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Harry's DVD PICKS AND PEEKS Does The Second Week of March 2007 - Bond - Samurai - French Sex & More!!!
Hey folks, Harry here – I’m at the Alamo Drafthouse South – skipping a few fest flicks for the sake of staying on deadline with my DVD column. Where this week, we don’t have the volume of cool releases as last week, we have far cooler films that kick much more ass. The two Criterions, that samurai flick, Bond… it’s all so good. Now remember – the Amazon links on the boxes and the titles are portals to either buy the film or just research further information on the films. Use this list to update your rental queues or – like me – to go shopping. I hope you enjoy this edition and I’ll see you next week with more!
March 13th, 2007
CASINO ROYALE (2-disc Special Edition)
Fucking fantastic movie. It wouldn’t matter if there were one single extra on this DVD, it would be headed straight for my collection. However, there’s a real nice look at the making of the film, Daniel Craig’s take on the Bond character, the stunts and action, the girls… and the excretable video by Chris Cornell. I really wish we’d had a commentary of some sort on the disc… I’d love a Connery, Lazenby, Moore, Dalton, Brosnan and Craig commentary on all the Bonds – where you could just hear them all bitch about each other – or praise each other as the character, or what their Bond would have done in a given situation… But that’s cuz, I’m like a geek… and shit like that tickles the short hairs. I’d love an unrated edition with gobs of Eva Green nudity… but sadly, I don’t think we’re going to be getting that. However, this Bond – one of the very best that have been made is ours today!!!
THE HOLIDAY
It might not be the machismo act of the week, but I loved THE HOLIDAY. Mainly because of the 4 faces and personalities, that you see above. However, mainly it’s because of the relationship between Kate Winslet and Eli Wallach – a story aspect that was kept entirely secret in the ad campaign for the film it seemed, but main – I’ll be damned if I wasn’t rooting for her to shack up with Eli throughout the film. They were awesome together. And Jude Law and Cameron Diaz are like one of those meta-couples. Where you love them, but hate them for looking and seeming so bleeding perfect together. It was just a great little couples film. A movie to snuggle up with someone ad watch. Warning – I find the film goes best with Hot Chocolate and marshmallows. Not a lot of features, but you do have a Nancy Meyers commentary and a making of featurette.
SHORTBUS
Prepare to get your freak on, because this film is a rough wool sock and three scoops of petroleum jelly away from being a great time. John Cameron Mitchell is one weird fella – and his film SHORTBUS is an accomplished adult piece of erotic fucked up-ness – that works coherently beyond a giggle factor. It confronts you with the various realms of the world of “behind closed doors”. To force you to consider the practices of others. And challenges your interpretation of what a “wild sex life” may be. This is a fantastic film. There’s deleted scenes – a feature on how to shoot sex for film. And an overall documentary on the making of this rather unique film. If you have a daring non-traditional bone in your body… check it out.
BURMESE HARP – Criterion Collection
This week, Criterion has a pair of the best movies I’ve ever seen. First, we have BURMESE HARP – a Japanese film from Kon Ichikawa that tears at one’s soul about what war is and the cost of war upon a human soul, and how you walk away from war preparing to live each day – after a life of death. The film is set in the closing period of the Pacific campaign in World War II. Specifically centering around a a platoon in BURMA retreating, then going through a prison camp. When it comes time to attempt to get a Japanese unit that refuses to give up, to do exactly that – one BRILLIANT character is asked to try to bring them out peacefully… I’ll leave it there, though theirs is so much more movie to talk about. The imagery, the lute music and the starkness of it all is just fantastic. Criterion has again gone above and beyond with an amazing transfer, interviews with the original Japanese director, Ichikawa – as well as the brilliant actor, Rentaro Mikuni. This edition has the best English subtitle I’ve seen on the film and much more.
FIRES ON THE PLAIN – Criterion Collection
Then there is… FIRES ON THE PLAIN by Kon Ichikawa. This is… hands down… one of the most brutally poignant anti-war films I’ve ever seen. The definition of defeated. I’ve never seen stark desperation, inhumanity and hopelessness portrayed so unflinchingly. Photographed in such a stunning way that you can not look away. - I just watched a documentary at SXSW on Darfur called THE DEVIL CAME ON HORSEBACK – the images of the inhumanity of conflicts and war… well it’s the only time I’ve seen reality captured as harshly as in FIRES ON THE PLAIN. It’s a film that will shake you to the core. If you loved Eastwood’s LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, that was a wonderful wonderful film, but you really owe it to yourself to see FIRES ON THE PLAIN. Again – Criterion did a knock out job – interviews with the director and actor in the film…. As well as scholarly goodness. Great job putting this one out folks!!!
