Britt Ekland

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights)

Average customer rating:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!
James Bond Vol. 1
Thank goodness for these sets
Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice
I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But...

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights)
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton , and Michael Apted
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 4 (Dr. No / You Only Live Twice / Octopussy / Tomorrow Never Dies / Moonraker)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3 (GoldenEye / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia With Love / On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition) [Region 99]
Never Say Never Again

ASIN: B00000BLFI
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Description

Disc 1: *Goldfinger (1964) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton Audio Commentary Featuring Cast and Crew Disc 2: **Goldfinger Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger Screen Tests On Tour With the Aston Martin DB-5 Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Goldfinger The Making of Goldfinger The Goldfinger Phenomenon Original Publicity Featurette MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications Disc 3: *The World Is Not Enough (1999) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Michael Apted Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong Disc 4: **The World Is Not Enough Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes and Alternate Angles With Introductions by Director Michael Apted Alternate Angle, Expanded Angle Scene: The Thames Boat Chase James Bond Down River - Original 1999 Featurette Creating an Icon: Making the Teaser Trailer Hong Kong Press Conference 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The World Is Not Enough The Making of The World Is Not Enough Bond Cocktail Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn Garbage 'The World Is Not Enough' Music Video The Secrets of 007 MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailer & Photo Gallery Disc 5: *Diamonds Are Forever (1971) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew Disc 6: **Diamonds Are Forever Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes Sean Connery 1971: The BBC Interview Lesson # 007: Close Quarter Combat Deleted Footage - Oil Rig Attack Satellite & Explosions Test Reel Alternate & Expanded Angles 007 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Diamonds Are Forever Inside Diamonds Are Forever Cubby Broccoli - The Man Behind Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications Disc 7: *The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) **The Man With The Golden Gun Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Roger Moore and HervÃ(c) Villechaize - The Russell Harty Show On Location With The Man With the Golden Gun Guy Hamilton: The Director Speaks Girls Fighting American Thrill Show Stunt Film The Road to Bond: Stunt Coordinator W.J. Millian Jr. 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Man With the Golden Gun Inside The Man With the Golden Gun An Original Documentary Double-O Stuntmen: A Look at the Greatest Stunts and Stunt Performers in the Bond Films MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications Disc 9: *The Living Daylights (1987) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew Disc 10: **The Living Daylights Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Introduction by John Glen Happy Anniversary, 007 Silver Anniversary Featurettes Timothy Dalton: The New James Bond/Vienna Press Conference Timothy Dalton: On Acting Dalton and d'Abo Interviews The Ice Chase Outtakes - Deleted Footage With Director John Glen Narration 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Living Daylights Inside The Living Daylights Ian Fleming: 007's Creator a-ha 'The Living Daylights' Music Video The Making of 'The Living Daylights' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!.......2007-06-09

Although 'Deluxe' Bond editions have appeared, in recent years, the new 'frame-by-frame' restorations make "James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1" ESSENTIAL, if you are a fan of the 007 films!

The title selections may be head scratchers, but the pristine quality of each film offers a look and sound that is breathtaking!

"The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), Roger Moore's second outing as 007, suffers from the decline into campiness that would plague many of his films; targeted by hit man Christopher Lee, Bond journeys to Asia to track him down, aided by annoying Britt Ekland and ridiculous redneck sheriff Clifton James. While Maud Adams is lovely, and Thailand, breathtaking, Hervé Villechaize is silly, and the attempt to incorporate the kung fu craze, while amusing, turns 007 into a joke. Add an awful theme song, and you have a major disappointment! (2 stars out of 5)

"Goldfinger" (1964), for many fans, the 'perfect' Bond film, kicked off the 60's worldwide 007 craze; piggy meglamaniac Gert Frobe plans to nuke Fort Knox, and it's up to 007 Sean Connery, at his sexiest, to stop him. Fabulous women (Honor Blackman and Shirley Eaton), a superhuman henchman (Harold Sakata), an unforgettable theme song (sung by Shirley Bassey), and spectacular action makes this one solid gold. (5 stars out of 5).

"The World Is Not Enough" (1999), Pierce Brosnan's third 007 outing, is, arguably, his best; assigned to protecting sexy oil heiress Sophie Marceau from terrorist Robert Carlyle, Bond discovers nothing is as it seems! Offering Judi Dench's finest performance as M, and more plot twists than usual, one can almost forgive buxom Denise Richards' one-note portrayal, and the series' decline into derivativeness. (4 stars out of 5).

"Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), best-known as Sean Connery's 'comeback' as 007 after a one-film hiatus (and his final Eon Bond film), the film marks the beginning of the 'comic' Bond films of the '70s. Villain Charles Gray, as a sly, droll Blofeld, launches a diamond-powered laser satellite to blackmail the world. Shot largely in Las Vegas, Connery is graying and paunchy, Jill St. John, sexy, but ditzy, and one-liners and brainless action dominates the plot. Funny, but quite a letdown from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". (3 1/2 stars out of 5)

"The Living Daylights" (1987), Timothy Dalton's debut as 007, is best remembered, today, as the film Pierce Brosnan would have starred in, had NBC not renewed "Remington Steele". The silliness of Moore's Bond is gone, as a more serious Dalton falls for cellist/would-be assassin (Maryam d'Abo), and uncovers an arms plot involving three villains (Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, and Andreas Wisniewski). An Afghan/Soviet war subplot 'dates' the story, and the film, released in the same year as "Lethal Weapon" and "Batman", would not be a hit, but time has proven it to be a superior 007 outing. (4 stars out of 5).

Even if you've seen these films, I recommend this new collection; Bond films have never 'looked' better!

James Bond Vol. 1.......2007-05-19

The first James Bond movie that I saw was "Goldfinger". It was great. I wanted to see them all. Now I can with these great box sets. A lot of people don't like them because they're not in order. I like them that way. It gives you a good mixture. Let's get on to the reviews for all the movies in Vol. 1.

Goldfinger- This is the first James Bond movie that I saw. It is great. Sean Connery IS James Bond. If you've never seen a James Bond movie, watch this one first. 5 stars

Diamonds Are Forever- This one is great. It returns Sean Connery as James Bond. 5 stars

The Man with the Golden Gun- This one is pretty good. It stars Roger Moore as James Bond. I've always wanted to see this one. Now that I have, I am very happy. 5 stars

The Living Daylights- This has a weird title, but it is still good. It is the first James Bond movie with Timothy Dalton playing Bond. He is pretty good. 5 stars.

The World is Not Enough- This one is really good. I always like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. He is excellent in his second to last movie as James Bond. 5 stars.

Overall, this recieves 5 stars.

Thank goodness for these sets.......2007-05-15

These four JB sets are the perfect way to get your Bond fix in enormous doses. The special features are great and the quality of the picture is unbeatable. My only small quibble is that the setup of the DVD menus is sort of obnoxious, but that seems to be the way of DVDs these days. If you are a Bond fan, or if you have a Bond fan in your home and want to give him an amazing gift (I did), these aren't to be missed.

Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice.......2007-03-31

James Bond Ultimate Collection.

INTRODUCTION:
When it comes to film franchises, very few measure up to Ian Fleming's legendary secret agent, James Bond. For decades this series has never failed to entertain. With girls, guns, gadgets, and everything in between, the series rarely fails to please. The franchise has been through many highs and lows in its several-decade history, and numerous collections of the films have been released over the years. In 2006, MGM released four Ultimate Collections.

OVERVIEW:
The James Bond Ultimate Collection consists of four box sets, each including ten discs - five films and a bonus disc for each. The boxes' content are as follows:
-Volume One (Gold): Goldfinger (1963), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The World Is Not Enough (1999)
-Volume Two (Blue): Thunderball (1965), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), A View To A Kill (1985), Licence To Kill (1989), Die Another Day (2002)
-Volume Three (Red): From Russia With Love (1963), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Live and Let Die (1973), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Goldeneye (1995)
-Volume Four (Silver): Dr. No (1962), You Only Live Twice (1967), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Note that these are sets of the official EON productions films. As such, non-EON productions such as the David Niven/Peter Sellers version of Casino Royale and Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again are not included.

REVIEW:
I'm not going to go through and review each individual film (that's what the movies' individual Amazon pages are for), I'm just gonna focus on the box sets and their execution here. Here is a list of the pros and cons for every set.

