This collection contains, as its title indicates, 16 short films from all around Europe and from various time periods. There's little logic to the selection, and little common ground between these directors -- everything from 60s art-house, to modern light comedies, and some oddball middle-ground in between. The weird anything-goes selection means not everything works, but there are also plenty of great films here. Roy Andersson's "World of Glory" is a clear warm-up for his full-length "Songs From the Second Floor," an offputting and straight-faced examination of a world gone mad with matter-of-fact bloodlust. Godard's early short "Charlotte & Veronique" is a charming example of the early French New Wave. Virgil Widrich contributes a formally inventive, darkly comic short about a man who accidentally populates the world with photocopies of himself. Javier Fesser's short is the most deliriously funny of the batch, a rollicking surrealist comedy that stops at nothing -- even recklessly breaking the fourth wall -- to get a laugh. There are also more sober, but equally successful, shorts from Lukas Moodysson, Nanni Moretti, and Anders Thomas Jensen, dealing with, respectively, the alienating loneliness of industrial society, the aesthetic poverty of modern culture, and the issues of politics and race. There are plenty more interesting shorts too, alongside only a few clunkers -- not a bad percentage at all for such an eclectic collection.
Otto Preminger's second film directing Jean Seberg (after the flop of "Saint Joan") is an odd modern parable with a constantly shifting tone that makes it very difficult to pin down. On the one hand, the film's glorious Technicolor vibrance makes it look a classical musical, and there's even a grandiose outdoor dance that's clearly meant to evoke that tradition. And the interaction between Seberg and her screen father, David Niven, is absolutely witty and sparkling and impossible to resist. The two play a father/daughter pair of idle rich adventurers, vacationing by the sea and partying it up in their usual way -- drinking, sleeping late, and having casual flings. That is, until Deborah Kerr enters the picture as an old family friend who Niven falls in love with and marries, in the process seemingly abandoning his carefree lifestyle and allowing Kerr to rein in his daughter as well. Preminger allows his audience to utterly sympathize with his idle, spoiled characters, right up until the devastating tragedy of the climax. The film ably juggles moods, especially in the contrast between the framing scenes, shot in noir-ish black and white, and the gaudy color flashbacks that take up most of the film. Sony's DVD is barebones, but most importantly it does justice to the film's sunny, colorful palette.
El Topo, Pink Flamingos, The Harder They Come, Night Of The Living Dead, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and Eraserhead all have one thing in common. Longevity. These are films that continue to be touchstones to the counter culture community more than 30 years after their introduction to and subsequent dismissal from the mainstream. How does that happen? How is a "cult film" created? Well, in the early 70's, if it played the midnight slot at the Elgin Theatre in NYC, that was a good start. This documentary tracks the fascinating history of the Midnight Movie from its beginning with El Topo, the cult avant-garde western from Chilean artist and author Alejandro Jodorowsky, to its fading days in the early eighties when the cinema megaplexes put the final nail in the coffin of this underground phenomenon. This documentary is a very thorough film, featuring interviews with all of the principals, including every director, many people involved with the distribution of underground film, and extensive interviews with the owner and creative director of the Elgin Theatre, the ground zero for this type of mania. It is fascinating to hear how these films so suddenly gained massive cult appeal to the extent that there were lines around the block for movies with, essentially, no plot. There are sad stories as well, like the story of John Lennon and how he inadvertently killed El Topo by suggesting that his friend try to distribute the film conventionally, El Topo failed within a week. There are also failure into success stories, like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, which was initially conceived and marketed like a mainstream film which sputtered and died miserably in that capacity only to find new and everlasting life on the national Midnight Movie circuit. There are places in the US where RHPS has played every weekend for over 30 years. It is a somewhat nostalgic glimpse into the world of underground film that barely exists anymore, with directors like John Waters and George Romero carting their films around in their trunks trying to get someone to play them, and often failing until the Elgin, or some other adventurous theatre decided to give them a chance. I love this documentary which not only allows us the opportunity to relive a grand and bygone era in underground film history, but also allows us a few tantalizing glimpses at these films through extensive clips, enough clips of the films to make you want to go and see each of them tonight! The DVD is excellent, and the bonus disc includes two cult films to enjoy. First is the 1930's anti-drug tract Reefer Madness, which is hilarious when looking at is 60 odd years down the road, and second is the public domain cash cow, Night Of The Living Dead, which is easily among the top 10 greatest horror films ever made and is the genesis of the modern zombie film. Brilliant work and a job well done on the part of the creators of this documentary. My highest recommendation!