GHOST (Special Collector’s Edition)
Ahhhh… GHOST. Swayze and Moore. Psychic Whoopi. The Subway scene. Pottery. Ya know – it’s been parodied so much in the 17 years that have passed since it came out, but dorky as it maybe… I love GHOST. I love the giddiness that Swayze’s Sam gets when he realizes that he can fuck with that scumbag Tony Goldwyn. I love how angry the furor of what Swayze is doing – and how it freaks the bejeesus out of Goldwyn. I know I’m supposed to talk about how corny and bullshitty it all was, but fuck you man, I’m a big-hearted romantic sucker – that eats up this film. And I also love DIRTY DANCING… and can sing, badly, all the songs. This release has director and writer commentary. Making ofs, paranormal investigations, how to make a love sing and history of great cinematic romances… which isn’t entirely complete. Heh.
The Gene Autry 100th Anniversary Collection
Ok – first off – this set has one of the all time greatest movie serials of all time. THE PHANTOM EMPIRE. A 12-chapter rollicking good time about Gene finding an inner-Earth empire with badass robots and rayguns and the whole smear. All of which existed under his famed Radio Ranch. This is one of the rare Cowboy Science Fiction epics – and man – I love it. Gene’s personality is one of the strongest that the world of Serials ever saw. That said, seeing Gene and Champion do their thing in a 30’s era science fiction pulp page turner… it’s the stuff of geek dreams. Just ask Paul Dini – it’s a fave of his.
Then you get a great selection of his films like MAN OF THE FRONTIER, RIDE RANGER RIDE, ROUND-UP TIME IN TEXAS, YODELIN KID FROM PINE RIDGE, BOOTS AND SADDLES, MAN FROM MUSIC MOUNTAIN which featured Dale Arden from the Buster Crabbe FLASH GORDON, THE OLD CORRAL with Lon Chaney Jr, LOADED PISTOLS, RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING PINES – and there’s interviews and all sorts. If you love B-westerns and sci-fi serials – this is a treat. Cowboys… singing cowboys… kick ass!
SHOGUN ASSASSIN 2 – LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH
Lone Wolf And Cub… Ogami Itto… The Baddest Fucker with a Baby Carriage of all fucking time! I love LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH more than just about anything ever. The arterial sprays – the tricked out carriage. This is the classic English dub that ran 89 minutes and knee deep in blood. For those of us that know all about Tomisaburo Wakayama and this series – this was the third film in the run -- but the best trailer of the series and some of the absolute best battles. Those trailers are on the disc – But for me – it is all about having a DVD of the film I grew up with… LIGHTNING SWORDS OF DEATH. I remember watching it at the Drive-In with my parents and just being in awe. It was my first samurai film. It sliced that cherry at an early age and I’ve been a bleeding heart lover of this series ever since!
LA BELLE CAPTIVE
Before EYES WIDE SHUT – there was a great little French number called La Belle Captive that was a sexual obsession flick that did what it did – perfectly. Is this an affair of the mind, an exploration of fantasy and id-charged thoughts or is this a night of unrelenting passion and discovery? Whatever you come to the conclusion of – this is one hot fucking flick that is an exquisite film. This is worth checking out – for both you girls and guys. It’s “inspiring”.
THE PERFECT CRIME
One of the coolest moments of my life was meeting Alex de la Iglesia at the world premiere of his 800 BALAS in Sitges, Spain. I had gone to Spain as a HUGE fan of his – and whenever someone with deep pockets bets on one of his ambitious projects and lets him make it his way – he will… to the people of the U.S. – seemingly come out of nowhere. He’s a brilliant filmmaker – funny, dramatic and inventive when it comes to action – and EL CRIMEN PERFECTO aka THE PERFECT CRIME is a wonderful way to be introduced to him – though nowhere near as brilliant as 800 BALAS or DIA DE LA BESTIA – which should be on every film geek’s shelf in the world… it is still an absolutely wonderful movie that delivers on laughs throughout. It’s rare that we get his films released here in this country, so by all means enjoy it.
THE HELLBENDERS
Essentially everything you need to know about this film is on the box. First – the brilliant Joseph Cotton. Second – Sergio “GREAT SILENCE & DJANGO” Corbucci is directing. The film is – badass. The poster is accurate. It is violent to an extreme – and the dvd from Anchor Bay captures it all beautifully. Oh – and then there’s the awesome Morricone music, which ties it all together. If you love Spaghetti Westerns – or if you have never seen one. This will put the taste of vengeful blood in your mouth and you’ll ask for more.