-THE GOOD-
-ALL TWENTY FILMS READILY AVAILABLE ON DVD AGAIN. It's been a long time since we've been able to get the movies on DVD, and it's about time they got reissued. Finally, this shortage has reached its end.
-A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO COMPLETE YOUR BOND COLLECTION. You could hunt down each individual film, and spend a lot more money and do a lot more searching. Or you could just get these four sets. Much quicker and easier.
-A BONUS DISC OF MATERIAL FOR EVERY MOVIE! If you're a Bond fanatic, you're going to get a kick out of all the extra material MGM gives you in these sets. Deleted scenes, trailers, interviews with cast and crew, these bonus discs are pure gold for you if you're a Bond die hard like me.
-REMASTERED. VERY WELL. Normally I don't mention remastering of movies in my reviews, as it's usually a rather shoddy job that does little to improve the picture quality. NOT THIS TIME. MGM has given us the films with FRAME BY FRAME RESTORATION. If you thought earlier issues of Bond films on DVD had crappy picture quality, MGM redeems themselves here. This is, hands down, THE GREATEST FILM REMASTERING JOB I HAVE EVER SEEN. Even Dr. No, the first Bond film, has stunningly beautiful picture quality! My hat goes off to MGM here. This is reason alone to buy the sets, even if you own the older boxes.
-SUPERIOR TO THE OLD DVD BOXES OF THE SERIES. Everything they did, these sets do better. Picture, extras, you name it, this set does it better.

-THE BAD-
-STILL NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. This has been under hot debate from Bond fans as long as boxes of the films have been on the market. MGM clearly wants to make a few bucks. Let's face it, if all of the Connery films were in one set, everyone would buy that set and no others. Rather than getting the films in chronological order, we get uneven and scattershot mixes. For instance, the fourth box set features Dr. No and You Only Live Twice, two of the masterpieces of the series. But the set is dragged down by two of the major stinkers in the series, Moonraker and Octopussy. With every set it's this same "balancing act" phenomenon, with great films and weak ones alike. I must admit, a rather ingenious marketing strategy on MGM's part, but not what fans want (of course, you can do like I did and buy all the sets and make your own box and put them in order.) Fortunately, this is the ONLY major flaw of these sets.

OVERALL:
When it comes to the Bond films on DVD, "Nobody Does It Better" than MGM with these box sets. Beautiful picture and sound, extras galore, and all twenty films readily available again, there's no reason not to own these if you're a Bond fan. Even if you already have a few films on DVD or some of the older sets, these are still worth getting for the picture quality and bonus features alone.

EDITION NOTES:
These sets are all readily available. Any major DVD retailer should have them available.

I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But..........2007-03-15

Before buying this collection, I was very skeptical. Being a long time James Bond fan, I invested plenty of money in the best VHS version of all these films. When DVD came out, I re-bought about half of the collection again. I must admit that the DVD releases of these films are some of the most disappointing DVDs in my collection.

My major complaints about the ORIGINAL DVD RELEASES were:
1.) Audio Mix -- The first release of the Bond DVDs featured only the original 2 channel audio mixes. The result was a disaster. The spoken dialog was BURIED under the soundtrack... resulting in me having to dive for the remote every five minutes. On top of the poor dialog / score mixing, the audio lacked definition and served as a constant distraction from watching the movie. There were no distinct lows, or distinct highs, just a lot of bland sounding audio.

2.) Picture Quality -- I suppose I couldn't complain too too much about this one. Given the age of many of these movies, I accepted the washed-out, often grainy image as nothing more than a symptom of the era the movie was made.

All in all, poor audio and poor picture makes for a pretty crappy experience. After having been disappointed by the first couple Bond DVDs I bought, I gave up on the collection. It was with this in mind that the announcement of the newly remastered series left me very skeptical.

The major criticism of this DVD set is that it is another ploy by MGM/UA to drain more money from every Bond fan's wallet. In the past, I had avoided these pathetic attempts at getting me to constantly upgrade versions of things I already owned.

However, let me tell you, this collection DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. The talk about the upgraded audio and video is NOT hype. Painstaking efforts were taken to re-scan the original prints of each film frame-by-frame. Once scanned, the image was digitally enhanced from the original prints. I was amazed at the richness and depth of color this process produced. During most parts, these movies look like they could have been filmed last year. Different color pigments are more noticeable, skin color and tone looks more lifelike, and the special effects look sharper. All in all, one couldn't ask for anything more from the picture quality of these versions. I have yet to a scene where I felt it could have been retouched better.