Eric Rohmer is a master of a very particular aesthetic. His films are most often referred to as "talky," which is true to an extent. But this evaluation ignores two crucial facets of his work: firstly, that all the talk in Rohmer's films is incredibly important in defining character, never just empty chatter; and secondly that in addition to the dialogue, Rohmer pays a great deal of attention to his films' spacious visuals. The 8 films in this incredibly affordable box bear out this impression. Each of these films is, on the surface, rather similar: a few characters with romantic problems of some sort, who meet each other, talk, talk, and talk some more. Each film could be summed up that way, and yet each film is as different as the characters involved. "Love in the Afternoon" is a characteristically muted examination of infidelity and marriage in which marriage -- very unusual for the cinema -- comes out on top. "The Aviator's Wife," possibly Rohmer's masterpiece, is his most charming film, an extended dream-like odyssey of voyeurism and mild detective adventure and the nature of love. "Pauline at the Beach" is maybe his sexiest film, a multigenerational tale of flings, lust, betrayals, and communication gaps, all set against the gorgeous emptiness of a beachside vista. The heroines of "A Good Marriage" and "The Green Ray" are some of Rohmer's typically stubborn, idealistic characters, who set the ideal against the imperfections of real life and suffer as a result. But it's indicative of Rohmer's profound hope that even then these stories are never tragedies, and they always end with the sense that life is going to go on, and maybe even get better, once the film stops. All the films look great in Arrow's box set, which also features interviews with Rohmer about each film, and a 1960s short film by the director.
Mikio Naruse has been one of Japan's traditionally overlooked directors -- never as well known in the west as Kurosawa or Ozu, and even at home often dismissed as a mainstream, melodramatic director of "women's pictures." But this was never an accurate portrait, and thankfully, there's a new wave of interest in his work, with this 3-film box set leading the way. These 3 films show Naruse as a true original, exploring the domestic space, the impact of social structures on private lives, and especially the roles of women in society. He does all this with a restrained, un-showy hand that probably contributed to his low profile, but upon rediscovery it's clear that these films are remarkable despite the lack of flashy visuals. "Repast" focuses on a discontented young couple whose troubles come to the fore when the husband's young niece shows up, demonstrating to the wife just how little love or attention she gets, and how much drudgery she puts up with. But the film's ultimate message is much more ambiguous and complicated than a simple feminist awakening. This is even more true of "Sound of the Mountain," which again depicts a dissolving marriage, and the close bond that develops between a young woman and her loutish husband's father. Finally, "Flowing" takes Naruse's concern for women to its logical conclusion, with a lively and elegaic portrayal of life in a geisha house, towards the end of the geisha era. All three films sparkle with the vibrance and realism of these characters, and Naruse's simple style perfectly complements his stories, particularly in his mastery of editing rhythms. The transfers look uniformly beautiful, especially on the latter two films, and the box comes with a hefty booklet full of informative essays, as well as audio commentaries on all 3 films. Absolutely essential viewing.
Director Anthony Mann and actor James Stewart made a string of 7 pictures together in the 50s, and this, their final collaboration, is almost certainly the best. Mann's westerns are justly reknowned for their equal measures of toughness and human warmth, and again this is one of the best of them. Stewart plays an iconoclastic hero who's dead-set on his mission to find the man responsible for his brother's death. In the course of his quest, he resolutely tries not to get pulled into a local feud, until of course it turns out that the one of the parties in the feud may be hiding the answers he seeks. Mann turns this typical western material into a taut, psychologically complex drama about fathers and sons, loyalty, greed, and the ways in which a man can be turned bad. It's a rugged, intense film, and a true classic of its genre. Columbia's DVD is typically light on extras, but the film shines in its classic Technicolor glory, and that's all that's really important.
