Reviews

most of the first 8-10 pages of reviews were 5 star or less. Then the later reviews up to the present go to 7-8-9 stars. Company shills forced to write good reviews if they want an Xmas bonus? I have not seen the film, But watching the previews, i thought "This looks a bit schlocky- over the top" and then, with the non stop ads and entire programs devoted to EXODUS on TV playing 24/7 before the opening....i knew this would be a flop.

The thing is, I love all of the other films by Ridley Scott all the way back to THE DUELLISTS

I also really liked ALIEN and BLADE RUNNER

....that I bought the new 2-disc remastered restored DIRECTORS CUT from Amazon.fr. -speaking nor able to read any French. Already having the English subtitled but excellently transfered 16:9 138 min NTSC version from Korea, I knew the gist of the story, and a few French words stood out. The film is a masterwork and left me stunned.

Isabelle Adjani-should have been given the honor of a seat next to the throne of God himself, for her utterly stunning performance-where she gives her all-screw the Oscars -they know nothing.

And Daniel Auteuel has become a favorite of mine-and gave an excellent performance, too.

Pity his lover, the young Baroness, played by a lovely Asia Argento, as she meets a horrible fate. (Is there a poison that could act THAT quickly?-the idea was, I suppose, that 'French kissing' would spread the poison between the two, but a very quick cut shows her licking her fingers after she applied the Lip gloss, just before Margot breaks in)

And the mysterious confidante of Margot, Henriette was a bit of an enigma.

Will MIRAMAX ever get wise and do the 160 min version 16:9?

There were still 10 mins of cut scenes, on disc 2, which are on par quality-wise with the film itself, which in America are usually sabotaged in some way, in the studios paranoid fear of some one getting any ideas about reconstructing a film on DVD-

Interesting-On all the made in French DVDs I have-they use an attractive, tasteful way to put the WARNING DO NOT COPY at the start-it is artfully inserted, low key, in keeping with the film story, using font and pictures from the film-as the warnings travel horizontally past- EDV 117

So watching their "FBI" warnings are almost a pleasure of short, SHORT film-making in and of itself.

This film had a few flaws, but it is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be-ie: in the league of GLITTER, or BATTLEFIELD EARTH et al.

The unused ending would have made it a better film, and since it was a 'Directors Cut' I don't understand why Fuqia didn't add it. The acting was very good, and the choice or Arthur and his men was impeccable, down to each one of them. I think perhaps too many people could not get past the "legend" of King Arthur that we all grew up with.

It is solidly entertaining-well, paced, and plausible to the degree that I know of history-but then, this was not meant to be a documentary; I get the feeling that a longer version with the unused ending would wind up a very decent film.

While I loved the music, sometimes it got to be a wee bit TOO bombastic and grandeur-ish. An why did Zimmer give the tracks such ridiculous titles on the CD?

It was also remarkable to me that a film of a myth so dear to the hearts of (Caucausians) Anglo-Saxons was directed by a black man-I mean this in an emboldening way-because it would surprise me just as much to see Spike Lee direct something so dear to "Officail (White) History" Though there was some talk that there may have been Black Gladiators in that time, why he chose not add them, I do not know. Wouldn't have been any more revisionist than having sleek young maidens in gauze-like gowns doing battle in amongst crowds of bulky, thug-like Saxons. I give it a 10 on purpose and also to weight the average up just a wee bit. The film is just not that bad. I have not seen the Theatrical cut.

An OUTRAGE!

FOX US have chosen to release the 91 min cut US edition of this film on DVD, even thought they have the masters of the earlier 100 min Laserdisc! (see ALTERNATE VERSIONS for cut items)

The film is slow, but held together by the fantastic scenery, earnest acting-and an outrageously eerie, ancient sounding music score-even though one has to wonder how Welch can be so obviously coiffed to the point of a sprayed, well-managed 'do, green eye shadow/fake eyelashes, and pink lipstick-looking like she stepped out fresh from the Beauty parlour!!

I was highly impressed with THE OTHERS right from the start. Its mood. Its Cinematography. And the way each scene was constructed. The acting here is impeccable, the storyline at first highly original and unpredictable.