If the image quality isn't enough to make this collection worth buying, the new 5.1 DTS mixes seal the deal. Gone are the days of me fidgeting with volume during every other scene! The balance between dialog, ambient sounds, and score is perfect. I never would have imagined that movies made in the 60's and 70's could sound so good. Unlike the previous DVDs, these Ultimate Edition DVDs utilize my home theater to its maximum potential. Explosions rumble through my sub and the dialog comes clearly through my center channel; every word is audible. I own other DVDs from films made over the last couple of years that wish they could sound this good! Utilizing the DTS is a MUST!

Finally, while I consider myself fairly discriminating when it comes to audio and video clarity, I am by no means an audio or videophile. So, I don't think you need a $25,000 home theater setup to enjoy the enhancements these DVDs offer. I wrote this review based off of the following hardware:
32" Winbook 720p LCD HDTV
Up-converting Samsung DVD Player (connected via DVI)
Sony 7.1 (7x100w) Surround Receiver
Matching 5.1 MTX Surround Sound Speaker System

Hopefully, this will help clear up some confusion or doubt as to the value this collection offers.

The Wicker Man (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

The Original
This Version Should Win Any Straw Poll
MASTERPIECE!
The Wicker Man - 2006 vs. 1973 - It's No contest
The new double disc the one to own

The Wicker Man (Two-Disc Special Edition)
Starring: Juliet Cadzow , Ian Campbell , Walter Carr , Diane Cilento , and Michael Cole
Director: Robin Hardy
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Black Christmas (Special Edition)
Don't Look Now
The Mario Bava Collection, Volume 1 (Black Sunday / Black Sabbath / The Girl Who Knew Too Much / Kill Baby Kill / Knives of the Avenger)
The Wicker Man
Phantasm

ASIN: B000JVT1U0
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Amazon.com

Typically categorized as a horror film, The Wicker Man is actually a serious and literate thriller about modern paganism, written by Anthony Shaffer (Sleuth) with a deft combination of cool subjectivity and escalating dread. (Despite this promising directorial debut, British filmmaker Robin Hardy didn't make another film until The Fantasist, a little-seen thriller released in 1986.) We're introduced to the friendly but mysterious residents of Summerisle (located off the west coast of Scotland), where the isolated community enacts rituals that seem, at first, to be merely unconventional. When called in to investigate an anonymous tip about a missing child, mainland police sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is treated as an outsider, and the ominous Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) has the inside advantage. As the repressed policeman is taunted by the island's sensuous atmosphere, his investigation leads to increasingly disturbing implications.

With phallic symbols and soothing music at every turn, Summerisle is a pleasant haven for those who perform the pagan rituals of Lord Summerisle's maverick ancestors. These earthy ceremonies are presented with alluring authenticity, and the island's tempting eroticism is fully expressed by the landlord's daughter (Britt Ekland), who fills Howie with barely suppressed carnal desire. (Sirens took a comedic approach to a similar situation in 1994.) And yet the mystery of the missing girl remains, with clues that hint at a darker reality beneath the colorful local customs. When that reality is ultimately discovered, Howie becomes the crucial element in the islanders' most elaborate ritual, which is where the film's title comes into play. It may not be horror, but it is horrific, and this makes The Wicker Man an unforgettable film. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Special 2 - Disc Collectors edition of the Original movie filmed in 1973. Released to coincide with the release of the 2006 Wicker Man starring Nicholas Cage. Features: Extended version with 11 minutes of additional footage Theatrical Version Brand new audio commentary with director Robin Hardy, actors Christopher Liee and Edward Woodward and moderator Mark Kermonde

Customer Reviews:

The Original .......2007-06-19

My oppinion: The Wicker Man is a disturbing cult/Sacrafice movie. This is the original Wicker Man movie and it's more disturbinjg than the remak.

about The Film: The wicker man is about a pagen cult who trick this christian inspector to come to thier island to find a girl who really isn't missing.

Second oppinion. the Wicker man might not be for everybody. but if you like good horror films this one is for you.

If you liked this movie check out The Wicker Man(2006) Version & the wicker Man Soundtrack

This Version Should Win Any Straw Poll.......2007-06-12

This original "Wicker Man" (forget about the Nicholas Cage re-make) starts like a somewhat more conventional B-horror film. There are the purposefully unhelpful townspeople on the British island where Edward Woodward is sent to investigate the report of a missing girl. There are sidelong glances and whispers. Mysterious rites are practiced. All these slightly clichéd goings-on build mild suspense. But it's the twist-ending, with its awakening overturn of conventional role assignments, that is the real pay-off of the film.