It is known in Hong Kong as the "Bullet Ballet", that genre of film that emerged full bore in the late 80's and early 90's to a public that was ready for just this type of action. The king of this genre for many years was John Woo. There is debate about his greatest feature, but it generally circles around two films, The Killer and Hard Boiled. I find myself in the Hard Boiled camp. This is a near perfect action film, complete with wonderful acting turns by two of Hong Kong's greatest contemporary actors, Chow Yun-Fat, and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. The story is a classic Triad (Hong Kong gangster) tale, a mole in the Triad is poised to take them down when an unsuspecting Triad Bureau cop goes in and nearly louses up the whole deal. Chow plays "Tequila", the gung-ho, victory at any costs Triad who gets kicked off an arms case when he steps a little bit too close to Leung's "Tony" and nearly ruins years of undercover work. When he can't get a satisfactory reason for his dismissal from his superior, he goes in on his own. Eventually Tequila and Tony meet and figure out who the other is and decide to take the Triad boss down together, outside the law. This sets the scene for some completely ridiculous action, and I mean that in the most flattering way possible. The film closes with a shoot-out in a Hospital. Bullets fly everywhere, and neither our heroes, nor the baddies ever seem to empty their clips, except... Except when they are face to face at point blank range. This is a classic John Woo move, and in fact, many of his signature moves are perfected in this film, the slow motion tactics, Chow Yun-Fat diving about with two fists full of firearms firing manically at anything that moves. There are some impressively lengthy tracking shots and the cinematography is outstanding. Tony Leung and Chow Yun-Fat are international superstars, and in this film they show why. The film has been batted around many different companies and produced on DVD many times around the world to varying effect. This Tartan collector's edition seems to be the winner so far in the English-speaking world. The picture is fairly clean, the disc includes the original Cantonese soundtrack as well as an English language dub and a fresh set of newly translated subtitles that match the actual Cantonese dialogue better than ever before. The extras are nil in this edition however, except for the original theatrical trailer, if extras are your thing and you are multi-region compatible, the upcoming US Dragon Dynasty 2 disc set may be of interest. However, this Tartan edition is very reasonably priced and a wonderful buy, I plan on keeping mine for a long while!
The best way into this bizarre Burroughs adaptation is not to think of it as a proper Burroughs adaptation at all. Rather than simply adapting "Naked Lunch" -- which anybody who's read it knows is impossible anyway -- Cronenberg elected to interweave elements from the book with a loose biography of Burroughs himself as well as some distinctly Cronenbergian original ideas. The result is a strange and hallucinatory adventure that stays true to the spirit, if not the letter, of Burroughs' work. Typewriters grow bug appendages and talk, drunken parlor games turn fatal, and everywhere the world seems to be melting and turning inexplicable. This is a world that Cronenberg and Burroughs can happily share, and the results of their meeting are as uncomfortable and thought-provoking as you'd expect. This Optimum DVD presents a fine, if barebones, transfer of this unique film.
This absolute masterpiece is, fittingly enough, concerned with the production of masterpieces and its effect on both artist and subject. A stunningly erotic study of the relationship between an aging artist (the great Michel Picolli) and his beautiful nude model (played with fiery intensity by Emmanuelle Beart), this film revels in bare flesh and the physicality of the body. It also pays close attention to the artistic process, and the many scenes that show the sketching and painting in progress are among the film's best. It's a film that is equally comfortable with long, dialogue-less scenes in which emotion is communicated solely through the gaze and the gesture, and alternately with long scenes of conversation in which the ideas of art, love, lust, and desire are bandied about and explored in depth. Artificial Eye's DVD transfer is nicely handled, capturing the film's moody visuals and muted palette very well. Some meatier extras might have been appreciated, but the film is more than good enough to stand on its own.