The first sign of this being a clunker is when we are telegraphed with a sledgehammer that THERE IS SOMETHING 'WRONG' OR EVIL ABOUT THE HIRED HELP....mimicking to many episodes of the Twilight Zone... The film then loses it center of gravity, as it degenerates, literally into BEETLEJUICE meets THE SIXTH SENSE.

What I suspect(or hope) is that the director had a little gem of a film here, but that wasnt good enuff for the WEINSTEIN brothers, who saw a way to cash in on the "twist-ending" horror phase, so in order to get the film made-it had to be 'tinkered' with-something they are notorious at doing to small, art or foreign films in order to "Hollywood-ize" them for American consumption...

I wont recount the plot as has been done here 5,349 times already, but I will say that I fell in love/lust with Melanie/LuLu the moment I saw her. Her neo-Goth style, her impetuousness, and her sexy wounded-girl persona did it for me. I love her as much or more also in CHERRY 2000. Demme has all the right instincts-and I like the way he put many people of color in this film rather than just a few stand-ins. The music was great. The change of tone from absurd/fantasy to danger-edged drama was interesting. I thought Rays' dance companion was a luscious piece of cream-pie also-and the way she smiled and handled her cigarette as though a fashion accessory was SOOO danger-pussy-femme-she reminded me of Peter Sellers companion/trophy on a leash in Kubricks' LOLITA... On second thought you wonder why Ray wanted rid of her-and why she put up with his indifference. Still holds up well after all these years-and the cameos!

I really enjoyed the then-unusual artwork, now rather prevalent in animation-and the fact that the characters were usually in the land of JUMANJI itself, unlike the film which took place on Terra Firma.

all the complaints-this film was no more than it pretended to be-a window into the world of Kit and Port Moresbys final days together in the Sahara. True, not told in the usual "start story here" "fill in with STORY" "end story here" mode of Hollywood, but rewarding just the same, if you have any tendencies to reflect on life rather than just sleepwalk through it. Beautifully shot-I would love to see this in 70MM-Campbell Scott is especially enjoyable as Tunner-"whose only known occupation is giving dinner parties on Long Island". NB: The Warner DVD transfer of this film is of near HD quality.

...being the title of an HP Lovecraft/August Dereleth book, seems to describe the film quite well: a story of an unfathomable tragedy and mystery. Mark Pennington did the right thing by keeping the motivations of the entity

absolutely unclear-perhaps they were unknowable and UNEXPLAINABLE.

Those who want a movie to lead you by the hand with a detailed explanation,

with a tidied up happy ending, go watch TeeVee. I watched SIGNS in the same week as this. SIGNS was so utterly forgettable,

cliched and ridiculous that ive already nearly forgotten it...TeeVee style filmaking transposed onto the big screen. The first time I saw TMP, i thought it an OK, if not *slightly* overly stylized ...what-Horror film? No. Docu-Horro-Sci-Fi...no... Cut out about 10% of the MTV tricks and the film would have been perfect- My second viewing of the film made me realize that Pennington made a strong

attempt at telling a well-written, mature, non-cliched LOVE STORY. No. Make

that a LOSS STORY, of which the unexplained was a strong backdrop, and not

just the main theme. As the film is viewed again one begins to see and to feel, thanks to the excellent score by Tomandandy, the sense of grief and pain that Klein holds inside. Gere underplays this, so it is hard to see his anguish until he breaks down and gives up on his search for meaning-as he looks tearfully at his wife's photo one final time... The music score signals you from the studio logo onwards, the fact that you are entering an eerie, uncharted universe, one with no pat, coy explanations or easy answers. I am amazed that TMP turned out as well as it did. Adult Horror. The feeling of sadness, dread, mystery and tragedy grow until the final

crescendo of the collapsing bridge. The character of the Sheriff was played to perfection. Here was a woman who

grew up around these simple people and their rising unease, and she did not let it get the best of her. And she emanated such pure love, both for the people

around her, AND Klein, that she literally shone. My only gripe was the 'you could see it coming'-"Wake up # 37" ending, with the sudden !OMINOUS MUSIC! cue. I would have had her withdraw and

reflect, tears welling up in her eyes as an echoing voice in her head made it dawn on her that she was the fortunate one referred to in her own dream.