What's more, Edward Woodward found the perfect defining role for himself here, even though he would probably prefer to be praised for his more "important" roles in Shakespearean works, in "Breaker Morant," or even as "The Equalizer" in the TV series. But here he portrays the supreme rectitude that he always seems to be striving towards in his other screen appearances. He is a man of proper, classical demeanor - a very rare kind of man who will not betray his principles for the expedient of satisfying any passing desire. It's the role that made me a Woodward fan.

As a bonus for male viewers, Britt Ekland does the most sumptuously erotic dance here that I think has ever been captured on camera.

All in all, "Wicker Man" ignites from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

MASTERPIECE!.......2007-06-11

I dont know what people are talking about when they say alot was cut from the extended version,because from what I read its only a couple minutes,and besides the extended version pretty much explains everything there is to know that the shortened version doesnt.This is one of the greatest films of all time and the ending twist is definitely probably the greatest twist in a horror film ever.Nicholas Cage,you classic destroying son of a [...]..

The Wicker Man - 2006 vs. 1973 - It's No contest.......2007-05-08

I don't write reviews very often because while I'm a movie buff, I don't usually take the time to pontificate. But having seen the 2006 version of Wicker Man on DVD, I feel the need to make a few observations.

First, on the positive side: certainly the production values of the new version are far superior to the original. It is an extremely well-crafted motion picture. The exterior shots were especially beautiful and made me want to revisit British Columbia.

At the end of the film, Ellen Burstyn's makeup and costume were a lot more convincing than Christopher Lee's getup in the original version! Even back when I first saw it in the theatre, Lee just didn't quite seem believable.

Having said this, I have serious problems with the remake. First, one of the things that made the original such an interesting film was the use of Celtic folk music. (The film takes place on Summerville Isle off the coast of Britain.) While the lyrics certainly qualify as bawdy, they are entirely appropriate to the setting of the story. The total absence of this and the orchestral score in the current version diminished both the intensity and the message of the film.

The real problem however is found in the dialog where Sister Summersisle tells Edward Malus he is to be a martyr. The dictionary describes a martyr as a person who is killed because of his or her religious or other beliefs. But as far as we know, Malus doesn't really have any religious convictions. He may be a sacrifice, but he's no martyr.

This brings us to the thrust of the original picture. The message was the battle between British forms of Christianity and Paganism. Both are done a serious disservice by the current version. In the original version, Sergeant Howie (Edward Woodward) is a passionately devoted conservative Christian. Lord Summerisle (Christopher Lee) is an equally committed pagan.

As in the current version, the police officer is tricked into coming to the island for the purpose of being sacrificed because the crops have failed. He is chosen because of his very commitment to his faith and the fact that, due to this commitment, he remains a virgin. (And yes, I know, no matter how good an actor Cage is, nobody would believe he has remained sexually pure.) So Howie as a believer represents the perfect fool for these pagans and therefore the perfect sacrifice and martyr. Sergeant Howie, unlike Malus, actually dies for a reason. Malus just dies. And while Malus has no answers for Sister Summersisle, Howie certainly has them for Lord Summerisle. As Howie dies for his faith, he warns Summerisle that the next time the crop fails, it will be Lord Summerisle himself burning inside the Wicker Man.

The 1973 version ends with a man of honor dying for his faith and the warning that it is only a matter of time before the meaninglessness of the sacrifice will become apparent. In the `06 revised version's ending, we are left with a dead man and nothing more.

If you have only seen the current version of Wicker Man, I strongly suggest you view the original. If you ignore the picture's dated aspects, you will find a film with great depth which presents a highly compelling and far more accurate picture of people of faith, be they Christian or pagan.

The new double disc the one to own.......2007-05-02

Anchor Bay's new double disk, which includes the cut American version and the restored 99 minute version, as well as both a doc and a commentary, is the one to own of this title. Too bad they didn't find the post credit sun god image mentioned below but no doubt that will come on the three disc set in the future.

The extended version is superior (the image loss on the sections taken from the tape is minor), the story less a mystery than a steady march to doom with a still shocking climax. The American cut works except the rearranging of scenes (after you've seen the original order) looks like the director botched it up. Blame Roger Corman (who did the recut).

