder for us to condemn the film audience without labeling ourselves as hypocrites.

Grade: A

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* Sydney Pollack shot some of the frightening derby sequences himself, donning a pair of roller skates to get right in the action with the frantically heel/toe-ing actors.

* Holds the record for the movie with the most Academy Award nominations without a nomination for Best Picture: 9.

* Two of the couples are sponsored by Winkler's Travel Agency and Sills Collection Agency. Irwin Winkler and Theodore B. Sills are among the producers of the film.

* Barbara Parkins was offered, but turned down, a role in this film.

That Darn Cat (1965) DVDRip (SiRiUs sHaRe) (16S/15L)

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:27:41 +0200

That Darn Cat (1965)

A young woman with an active imagination contacts the FBI when her cat DC (Darn Cat) comes home wearing a wristwatch. She's convinced its the tip-off to crack a bank robbery and kidnapping case that has the authorities baffled. An allergic agent is assigned to "tail" the cat to find the hostage, and laugh (and romance) follows.

Hayley Mills ... Patti Randall
Dean Jones ... Zeke Kelso
Dorothy Provine ... Ingrid Randall
Roddy McDowall ... Gregory Benson
Neville Brand ... Dan
Elsa Lanchester ... Mrs. MacDougall
William Demarest ... Mr. MacDougall
Frank Gorshin ... Iggy
Richard Eastham ... Supervisor Newton
Grayson Hall ... Margaret Miller
Tom Lowell ... Canoe
Richard Deacon ... Drive-in-Mgr.
Iris Adrian ... Landlady
Liam Sullivan ... Graham
Don Dorrell ... Spires

Director: Robert Stevenson

Runtime: 116 mins

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059793/

Codecs:

Video : 617 MB, 741 Kbps, 23.976 fps, 720*480 (4:3), DX50 = DivXNetworks Divx v5,
Audio : 53 MB, 63 Kbps, 44100 Hz, 1 channels, 0x55 = Lame MP3, CBR,

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This is one of those movies I saw in the theater as a kid. Simply put, it was hilarious. Maybe it was mob mentality, but virtually EVERYONE in the entire place was laughing uncontrollably throughout the entire film. We're talking a real side-splitter here, folks. I have never laughed so hard at a movie before or since, with the possible exception of another Disney film, "The Absent-Minded Professor" (1961) which I also saw in a theater.

So what makes a good film, anyhow? Fantastic acting? Great plot? Beautiful cinematography? Superb directing? Babes? Well, you can't say it had any of those things. But it DID set out to do what it attempted to do, which was: make people laugh. A lot. And that makes it, in my opinion, a pretty darn good movie.

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"That Darn Cat!" can be considered the first in the series of human/animal buddy caper films (see "K9", "Turner and Hooch", "Oh Heavenly Dog" to name a few). And it's also one of the funniest.

D.C. is a clever and precocious Siamese who is forever getting into mischief, but who forever remains one of filmdom's coolest cats. But when D.C. (for "Darn Cat" - though D.C. is also an acronym for something unspeakable in a Disney Film!) becomes an unsuspecting witness to a bank robbery/kidnapping, he finds himself the FBI's most valued informant.

The cast of this of this cool Disney caper is sophisticated, intelligent and frequently hilarious. Hayley Mills, as D.C.'s overly-zealous owner, has finally graduated to womanhood, while still maintaining the girlish charm that captured the hearts of Pollyan-ites and Parent Trappers everywhere. Her lines of dialog are extensive, and though her voice begins to grate after a while, she is both smart and quite ballsy for a teen of the early 70s. Dean Jones as unflappable FBI Agent Kelso manages to display a dignity, wit and charm not usually present in the straight man of a Disney Comedy (Who else would remain calm as the little beast nearly tears him to shreds, covers him with ink, and leads him on three separate chases in pursuit of the elusive wild goose?).

Bad guys Neville Brand and Frank "The Riddler" Gorshin simply ooze evil when they are coolly discussing the potential fate of hostage Grayson Hall. Even now as I watch this movie, I really BELIEVE they would do serious bodily harm to this poor woman, in much the same manner that Roddy McDowell (as a hot-headed and stuffy neighbor) would be willing to de-gut our hero, the cat.

And therein lies our focus - the cat. This brave little feline is the true (and UNBILLED!) hero of the piece. And D.C. clearly is capable of holding his own against overwhelming odds. Even with star talent surrounding at every turn, the writers were smart enough to keep the focus on D.C. and his antics. The assorted chases, the jealous boyfriend, the vengeful neighbor (with his duck dinner clutched firmly in hand), the bickering couple next-door; all revolve around or are in some fashion related to, the actions of the furry little sleuth.

The writing is fun; speaking on a heretofore unseen level of intelligence to its young audience. The result is that children are entertained and clearly understand what's going on, while grownups marvel at the complex doings in a small town that are precipitated by one mischievous kitty and the screwball humans that surround him.

This film is a whopping credit to Disney's talented live-animal handlers and art direction teams. The sets and scenery in this delightful little any-town are realistic enough to make you believe they are a real community, yet spritely and colorful enough to make you want to move there... The drive-in movie theater scene still gives me a good laugh.

In all, "That Darn Cat!" is a delight to view on multiple levels, whether you're all alone, or in a room full of pre-schoolers. For an extra treat, pick up any CD by Disney that has the film's title track by Bobby Darin. The cool loungey tune rings vaguely of Harry Connick Jr. and would probably be right at home coming out of the pipes of Ol' Blue Eyes, Mr. Sinatra, himself.

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That Darn Cat (1965) was director Robert Stevenson's attempt to bring the girlish Haley Mills into womanly