Then you get a great selection of his films like MAN OF THE FRONTIER, RIDE RANGER RIDE, ROUND-UP TIME IN TEXAS, YODELIN KID FROM PINE RIDGE, BOOTS AND SADDLES, MAN FROM MUSIC MOUNTAIN which featured Dale Arden from the Buster Crabbe FLASH GORDON, THE OLD CORRAL with Lon Chaney Jr, LOADED PISTOLS, RIDERS OF THE WHISTLING PINES – and there’s interviews and all sorts. If you love B-westerns and sci-fi serials – this is a treat. Cowboys… singing cowboys… kick ass!
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How you like dem apples?
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I'm going to have to check out Fires on the Plain and Shogun Assassin 2.
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That some kind of Freudian slip? You sweating your ass off down there in Texas today? Or perhaps pinching a log as visions of Chris Cornell danced through your mind? "Execrable" is what you're going for there, chief. Wipe yourself and fix it.
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Now I'm curious enough to go see The Holiday...
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sweet merciful Christ.
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Whad up wit dat?
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please, please, please, go rent/buy/watch this movie.
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"When Popcorn was a nickel, and movies were a dime..." That was a great series on my local PBS station. It tried to replicate the 1930s-1940's movie going experience.
It had a serial, A cartoon, some ads, a short and then a feature. It was a pretty good show-had lots of good movie buff stuff...such as "Phantom Empire" -
Because that would make me much older than I am prepared to be.
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YEE-HAW!Sergio Corbucci is the MAN!Another masterpiece from the guy whut brung us DJANGO & THE GREAT SILENCE?Hell yeah.
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Actually a really good movie.
Didn't actually know what I was seeing when I saw it was a buddy.
REALLY REALLY shock (and sorta giggly) by the first scene but the movie grew on me really quickly. And the soundtrack fucking rocks. I actually went out and bought it and thats saying A LOT from a dedicated downloader like me.
Oh, and if you have a chick, see it with her. Should get her going. Or not. Girls can be really weird and comfusing, as Shortbus illustrates. -
I went to the Criterion premiere screening in New York last fall. It quickly became one of my favorite films I've ever seen. Few war films are as intense and beautiful as this. Harp is great too but do yourself a favor and pick this up. You won't regret it.
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Uh...
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Wow. Let it be known that I got my first handfuls of boobies 17 years ago. Good times.
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Judging by the pics on the cover that looks to me like the third film in the series, commonly known as BABY CART IN HADES. The second film BABY CART AT THE RIVER STYX is the one where they have the three assassins in big hats who John Carpenter ripped-off for BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA.
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for the first hour and a half (plus a few minutes) and then it just tanked. Honest! I just watched it the other night.
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It's shame that they corrected this "mistake" for the US-title.
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The Winslet/Black/Wallach half was the only thing that made the shit that is The Holiday bearable.
The Law/Diaz half was excretabibblebobble! -
Hopefully people will pick up the Gene Autry set so they can see that "scifi cowboys" wasn't a Josh Whedon invention. I too have fond memories of watching the Phantom Empire on PBS's Matinee at the Bijou
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the american SHORTBUS cover is even better than the german one. i can't wait to finally own one of these.
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Mar 13, 2007 9:41:48 AM CDT
Bo Busom Buddies box set season 1? C'mon! I may get ...
by kinghenryviii
that instead of Bond today! Classis. Actually, just kidding - getting both. HAHAHAHAHAA.
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yep, this is the 80's dubbed version. I'd say only buy this if you don't have the original Japanese version of Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades(#3 in the series) Then again, it's great hearing the bad dub. I guess I can't really bitch because I have an original "Lightning Swords of Death" poster on my wall. RAISE A KUNG FU FIST AGAINST OGAMI...AND HE'LL CHOP IT OFF!
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Yeah for real IRC-HOLLYWOOD, no love for Harsh Times. I mean it has Christian Bale in it damn it, CHRISTIAN BALE! lol
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The Holiday was fucking horrible and incredibly annoying.
I walked out. -
Got Bond though - all is well. Straight again.
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Wow, there are, a whole, lot of, unnecessary, commas in those, reviews.