When I first saw it I thought it was a rather vicious attack on Paganism (Fellini was more charitable in "Satyricon"); however on second viewing Christianity and religion in all forms are offered up for scrutiny and ridicule. It is a shame that such a daring film had such a tortured path to the light. Not the first time. You would have thought Christian churches would have financed the distribution and shown it to summer camps.

Dead right is the liveliness of the music and celebration costumes and the wonderful amateur actors of the village, who seem to be having such a good time playing such a preposterous game. It figures that a director who could get that right wouldn't work again for twelve years.

Sidenote: Britt Eckland, then married to Rod Stewart, incurred his wrath with her nudity (sometimes doubled). And it lead to no film career for her either. She doesn't display much talent but certainly enhanced the film, pity it turned out so badly for her. And for everyone involved until the past five years.

Average customer rating:

I'd give it 3 out of 5
Reused plots
Three stars for Lee and Villechaize
Underrated-- for all the right reasons
Goodnight, Sir.

The Man With The Golden Gun
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
Goldfinger
Live and Let Die
Dr. No (Special Edition)

ASIN: B000NIBUR6
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

The British superspy with a license to kill takes on his dark underworld double, a classy assassin who kills with golden bullets at $1 million a hit. Roger Moore, in his second outing as James Bond, meets Christopher Lee's Scaramanga, one of the most magnetic villains in the entire series, in this entertaining but rather wan entry in the 007 sweepstakes. Bond's globetrotting search takes him to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and finally China, where Scaramanga turns his island retreat into a twisted theme park for a deadly game of wits between the gunmen, moderated by Scaramanga's diminutive man Friday Nick Nack (Fantasy Island's Hervé Villechaize). Britt Ekland does her best as the most embarrassingly inept Bond girl in 007 history, a clumsy, dim agent named Mary Goodnight who looks fetching in a bikini, while Maud Adams is Scaramanga's tough but haunted lover and assistant (she returns to the series as the title character in Octopussy). Clifton James, the redneck sheriff from Live and Let Die, makes an embarrassing and ill-advised appearance as a racist tourist who briefly teams up with 007 in what is otherwise the film's highlight, a high-energy chase through the crowded streets of Bangkok that climaxes with a breathtaking midair corkscrew jump. Bond and company are let down by a lazy script, but Moore balances the overplayed humor with a steely performance and Lee's charm and enthusiasm makes Scaramanga a cool, deadly, and thoroughly enchanting adversary. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

I'd give it 3 out of 5.......2007-06-14

Good movie for the hardcore Bond fan, but not one of the best.

Reused plots.......2007-06-01

The problem with Bond movies is the tired use of the same evil scheme to knock off the world. Austin Powers spoofed this so well in those films. I do like the Bond films, but can not watch them back to back like friends of mine who go on Bond binges. I would simply throw up after such an event.

The Man with the Golden Gun is not one of my favorites because it comes across as hokey to me. The other reviewers have given you the entire movie from beginning to end so if you haven't seen the film, you know now what happens.

I'll simply say this is not the best in the Bond series because Scaramanga is boring, yet he would have appeared more sinister with three pierced nipples whilst lounging on the beach. If you must complete your collection, buy the DVD but for the non-Bond fan, I'd say pass on it. I would also pass on Diamonds are Forever, Never Say Never Again, License to Kill, and The Living Daylights. Definitely get Gold Finger, From Russia with Love, You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Some people would disagree with me about the Lazenby film, but I liked it because of the ending.

Thanks.

Three stars for Lee and Villechaize.......2007-05-22

The original Connery films (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and even the less-than-5-star Diamonds Are Forever) still stand head and shoulders over any Bond releases that followed them. There. I said it.

I never gained an appreciation for Moore's Bond. I didn't care for the droll, smirky approach. Every time he unleashed one of his catty bon mots it just felt a little squirmy, you know?

Any film that features Christopher Lee as the villain and Hervé Villechaize as his evil henchman demands to be watched, and for that reason alone, "Man With The Golden Gun" holds a unique position in the canon of Moore's Bond films. The scene with Lee in his room filled with mirrors as Villechaize intones "Where is your little gun?" is particularly entertaining.

