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"In a few minutes, it won't matter what you say."
In the opinion of this reviewer, this is far and away THE most underrated, underappreciated, and under-deserved film ever made.
A CLASSIC LONG OVERLOOK WARNER BRO.DVD, ITS AS GOOD AS "THE DAMMED"
"THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE." This spectacular film is a world-renowned classic of love and war. It was released in Cinemascope by MGM in 1961. A Julian Blaustein Production, Directed by Vincente Minnellii, that features an international cast of actors spanning two continents. Starring: Glenn Ford, Ingrid Thulin, Charles Boyer, Lee J. Cobb and Paul Heinreid, Co-starring: Paul Lucas, Yvette Mimeux and Kael Boehm. Screenplay by Robert Ardrey and John Gay. Based on the novel by Vicente Blasco Iba�ez.
George Dolenz should've had more of a part
Even tho this is one of George Dolenz's last films before his death in 1963.This movie had a bit of a chill on what was it like during the war.I think (since I run a site on George) he should've been seen more in it than in the mid point, then at the very end...but still casted.I don't know what was up with that.Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

In the tradition of such obsessively driven directors as Erich von Stroheim and Werner Herzog, Francis Ford Coppola approached the production of Read more

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Reviews (304)

The horror ... the horror ...
To call Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW one of the greatest films ever made is a major understatement.It's filmmaking perfection - brilliant, powerful, and beautiful.From the chilling opening - helicopters flying through the Vietnamese jungle, setting it aflame, while The Doors' "The End" plays - to the now-classic closing ("The horror ... the horror ..."), it's an unforgettable journey into the darkest reaches of the human heart.It's unquestionably the greatest and most horrifying film made about the Vietnam War; it may be the best war movie ever.Some could even argue that APOCALYPSE NOW is the greatest film of all time.
Magnificent Film In Any Form... '....The Complete Dossier' Due Out In August 06
In 1979's "Apocalypse Now", Francis Ford Coppola presented us with a mesmerizing, stunning look at the horrors of Viet Nam. It was a film that looked at the hearts and minds of the soldiers and the effects of the brutalities.The film received 8 nominations by Oscar, including Best Picture, Director, and a supporting actor nod for Robert("I love the smell of Napalm in the morning")Duvall. It took home well deserved Oscars for Cinematography(Vittorio Storaro) and Sound.
Coppola's phantasmagoric ode to the madness of war
War is a kind of madness.It has its own logic.Kill or be killed.Follow orders, follow the leader.Go crazy.Do horrific things.Become a beast.Do all of this in a steamy jungle amid a alien culture for an unclear purpose in an ineffective way and you've got some idea of what Vietnam was like.Coppola's Vietnam is the Vietnam of a soldier's Thai stick/acid trip.The filming actually took place in the Phillippines, but no matter: that's better than Kubrick's excellent Full Metal Jacket which was partially filmed on constructed sets in England of all places. Read more

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Editorial Review

Writer-director Barry Levinson is at his best when exploring his native Baltimore during his formative years: the 1950s and 1960s. This film, drawing upon family stories, tells a compelling, amusing tale about an extended group that came to America one by one, each earning enough to bring the next sibling. The new, American-born generation--represented by Aidan Quinn and Kevin Pollak--see a future in that mysterious machine known as the television, even as the older generation, led by Armin Mueller-Stahl, finds its traditions shattering or being put aside. Funny, tragic, and telling, it's a terrific, multifaceted film that ultimately details the breakdown of the oral tradition in the wake of television's burgeoning popularity. Read more

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Reviews (39)

Barry Levinson's Genius work
Every scene in Avalon seems to have a deeper meaning.A classic, heartwrenching story about immigration and how families can drift apart.How many millions of us living in America have a similar tale?
Levinson's Baltimore once again

A family's love is tested by changing times
Barry Levinson's sprawling "Avalon" tells the story of Polish Jewish immigrant Sam Krichinsky as he joins his four brothers in Baltimore, 1914. The movie opens with a beautifully shot montage of fireworks, American symbols of liberty such as the eagle, and an immigrant's wonder at the lights and joy surrounding him on the Fourth of July. We cut to the present, where Sam's large family is introduced at Thanksgiving dinner, where the various brothers and their wives bicker in the way that large families do. Sam's son, Jules (Aidan Quinn), and his grandson Michael (Elijah Wood, in his first major role) become the focus of much of the story. Sam and his cousin Izzy (Kevin Pollack) engage in a series of risky business deals to expand their small department store into televisions, then a discount store, then a discount warehouse, all the while swept along by the tide of modern technology (television).
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Editorial Review