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I'm talking about the standard definition version not the Blu-Ray. I'm watching it right now on my DLP In-Focus projector upconverted to 1080i via my DVD player and it simply looks awful. The golden cinematography from the theatrical prints looks like flat and washed out yellows on the DVD. Anytime there is anything white on the screen, it's dense with pixels and signal noise that looks like the result of really bad compression. Exteriors look terrible. I haven't seen a transfer this bad in years. Anyone else seeing this? Could I just have a crap disc? I've been reading good reviews of the DVD so I'm kind of stumped. And Sony/Columbia usually do pretty knockout transfers (their first pressing of Starship Troopers still looks great despite the old compression technology). Anybody that can give me their $0.02 on this would be appreciated. Thanks!
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It's EL CRIMEN FERPECTO!!!!!!!!!!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0395125/
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Watch 'the Dreamers' Oh hoo hoo!
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Yes that movie was quite enjoyable, probably the best romantic movie of that type since Love Actually.
http://tinyurl.com/pv8do -
Yes that movie was quite enjoyable, probably the best romantic movie of that type since Love Actually.
http://tinyurl.com/pv8do -
Never seen this in its intended version, but saw it as part of Channel 4 in Britain's Exploitica series where they played around with old films, one of which was The Phantom Empire (I remember them also doing a Zorro serial and one with Bela Lugosi!)
The Exploitica people had a lot of fun with the irritating boy and girl good guys and got many pitch perfect jokes out of Phantom Empire!
It might be interesting to see the original, but I'm not sure whether it will be half as funny! ;-)
Great to see Criterion release the Ichikawa films. They'll look good on my shelf next to Tokyo Olympiad and hopefully they'll do more of his films, The Key sounds very interesting!
I'll have to pick up Shortbus - the likelihood of it ever getting shown on television in the future is nil, and I thought Hedwig was OK. Hell, I even bought Nine Songs since I knew that wouldn't appear on television in the future, and that was a pile of crap! (luckily Winterbottom can get back to form pretty quickly - Tristram Shandy was great!)
The Holiday on the other hand. I have visions of seeing that on television every Christmas for the next fifteen years (after the next couple of years when it will only be out on DVD of course!), so I can give that a miss. Although its skewed vision of England is probably fine when compared to the ultimate offender in that category - Three Men and a Little Lady!
Finally I can see one of Alex De La Iglesia's films. It seems like ages since distributors seemed to stop releasing his films in the US and Britain - especially weird when at one point he'd had more films shown on British television than Almodovar had, with Day of The Beast and Perdita Durango getting a number of showings.
Then no one seemed to show them any more and I really, really wanted to see 800 Bullets :-(
The Perfect Crime sounds fun enough though!
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Daniel Craig's charisma (cut from theatrical version)
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Buy the original goodness with the orig soundtrack (that lacks raindrops when fighting in a storm for some reason) and the Japanese voices that COMMAND fear and..all that good stuff.
That and you can buy all 5 of the dvds for 150 in a kickass box set instead of waiting for the next shogun assassin release. -
really is overrated. casino royale is a mediocre bond film with a bland lead. sorry harry, but lazenby was better than this dude. in fact, on her majesty's secret service would be the greatest bond flick ever if connery had been in it instead. so there, i've said. bring on the fanboy hatred. i don't care.
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I think they did that to fuck with people who went with HD DVD over Bluray. I have a HD DVD and the Casino Royale disc did not look as good as the New Bond BOXSET SD transfers upconverted on my HD TV. It still looks pretty good but I have some TV shows like CSI NY that look just wonderful upconverted with a HD DVD deck (I had a regular SD player with a 1080i upconverter and the newer HD deck is better at upconverting SD DVDs). The CR transfer did not upconvert as well as my TV shows or Bond Boxsets so SONY could of made CR look as good on SD DVD. I guess the Bluray group will rub our noses in it... On Her Majesty's Secret Service still was a better BOND story than CR though I thought CR echoed OHMSS in some story and music choices. I'll have to watch CR again as I think Harry's hype had my hopes way to high ( Plus I watched all 20 Bonds before CR ) OHMSS is the film I think about now out of the 21 even with its flaws ...must be the music lol.
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Of course an upconverted dvd will look bad on a frakkin 1080p DLP projector. Get a Blu-Ray player.
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.....but scholars maintain that John Cameron Mitchell's best work was "Band of the Hand."
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playing FF games before going to the PS3 & Bluray so no way I'm dropping a grand for a stand alone Blueray player or $700 for a PS3 just to see Casino Royale in HD. I picked up my HD DVD player for $350 so that will hold me out for now and who knows how low the PS3 price will drop in a year or two.
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Best Bond ever. If you're still bitching about his casting, you either didnt see the movie or you're a stubborn geek.
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