IMHO, this show really takes off and start to gel in Season 2(?) when Kryten and Hollie/Hattie the babe log in....I guess having a quintessential cute sassy blonde English lass play the ships computer appeals to me, tho she didnt quite get the droll (and imo, sometimes lame) lines that Norman got...

It is a minor Masterwerke, and tells the tale in a far more engaging way. The scenery is also gorgeous, and there is an eerie 1960s feel about the film...also an at first snappy, and then increasingly haunting soundtrack...WE should see ALL of Wertmullers films remastered on DVD.

This is as good as it gets...adventure, handsome steely jawed heroes, beautiful dames, decent (for 1965) SPFX...this needs to be on a WS DVD, so get crack-in, Paramount!

My memory of this is that my little sister (6) cried as we left the theater-touched, by the fact that Mama save her baby...it is too bad that MGM cant reclaim and remaster this as one of their 'Midnite Movies' Collection on DVD...

I kind of remember the minor hoopla this film created, though I was a bit young, I was then a part of the 'cutting edge' of social style at the time-my parents were Hippies-(as in First Wave,1.2) in 1968!-and most in the counter culture regarded the film as just so much pop exploitation perhaps with a pearl of wisdom or two...anyway, being 'Counter/Youth Culture' in 1968 was a rapidly growing phenomenon, but still only for the dedicated: you were always subject to harrassment, physical violence, or just being left out, because of your long hair, and or political views...there was a genuine fear and hatred in some quarters of this new thing that grew at first slowly, then in an exponential fashion,sweeping the land, until by 1973 it was kind of a mass fashion /lifestyle /consciousness that lasted for a good 15 years...next to be taken over by Punk, New wave, Grunge, Goth, Alt, and now...American Idol and GW Bush...;-)

In these Retro-1960s movies of late, they KINDA get the styles and music right, but in no way can convey the danger, excitement, and majick of living in the truly remarkable, seemingly Apocalyptic times that the 60s/70s were...

This came out paired with CIPs also POSSIBLY recut version of the East German etc FIRST SPACESHIP ON VENUS-Der Schwagen Stern- (or SILENT STAR) In a theater full of candy and popcorn munching kids, i was in pure heaven -not one but TWO cool sci-fi pictures! Although VARAN seemed OK to me at the time, even at 10 years old I felt that the Freeze frame-pan-right(?) film technique brought the action to grinding halt, when transitioning back to the American footage. I briefly had the Japanese Laserdisc in 2.35 Scope, and was amazed to find BARAN flying like a squirrel! I guess we would have hooted that off the screen back then, but what did we know? It was a Saturday, and we wanted our candy, soda and(believable) action.

There are sources (German Film archive)that list this at no more that 80 mins-and yet other sources that claim it was over 2 hours long-(Maltin, et al.) Personally, my feeling is that the E. European producers may have chosen to come in line with the American version, especailly if they recieved any funding from there, as the film does seem rather choppy... On the other hand, maybe only a couple of minutes of film were cut, but the music is changed, and the dubbing is rather comical. I wrote to Corinth Films, current owners of the film, to interest them in releasing the German version with subtitles anyway, out of pure fan interest, along with a new 16x9 transfer, and I recieved notice that they are "looking into it"

It was agonizing to learn that the films negative was destroyed, either by a corrupt Lab, or by Kodaks faulty film stock,-it wasnt clear to me-and the whole film STALKER,-a years worth or shooting and salaries, etc. went down the drain; Tarkovsky picked himself up and reshot the whole film; Own this film on DVD as a tribute to the memory of a great, and now tragically gone filmaker...

...and even if evil is overcome, we must always be on guard-Governments are always looking for new ways to domesticate and enslave us, even as they fail-do not ever become complacent.

This film personifies the feelings of the expanding desire for freedom that permeated the late 1960s-early 1970s-not just political freedom, but personal freedom, cultural freedom-the freedom NOT to get assigned to the dreary role of "Consumer:Nuclear Family variety" that was prevalent at the time-at least here in the USAª. It is curious that from this film, one sees that peace and Nuclear non-proliferation were big issues in Europe at the time,1963, while here in the states we were blissfully unaware of any such issues to a large degree-...just meat and potatoes, and a new car every year, and getting junior and Sis off to college to a good career, thank you-all which was starting to unravel here in the US by the time this film came out-1969; The dedication of the principals in the film make it very engaging to view, without it feeling dated in any way;

Add to that the generally excellent job WELLSPRING (nee FoxLorber) has done with this new, restored DVD release, and you have a very excellent piece of filmaking, and an enjoyable viewing experience watching History as it took place.