Robert Donat won an Oscar for his portrayal of the humble British don in the 1939 film Read more

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Reviews (44)

Getting there...slowly
So - the CD soundtrack to this wonderful movie has finally been released.Don't delay, FSM are only producing a few copies of it (and I have one of them!).FSM are to be congratulated on a beautifully produced set of three CDs.Pure magic!
Good Bye Mr Chips with Peter O'Toole and Petual Clark
One of the finest films ever produced with outstanding music.I have other editions of this story, but none reach the standards of this masterpiece.I look forward to a release of this DVD.

One of the finest musicals we possess
It has always been a mystery to me as to the reasons behind the fashionable distaste for the musical version of "Goodbye, Mr. Chips."I've never been able to solve the mystery, but it is merely fashionability.The score is one of the most beautiful ever written -- I've listened to it across the span of my entire life from the time it was released in 1969 and have yet to find it anything but extraordinary.The film is a moving depiction of what love is really about and never fails to move me.The performances by both Peter O'Toole (why has Hollywood thought it useful to cheat this great actor of his due with a "real" Oscar -- sheer jealousy?) and Petula Clark are extraordinary. Yet, a strange, and, to me, bizarre cult of disparagement has risen about this film. Don't be fooled by fools who wish to belittle real talent.This is one of the all-time great musicals. Don't miss it. ... Read more

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Reviews (17)

A Magical Movie Gets Shoddy DVD Treatment
I'm not going to re-review this movie because the almost universal raves say it all.The true tragedy is that this magical movie's exceptional flying sequences are muddled in this terrible full screen transfer.Watching this in full screen is like watching Lawrence of Arabia or Dr. Zhivago in full screen ... pointless.Please give this movie a new widescreen transfer ... it more than deserves it.

We desperately need this one in letterbox!!!
I give this film three stars only because of its shoddy treatment on DVD.Otherwise, I would give it five stars.I remember a strikingly different theme used during the opening scenes of the film, during which time the black-and-white photographs are shown.On one HBO showing of the film many years ago, the opening scenes used the same music that appears at around 19:30 into the film, when MaryBeth, Waldo and Axel are in a bar.As a result, I don't know which theme was used in the film as originally released.
Why is it so difficult to get so many of the really great movies on DVD?
This movie is pure pleasure for young, old, male or female. It would be nice if movies like this would come out in widescreen DVD for those who appreciate what movies were intended to do. ENTERTAIN. The flying sequences are marvelous. Redford is great, as always and the storyline is wonderful. Let's get this released in widescreen ASAP please. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Drama    2. Feature Film-action/Adventure    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

Italy's rubber-faced funnyman Roberto Benigni accomplishes theimpossible in his World War II comedy Read more

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Reviews (602)

An absolute masterpiece
This film is better than anything else I've reviewed this week, or in a very long time. But you want details, so here we go.
A Wonderful Film
Life is Beautiful is a film by Roberto Benigni, which really showcases his talent before he made an embarassing stab at playing Pinocchio. "Life is Beautiful" is probably my favorite Foreign film (I've only seen probably 5 though); It's funny, heartfelt, has wonderful performances, and is all around a joy to watch. It also happens to be a layered film, that goes in one direction before veering off into another but never losing it's charm. Benigni plays Guido, a waiter with a humorous streak. After Guido contantly stumbles into Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), he falls in love with her and the movie (with no warning) flashes forward a number of years. This first half of the film (which is a little over 50 minutes) is pretty much a romantic-comedy. The second half is quite different. In the second half, Guido and Dora (who now have a young son named Joshua) live in Italy which is overrun with Germans. Subsequently, Guido and Joshua are taken into a concentration camp; Dora also goes to the camp, but under different circumstances which are a bit unbelievable but still a nice part of the story. Anyway, Guido employs his quick-wit to keep his son from the horrors of the camp; Guido tells Josh that it's actually an elaborate game and that he must avoid being seen. If, at the end, he does everything he's told and racks up the most "points" he will get a tank. Benigni (who is also the co-writer and director) does something that's never been done. He takes a horrifying setting (a concentration camp) and turns it into a comedy, without exploting anything and without losing heart.
Be happy that weare HERE.
Despite the holocaust that can happen to anybody,this movie shows deeply that as a child,everything you see around you is in it's nature.The heart of a child can feel the joy of living,while we (grown-up children) often look for the shade or nuance of everything....we judge,compare,condemn and critic.We are duped by all the happenings around.
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Reviews (39)

A WInner
This is a great movie that depicts the spirit of the courageous priests, religious and lay people during a terrible time.It is definitely a must see!