Luis Bunuel's influential career began with the infamous surrealist short "Un Chien Andalou," and spanned almost 50 years of provocation and highly original filmmaking after that. This set collects the bulk of Bunuel's later films, after his eventual migration to France until the end of his life. These are some of his best and best-known films. "Discreet Charm of the Bourgeosie" and "Phantom of Liberty" reflect a semi-random, episodic structure similar to "Chien Andalou," but made over 40 years later and consequently much more mature and more focused in their examinations of hypocricy, bourgeosie laziness, and political oppression. "Diary of a Chambermaid" and "Belle de Jour" locate Bunuel's concerns more specifically in the sexual dimension of oppression, and this is a theme that he would realize most fully in his final film, "That Obscure Object of Desire." This film explores the nature of sexual domination and frustration by using two different actresses to play the same woman, and interweaving the tale of hot/cold seduction with a running commentary on social class, terrorism, rebellion, and economics. In all his films, Bunuel tangles the personal with the political in this way, as interested in the sexuality of a single couple as he is in the government of an entire nation. The set also includes classics "The Young One," "The Milky Way" and "Tristana." All films have brief but informative critical interviews as extras, and the quality of the transfers ranges from pretty good to wonderful.
The Free Cinema movement was a short-lived filmmaking collective dedicated to an aesthetic of documentary reality, sound experimentation, and shooting (out of necessity) on shoestring budgets. This 3-disc set collects all the "official" Free Cinema films, along with a handful of later films that followed in the original movement's footsteps. There are numerous highlights: Lindsay Anderson's satiric "O Dreamland," Robert Vas' heartfelt immigrant story "Refuge England," Lorenza Mazetti's bold sound stylization experiments in "Together," and many more. All the films share a certain low-budget realism that would prove dramatically influential on the future of English cinema, and this sense of historical importance is ably communicated by the set's hefty booklet -- the best extra. The transfers are uniformly excellent considering the films' vintage and circumstances of production, and this is basically all we could ask for in terms of getting these important films onto DVD.
Robert Aldrich's incendiary and seminal noir masterpiece is finally uncut and presented in a decent transfer on this MGM DVD. Aldrich has deconstructed the typical noir hero, Mike Hammer, in order to reveal the codes of misogyny, selfishness, and political conservatism underpinning such "heroes." Hammer is in fact an intensely unlikeable hero, his actions motivated almost solely by bald self-interest and a stubborn refusal to think about consequences. In this case, his blindness to other options and other people leads the world to the brink of nuclear apocalypse, a stunning fate for the hero that leads the viewer to inevitably question the very nature of Hollywood heroism. The DVD has a smattering of minor special features, but the only really important treat is the presence of the long-cut original ending, censored back in the 50s and for many years not even known about. Absolutely essential for any noir fan.
Typically for Japanese director Masahiro Shinoda, Assassination is an unusual blend of samurai film and political intrigue. The film's timeline is poised towards the end of the samurai era, and it consequently examines the warrior's role in politics and the then-emerging national government. Aesthetically, Shinoda's film owes as much to the spy thriller and the film noir as it does to traditional samurai film styles. He also brings his own odd, elliptical style into play, especially in the rapid-fire editing of the battle scenes. His editing contributes a great deal to the film's overall mood of confusion and chaos -- scenes often pass in a series of quick cuts that seem designed to baffle and obscure. Coupled with the incredibly complex structure of loyalties and double-crosses that underpins the film's warring clans, this style makes it almost obligatory to watch the film more than once to understand it all. Still, even on a first viewing, and despite any missed details, Assassination never fails to intrigue and entertain -- and later viewings will only increase the appreciation of the film's depth and complexity.
I suppose Easter was as good a time as any to resurrect the bare bones release of Mel Gibson's controversial religious film, which has now arisen as a 2-Disc Special Edition; complete with 15 minutes of unseen footage, a trinity of audio commentaries (including one by a priest!) and two informative, behind-the-scenes documentaries. The passion play is an archaic tradition which, depending on what you believe, depicts the last twelve hours in the life of Abrahamic Prophet: Isa Son Of Mary a.k.a. Rabbi Yeshua a.k.a. Jesus Christ (peace be upon him). 'The Passion Of The Christ' is a gruelling, sometimes clichéd but fascinating work of cinematic genius by Oscar winning director Mel Gibson, whose decision to shoot his opus in Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin lends it an authenticity often absent from Hollywood films about faith. Jim Caviziel ('Frequency') gives a sober and commanding performance as The Messiah: resolute, dignified, furious, beaten but unbowed; one doesn't necessarily have to believe such a man even existed, to appreciate a good old fashioned story about stoic heroism in the face of insurmountable adversity.