...i thought it just more 'yuppie pablum'....thought the Kramer character was too contrived a 'series weirdo' ala Jim on TAXI. But somehow, like few series do, it suddenly hit me, an affection for all these loud, quirky, neurotic NYCity characters....I must admit I love the charicature of George Steinbrenner. So i no longer snub SEINFELD...im not certain that it rates as the #1 comedy of all time, but I think it belongs in the top 5. Ive only started watching this, as it is on daily for an hour block, since March.

...and that happens rarely for me in these days of prefab sterile horror films. Im not certain that Gere was the right man for this, but it was interesting to watch this usually-a-romantic lead play in his first horror film. Or is it Sci-Fi? I fell in love with Laura Linney, not so much by her beauty, but with her sense of deep sincere, caring and sorrow for Gere and her Townsfolk. The music was effective, but the end song was rather lame. Also, the MTV-style cuts and tricks got to be annoying. 15 Years ago they were cutting edge. Today they seem pointless, and are over used, even in Automobile commercials. Still, I would give this film a 4 out of 5 stars.

If you look at the work he did in JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, you will see some very good craftsmanship. It is obvious that he had a low budget to work with here. Not only were 'stop-motion' effects slipping from the scene at the time, but I think getting O'Brien to do this would have been prohibitively expensive. Actually, the 'dressed-up lizards' have a kind of '60s cheesy charm, and with the proper deep focus lenses, the scene of the beast moving thru the forest is fairly convincing. And frightening. The dino fight is passable, tho the crocodile with horns looks TOO cheesy.

The 'Fire-God' sequence underground would have been fine, had they been able to 'scale' down the splashing water, - it looks like it was filmed in a fish tank. Cheesy story, but all in all a great Saturday afternoon film for all boys in the 1960s... At any rate these monsters dont look any worse than some of the cheap CGI monsters you see today, excepting certain high quality work, like in WALKING WITH DINOSAURS...

192 episodes!! Mindboggling! Such insipid emptiness.....programming for those with Lobotomies-(and thats giving THOSE folks a bad name!) Seriously, if this show lasted for what-6 years, then it is no wonder that folks here fall for the BUSH administrations baloney time after time....it is very scary for the future of America.....we dont need Bin Laden to destroy this country....we can do it BETTER ourselves, from within, with this nonsense...yet, oddly enough, we are not put on any "stupidity alerts" by our 'Office of Homeland Education' This makes JERRY SPRINGER look to have a few redeeming qualities(though I cant think of any at the moment)

....that COLUMBIA/TRISTAR put this gorgeous story out on DVD. They just did a bang-up great DVD job of Polanski's MACBETH, (thought Id rather they'd done TESS first) So, come on COLUMBIA, lets see TESS get the same treatment! She deserves it.

First of all, as of April, 2002 ANCHOR BAY has put out a beautiful Remastered DVD of HIGHLANDER. The picture is stunning. IT IS NOW SAFE TO BUY THIS EDITION. The previous DVD had a bad rap because of mastering and compression incompetencies. This film, with its restored Scottish scenes, is one of the most moving films I have seen in a while. Perhaps because of my Gaelic blood, I dont know. Or perhaps the landscapes. Or the fine addition of the great Sean Connery that makes this film a joy. But this film really leaned heavily on me... At any rate, Mulcahey is very aware of what he is doing here, and despite some heavy handed rock-video type camera work and editing, this movie deserves a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my book. Not a fan of QUEEN myself, the one very moving song that fits in perfectly is DO YOU WANT TO LIVE FOREVER. In addition Michael Kamen does his usual perfectly fitting atmospheric score for the rest of the film. All in all, score one more for AB...

Ive always liked Shelly in the Hal Hartly films, esp TRUST, and here she is no different. Though SM has its off moments, it is basically far more entertaining than half the full-budget crap out there. And to think that she made it herself. Her on-screen persona is more serious than she is: I love her quick retort in the bonus intro, in response to 'where she got the money to make the film' Adrienne turns to the camera, flashes an impish smile, and says: "Investment Bankers!"