Powerful story about strength, convictions, action, and the power of forgiveness
I'm Protestant ... and some may think this is only a movie for Catholics ... but this movie transcends 'religion'. It is a movie for anyone facing adverse times and the difficult choices one must make (the choice between protecting self, or risking all for someone who cannot give anything in return). Because of this, it has always been one of my favorites. "What is our duty when we come face-to-face with evil?"
Gregory Peck stars as Monsignor Hugh O'Flaherty, a brave Irish priest who works in the Vatican during the German occupation in World War Two. Over time O'Flaherty builds a network of hundreds of equally brave civilians to help him hide refugees and escaped Allied POWs from the Gestapo, under the command of the brutal Colonel Kappler (played by Christopher Plummer, in an unforgettable performance). Pope Pius XII (played by John Gielgud) soon knows of O'Flaherty's activities, but does nothing to help him, insisting on the church's neutrality and the dangers of working against the German occupation.
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Reviews (22)

History or Hollywood?STALIN delivers an excellent balance
I agree with Leaming.Any time Hollywood depicts history, there are going to be issues of inaccuracy, artistic license, etc.In the case of the film STALIN, this is mostly due to the need to compress about thirty years into less than three hours.The portrayals of the primary characters are sometimes simplistic and inaccurate, but Bukharin and Kirov's characters (for example) are portrayed so as to accentuate the perception of Stalin as a monster (which is accurate).In other words, the truth is adapted somewhat to generate a dramatic foil.Films are never a substitute for reading the real history, but I find that they often whet an appetite when one did not previously exist.The mini-series PETER THE GREAT with Maximilian Schell in the title role is another great example of a film that generated popular interest in Tsarist Russia.SHOGUN, ROUGH RIDERS, LAST SAMURAI, GLADIATOR, GODS AND GENERALS, SHARPE'S RIFLES -- all are examples of films that prompted people to actually read history.So, take the films for what they are -- all in all, everyone who loves history should encourage this terrific trend in film-making!

nevermind the "purist" reviews - this is an excellent film
This film is historically excellent.What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes.Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific.The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life.All the important stuff is there:the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges, WWII, etc.The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union.Sure, many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and what made him tick - not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters.If you don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then you simply missed the point.The way that he treated his family, friends and so called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film. Good Characterization of Stalin, Bad History
In the past, apologists for Stalin (including many of his victims) said that Stalin was good, but he was surrounded by bad people.This film turns this on its head saying that Stalin was bad, but he was surrounded by good people.Both of these are wrong--the leaders of the Bolshevik Revolution and the leaders of the USSR in the period following the revolution were all up to their necks in blood. Robert Duvall gives an excellent portrayal of Stalin, emphasizing that he, unlike his ranting partner in mass murder Hitler, was soft-spoken and basically uncharismatic.Duvall correctly does not use a "Russian" accented English because Stalin spoke Russian with a heavy Georgian accent.Having said this, the historical aspects of the film are very poor.First of all, Maximilian Schell's portrayal of Lenin is way off base.The Old Bolsheviks like Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin, Ordzhonikidze and Kirov are shown to be basically well-meaning people who got trapped in Stalin's web.This is untrue, they were all involved in mass terror, justifying it in the name of a "higher good".In Solzhenitsyn's "Gulag Archipelago", he points out what a pathetic man Bukharin really was and how he so freely shed tears for the injustice committed to his person, and yet he had no pity on the millions of others who suffered.At the end of the film, Khruschev says that Stalin's crimes ("the millions" he liquidated) had to be accounted for, whereas,in reality,he himself took an active role in the Great Terror.Read more

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Reviews (18)