Gibson also manages to coax strong performances out of a largely unknown cast of European stage and television actors; Maria Morgensten is excellent as the Virgin Mary: A scene between her and Cavizel discussing carpentry in the workshop is peppered with gentle humour, and makes you wish Gibson had spent more time developing characters, instead of the intricacies of the movie's torture sequences. Devout Catholic and 'Matrix Reloaded' starlet Monica Belluci, the unlikeliest cast member by far, does well in her role as Mary Magdalene, whilst Italian MTA Rosalinda Celentano makes for an outlandish, yet magnetic Satan. One senses 'Privilegia Ecclesiastica' at work in the casting of women as devils, sinful daughters of Eve or the Biblical femme fatale with a snake up her leg; and I imagine Peter De Rosa would have a field day deconstructing the whys and wherefores of this one.
Many critics blasted 'The Passion Of The Christ' for its prolonged flagellation sequence in which Jesus, having been betrayed by the Jewish priesthood (who became Pharisees, or polytheistic separatists) is torn to ribbons by sadistic Roman soldiers. And its true, these scenes rank as some of the most blood curdling & realistic recreations of torture ever committed to celluloid. But that depiction of suffering is, I'm told, an essential aspect of the Passion play for Christians, thus to highlight the bloodletting would be like going to see a Jet Li movie and complaining about all that Wu Shu. I probably would've hated this had I seen it with a crowd of weeping fanatics waving crucifixes in the air, or felt compelled to make an argument for its (non-existent) anti-Semitism against Jews, for when a film attracts as much media attention as this one did, its often easy to overlook the obvious question: was it any good? When 'The Passion Of The Christ' works, it's an incredible and unique picture, in the scenes that fall flat its little more than an animated stained glass window, repeating myths refuted by rationalists like Gibbon, Armstrong or Dawkins. Fortunately; good acting, excellent cinematography and Gibson's eye for the epic, ensures its position as a modern classic in the religious genre. Grim but gripping.
Mesmerising but macabre, and intentionally unsettling, grindhouse B-movie from death metal maestro turned horror filmmaker: Rob Zombie (and with a name like that, I suppose there aren't too many genres you can work in). Set in the deep south circa 1978; 'The Devil's Rejects' is a loose sequel to Zombie's universally panned 'House Of A 1000 Corpses', (though you need not have seen that flick to follow) and continues the sadistic misadventures of the Firefly family; a hillbilly trio of mass-murdering Satanists who barely manage to hold off a cadre of cops (led by the ever excellent William Forsythe) in the film's siege/shootout opening, which is almost as good, though not as intense, as the shootout which opened 'The Proposition'. I doubt anyone in their right mind would call 'The Devil's Rejects' entertaining or enjoyable, in much the same way as people don't generally pop on 'Blue Velvet' or 'A Clockwork Orange' to relax or unwind, and it was only on my second viewing that I realised this isn't so much a movie, as it is an aural and psychological assault on the audience; an indictment of middle-American hypocrisy and the sociological structure/ tabloid culture that gives succour to navel gazing psychopaths. Much of the film's content (the nerve shredding motel hostage scene in particular) invites potential censorship; though I"m glad the board didn't try to ban this, as externally created notoriety often detracts from the movie's merits or flaws, and pushes the debate into unrelated realms.
With virtually no plot to speak of, 'The Devil's Rejects' still makes for a gritty & well directed spectacle, with believable performances from William Forsythe as a Bible thumping cop with a grudge, 70"s Blaxploitation star Sid Haig as an evil clown, and a chillingly effective Bill Moseley as the 'Rejects' ringleader, only the director's wife; Sherri Moon Zombie (no nepotism there then) occasionally lets the side down with her overacting. There are no sympathetic characters in this film whatsoever, and I guarantee you won't be rooting for the 'Rejects' like you may've done for the Gecko Brothers in 'From Dusk Till Dawn'. Rob Zombie takes a real narrative gamble by negating the need for an anti-hero, or even a real protagonist and it's a gamble that pays off right until the last five minutes; where Zombie makes a classic directorial error by losing faith in his own approach, and falling back on clichés.