Youthful dreams blaze and die....
Perhaps the sign of a classic film is if it means one thing to you when you are young but takes on a whole different meaning in later years. "Raintree County" is one such movie. I saw this movie as a young person and loved the romance, the clothes, the rivalries, all very torrid and exciting. Now I see the tragedy of a young man lose his dreams and his great love through one moment of misspent passion, a passion that would beget many sad repercussions for many people. Montgomery Clift captures the idealistic and brilliant John and his quest for redemption in the form of the elusive raintree. Elizabeth Taylor is great as his mad Southern belle seductress, struggling with demons brought on by slavery and family dysfunction. Eva Marie Saint is sweet and virginal as John's true and lost love, although you totally understand how he falls for Taylor. As usual, there is great chemistry between Taylor and Clift. The supporting actors are in top form. This is one film that is pretty faithful to the book, which was much more tragic. A great film, they don't make movies like this anymore.

A Short Review of a Long Movie
MGM evidently envisioned this three-hour 1957 would-be Civil War epic as a next-generation Gone With the Wind, but its hopes were misplaced:it's a grave disappointment.Taylor hams it up as a tempestuous, manipulative, neurotic Southern belle (a kind of overwrought parody of Scarlett O'Hara).Clift is stuck in the thankless role of bland straight man to whom things happen---whom other characters play off of.Saint is the true-blue hometown gal who loves Clift, gets jilted, but perseveres to land her man in the end.Marvin is a hard-drinking, two-fisted hellraiser.British old pro Nigel Patrick steals his scenes as a flamboyant, lecherous schoolmaster and provides welcome diversion.But he can't save this silly, ponderous, badly dated melodrama:the sophomoric dialogue hamstrings the actors and falls flat (some of it is laughable); none of the characters or situations carries any real conviction; the lumbering film just can't get off the ground.It has been aptly called "an elephantine bore," and does scant justice to Ross Lockridge's estimable 1948 historical novel on which it is based.(Lockridge committed suicide shortly after publishing this his only book; thus he was spared the indignity of witnessing the travesty Hollywood made of it.)

In search of the bliss!

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Editorial Review

Aimed directly at a mainstream audience, Read more

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Reviews (825)

Excellent Movie
This movie is a great one, and you will like it even more if you are interested in the historic time period in which it takes place.
More Gibson garbage...no stars
I wouldn't normally write a review of such drivel but felt that I had to when I saw what Christiane Schmidt had to say.
An eye-opener! WATCH IT!
I think I will never look at the British the same again! I didn't know how evil they were! It is disgusting to see, what crimes they committed against freedom itself! They murdered patriotic Americans in cold-blood!
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Editorial Review

Director Gillo Pontecorvo's 1966 movie Read more

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Reviews (91)

I have finally seen this movie and it is excellent
I travel to Algiers many time a year for work. As a result, I visited the Algiers casbah many times and each time, as I passed in front of the house where Ali Lapointe was killed by the French, along with another man, a woman and a 10-year old boy, I was reminded I needed to see this movie.
Extraordinary film
I'm a good friend of Haskell Wexler, and edited his film, "Medium Cool," in 1968. This film came out the year before and was required viewing for all of us -- especially because of the way it made a scripted story look like a documentary. I loved the film back then but hadn't seen it again until last week. I admit I was a bit worried that it would appear dated and irrelevant.
Original and Superb!
One of the most realistic war movies ever made, Battle of Algiers is a must see for those that would like a deeper insight into revolutionary mentality and/or expert film making. From actual FLN rebels used in the film to the scenes being shot on location, Gillo Pontecorvo is able to combine a terrifying event into a cinematic masterpiece.
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Editorial Review

This 1930 film, No. 54 on the AFI's Top 100 list, still holds up as a surprisingly forceful and honest antiwar drama. Indeed, the modern sensibility is almost as startling as the sometime stagey acting of Lew Ayres, which can be excused by the fact that, three years after the introduction of sound, actors were still applying stage techniques to talking pictures. Ayres plays a German college student during World War I, who is brainwashed into enlisting in the Army (along with the rest of his class) by a zealously inspirational college professor. Once in uniform and on the front lines, however, he quickly discovers that the glory of the Fatherland is of little concern to a soldier dodging bullets and explosions, whose comrades are dying in his arms. As powerful in its way as Read more

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Reviews (90)

A beautifully crafted movie
I was young when I first saw this movie.I couldn't understand why wars had to happen, why the profesor was encouraging the students to fight for their country.
A Good Anti-War Message
You will find the acting a little corney at times but the
World War I, the story of a German soldier in the infantry
I saw a 1930 version on VHS, loaned from a public library.The whole movie is in English, spoken in US style.German is heard only when the soldiers are singing.The French women speak French.Keeping in mind that this movie was made in 1930, I still think it's a good movie.You might want to watch the more recent productions of it, if you don't want to tune off younger people with low interest in the subject.For example, in the scene with the French women, you assume and know that they made out, versus Hollywood movies these days, you'll see gratuitous nudity.This movie has all the elements of a good movie plot.It is an anti war film.The movie also plays out more like a play than what you would used to in a movie of current times. ... Read more

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Editorial Review

The wartime memories of surviving World War II bomber squadrons were still crystal clear when this acclaimed drama was released in 1949--one of the first postwar films out of Hollywood to treat the war on emotionally complex terms. Framed by a postwar prologue and epilogue and told as a flashback appreciation of wartime valor and teamwork, the film stars Gregory Peck in one of his finest performances as a callous general who assumes command of a bomber squadron based in England. At first, the new commander has little rapport with the 918th Bomber Group, whose loyalties still belong with their previous commander. As they continue to fly dangerous missions over Germany, however, the group and their new leader develop mutual respect and admiration, until the once-alienated commander feels that his men are part of a family--men whose bravery transcends the rigors of rigid discipline and by-the-book leadership. The film's now-classic climax, in which the general waits patiently for his squad to return to base--painfully aware that they may not return at all--is one of the most subtle yet emotionally intense scenes of any World War II drama. With Peck in the lead and Dean Jagger doing Oscar-winning work in a crucial supporting role, this was one of veteran director Henry King's proudest achievements, and it still packs a strong dramatic punch. Read more

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Reviews (99)

It Takes A Village
I'm kind of responding to Mr. Britcher's review that seems to be criticizing this movie (is it?), or this society we live in or both. Well, as a prominent Democrat has said, "It Takes A Village". Mr. Britcher, you have the right to spew about not feeding Africa (why can't people take care of themselves though?), and bombing Europe instead, but that right of free speech is thanks to our armed forces and our politicians that have used them when appropriate. I'd like to know what your views would be about a society you would prefer to live in, but after reading your other reviews I can safely assume it would be a dark oppressive one that I would give my life to help defeat. As far as this movie goes, it was ranked #1 by the last poll taken by the American Legion for best war movie ever. I don't rank it that high, but it does take a village so I respect the voices of my fellow Vet's. I'd like to see it remade with a credible cast,
A Story Worth The Whole Nine Yards
If there is one war story to keep on your shelf, besides "Saving Private Ryan" this is it.
Peace is One Big Waste of Equipment
Hollywood comes through.Perhaps no film in history better glorifies commitment to an abstraction - in this case, low altitude bombing of industrial sites staffed largely by women and children - and its effects on command. (The claim of "precision" bombing was as ludicous then as it is now.) The film was, and may still be, shown in IBM's senior managment schools, and its effects are startling: it inspires men to become tough heroes and women to become men.
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March + Grant = Excellent action drama
Crackerjack war/anti-war yarn starring Frederic March and Cary Grant as two flying aces in WW I who don't like each other, with events leading to a surprise turn-around for one of them. Despite their antipathy for each other, when they fly together they actually make a good team. March begins to lose his grip on things after some of the pilots are killed and especially after he shoots down the German ace Greentail, only to find out he was just a boy. He delivers a scorching anti-war diatribe after that and then commits suicide. Grant, who recognizes the nobleness of March, refuses to let it be known he died by suicide, so takes him up in his plane, riddles his body with bullets, and makes it look like he was killed in combat. The script is a good one, and the acting is intelligent. Carole Lombard appears briefly as March's love interest (for one night) while on leave in London. The dramatic tension is relieved wonderfully along the way by Jackie Oakie, until he's killed in a mission. And after that the tension builds superbly to the climax. It's a well-done production - definitely worth a watch.

MCA/Universal Classic 1933 - early look at Cary Grant!!
MCA/Universal is re-releasing the great Stars of early Hollywood Classics.It is truly great to see these stars in their early careers. A Shining Example of Good Film
We've been watching a lot of Fredric March movies in the past several months. It amazes me how many times he appears in uniform. This is one of at least four times in WWI uniform. Anyway.