I've doubled this film's rating primarily for 'Momentum's' stellar 2-Disc DVD release: As well as two commentaries; the first an unexpectedly academic lecture by Zombie, the second a much more upbeat and entertaining track featuring Sherri Moon, Sid Haig and Bill Moseley, you get a cache of deleted scenes (including one with Rosario Dawson) and a making off documentary which, at two hours plus, is longer than the film and invaluable for new directors or those with an interest in film production. 'Momentum' and 'Lion's Gate' ought to be congratulated for putting together the kind disc usually released by 'Criterion', and providing a much needed look at the sensitive, talented actors who created such heinous beasts on screen. 'The Devil's Rejects' is destined to be a cult classic, albeit not the kind of cult you'd never want to watch it with.
Thank God for Anchor Bay! The Lament Configuration is one of the most recognizable props in all of 80's horror. The puzzle box is at the center of the one of the first horror films to feature sadomasochism as a main theme, with all of the baddies dressed to the nines in their bondage gear. This box features the first three Hellraiser films and a bonus disc. The only thing that could've made this box better was the omission of Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth, in which our beloved Pinhead turns into Freddy Kreuger and begins spouting one liners and loses all of the menace he'd been building in the first two films. That being said, Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II are very solid and original horror films. Clive Barker's original vision was on its clearest display in the first film, obviously, since he directed it. The film introduces all of the main characters to be explored in this and its sequel, including Pinhead and his loyal Cenobites. The Cenobites are demons from hell who have been able to move up in the underworld and respond to the will of the Lament Configuration, much of the time to the dismay of the person holding it. Hellraiser is a steamy tale of adultery and murder and what really hot sex can do to one's brain, apparently it can cause a woman to seduce and murder a long string of willing men to feed to her beau who has been reduced to a gaunt skeletal being covered in slime. The only person who knows the truth about these murders is her stepdaughter, who vows to put and end to it all. The only lacking part of the original Hellraiser is the effects, and they were bound not only by the technology of the time but also but the budget, but they do satisfy and many of the sequences involving poor skeleton Frank are especially gooey. Hellbound: Hellraiser II is more of the same, but, as is the Modus Operandi in sequels, the bloodshed is greater and the action, more over the top. A doctor in an asylum has discovered what he believes to be the secret of the Lament Configuration but he cannot unlock it, so he employs his legion of patients to do it for him. Julia, the seductress from the first film is back and she is trying to come back from hell in a similar fashion to her beloved Frank. She uses Dr. Channard, head of the asylum, as her conduit and he brings her fresh meat. The set pieces are far more expansive in this film as Kirsty, the stepdaughter from part one, must navigate through hell to prevent hell from breaking through. The coup de grace is the Dr. Channard Cenobite who eventually ends up challenging Pinhead for control over the Cenobites. Considering there are at least 7 sequels to this film, all starring Pinhead, you can guess who emerges victorious. The less said about Hellraiser III: Hell On Earth, the better, so I'll keep it brief. Hell On Earth is a supernatural slasher film. Pinhead becomes a face on a rotating pole who talks a lot and brings new Cenobites, including the completely retarded "CD Head", you guessed it, he shoots CDs out of his head. The plot is even more stupid than the characters. The bonus disc far outshines the third film, it includes rarely seen early short films from Clive Barker, the master of S/M horror, as well as interviews, trailers, featurettes and anything else you could ask for from these films. The construction of the box isn't exactly bullet-proof, but for those who care for their things properly, it should last a good while. Also included is a short pamphlet tracing the history of the characters, Clive, and the films from their seed in Clive's mind, all the way through the execution of Hell On Earth. All in all, a very admirable job by Anchor Bay, the only reason I rated it three stars instead of four was the inclusion of part three. Other than that, absolutely brilliant!
I was never able to watch this when shown initially on television. Recently though I received Series 1 as a gift.
After watching the first episode though on DVD, I was unable to stop until I finished completely. I thought that this particular series was dramatic, compelling, thought provoking and irresistable. I would now recommend '24' to anybody. I intend to eventually purchase every other series now.
The world of horror has seen hundreds of disappointments over the last 20 odd years. This is one reason that it is so satisfying when a film of this caliber shows up. The Descent is the sophomore feature for Neil Marshall, who made the wonder Dog Soldiers a few years ago. The Descent traces the path of a group of women into uncharted depths below the earth, into what may ultimately become their tomb. Early in the film we are introduced to the characters, each of them archetypal in their own way; there is the wounded one recovering from a huge traumatic event, there is the "gung-ho" girl who loves danger, and so on. The film opens with some wonderful vistas of what we are told are the mountains of Appalachia in the eastern US, but the film really finds its visual style once the group descends. Rarely has a film used claustrophobia so effectively as this one. We see only what the women see, and this means we are as surprised as they are when all of the horror begins to take over. Below the surface are a race of humanoid monsters they neither we, the viewer, nor they ever really get a good look at, but we see enough to be scared out of our minds. We do know certain things about them, which gives us only a small leg up on the spelunkers in peril. We know that they are blind and we know that they hunt by sound, but what do they hunt? In this case, it is our group of women who soon realize that the cave they are in is not what it seems and they must find a way out past these killers. The brilliant cinematography leads the viewer through this challenge along with the cavers and leads us to be as uncomfortable and wary as they are. Watching this film requires that the viewer be seated, if not in a theatre, at least in a pitch black room, because any external source of light will rip you from the experience. The women ultimately begin to understand the beast they are fighting and have to pull together to attempt an escape, but will any of them make it out? Can they overcome their own pasts and become a team? Can recent revelations about events that transpired between them be left behind in the name of survival? All is answered as the film concludes, but they aren't all the answers we're hoping for. This special edition two discs DVD from Pathe is a wonderful presentation of The Descent. The pitch black cinematography is preserved throughout the cave sequences and the sound design is excellent and brings the viewer into the claustrophobia. The second disc includes a full length documentary on the making of the film which includes everything from the dierctor's perspective on the filmmaking process, to the special effects, as well as showing how they recreated what seem like endless underground caves on sound stages. I recommend this film and this specific package very highly. I am a horror buff and I've been thoroughly disappointed with many of the offerings lately and I am glad that someone like Neil Marshall was given the opportunity to make a film like this.
Wonder boys is based on the comic novel of the same name by Michael Chabon. Grady Tripp(Michael Douglas) had massive success with his debut novel but now seven years later his follow up remains uncompleted and his potential unrealised.While working on his second novel he has taken an unfulfilling job teaching creative writing at a Pittsburgh college, married an unsuitable wife and embarked on a doomed affair with Sara(Frances McDormand) wife of his departmental head. He feels that he is losing control of his life and his self inflicted problems are threatening to overwhelm him. The weekend of his college's annual "wordfest" literary festival Grady's troubles come to a head. His wife leaves him on the day of the "wordfest" launch party and his agent Terry(Robert Downey Jr) arrives for the festival and to check on the progress of the near legendary much delayed book. At the party Sara tells Grady that she is pregnant to his barely concealed horror. Just as Grady appears to be drowning in a mess of his own making his talented but overly intense student James Leer(Tobey Maguire) arrrives at the party in a morose almost suicidal frame of mind. Grady realises that he has to put aside his own troubles and take responsibility for the student who hero worships him. With the help of Terry he tries to get James to loosen up, have some fun and hopefully get things in perspective. A series of dramatic yet comical events transpire involving a tuba, a dead dog and a stolen jacket that once belonged to Marilyn Monroe. As Grady learns about his students life and worries he gains greater insights into his own self destructive nature. This is a hugely enjoyable film with excellent performances from a strong cast. A slightly over sentimental ending is the only minor disappointment.
Oh wow this dvd is fantastic especially if you are a Lyndsey Lohan fan ! this is probably one of the funniest films I have seen with Lyndsey and Jamie Lee Curtis at their best - this is definately one not to be missed!
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