Britt Ekland as the film's requisite Bond Girl? One of the worst, but the crown still goes to Maud Adams in "Octopussy."

You say potato, I say potato. Roger Moore starred in a series of films featuring a character named James Bond. This was one of them. Connery brought the character to life, Moore kept it in the box office.

Underrated-- for all the right reasons.......2007-05-11

Bond film directors get little scrutiny, yet, despite the obvious fact that this is a producer-driven franchise, there are definite hints of an individual stamp on certain series entries, and never more so than with the four films helmed by Guy Hamilton. Consider him the Tim Burton of 007 movies. His Bonds, like Burton's Batmans, are odd comic-book affairs, rife with surreal flourishes, dashes of sadism, and a general sense of childish mayhem. With "Goldfinger" he helped seal the winning James Bond 'formula', but when he returned to helm three more Bonds in the early 70s, he seemed set to deconstruct that formula.

"The Man With the Golden Gun" is his last outing, and only Roger Moore's second, and like "Live and Let Die" it definitely belongs in that earlier, "Goldfinger"-inspired world. Oscar-winning cinematographer Ted Moore did his last work on a Bond film here, and it's miles away from the inviting, disco-slick sheen that marked "The Spy Who Loved Me" three years later. Whether or not there was budgetary restraint on this film, in many ways "The Man With the Golden Gun" seems determined, in big ways and in small, to get away with doing the bare minimum for a Bond movie-- and subsequently, there's an odd, dreamlike resonance to the film's eerie blankness. Perfect example: whenever a Bond villain's hidden fortress is penetrated, we're treated to the spectacle of a few battalions' worth of jumpsuit-clad anonymous henchmen busy with their boss' nefarious work. But not here!: no, Scaramanga's compound can only boast, besides the duplicitous Nick Nack, who's really a third-party unto himself, but one single lousy thug! Who is readily dispatched by Britt Eckland's Goodnight, who is easily the dopiest Bond heroine ever. And, for that very reason, I find something surreally threatening about him, the lone Cerberus of Scaramanga's Hadean funhouse.

Scaramanga, played by Christopher Lee, belongs to the small anti-tradition of virile Bond villains, like "Thunderball"s Largo and "Licence to Kill"s Sanchez. He is the least apocalyptic of all Bond nemeses-- for him no grandious visions of blowing up the planet or even ruling it. Despite the film's OPEC-era MacGuffin, Scaramanga poses the least credible threat to civilization of any Bond villain. But this only heightenes the tangible sense of this murderous free agent's psychosis. Even Largo and Sanchez work to run an organization--Scaramanga has not only the smallest payroll of 007 badguys, he even professes a carefree ignorance of how his hidden fortress' scientific apparatus works! Far from imbibing any cuddly pet obsessions like a fetishistic love of gold, he lives only for the pleasure of murder-- and a murderous sexual sadism. Though he apes a certain distorted code of chivalry, Bond rightly calls him on it; at bottom, Scaramanga is a nightmare distortion of James Bond, all uncultivated, loner murderous sadism. It is sometimes said that Lee doesn't get the chance to flesh the character out, but think about it-- with this character, less is more, and in this minimalist cartoon of a film, Scaramanga may emerge as the most Shakespearean and least Marlovian (in Harold Bloom's terms) of all James Bond villains.
Of the ladies, obviously Maud Adams is more affecting than poor Britt Eckland, but let's say that Eckland's Goodknight is the comic relief in this otherwise rather dark (by the escapist standards of the series) movie. I agree that the slide whistle during the corkscrew car stunt is an unworthy intrusion, yet it seems to fit the distanced attitude this film takes to its action sequences. It's as if Guy Hamilton wants only the squaring-off of the gunsmen, with nothing else to intrude. Bond's interlude at the deathly martial arts academy is safely quarantined from the rest of the film, especially with the help of the proto-Austin Powers cadre of karate-kicking teenyboppers (the film's closest thing to a display of girl power!). Though the Lulu theme-song is much derided, I'll bravely pronounce that I think it rocks, and John Barry's score throughout is admirable stuff, in keeping with his best Bond tradition. Roger Moore himself is still the dark cad of a 007 he played in "Live and Let Die", in his own way as callous and gleefully destructive as Bugs Bunny. Thank god his heart's with the British Empire!
And, in conclusion, I'll salute one further much underrated aspect of the film-- that final (before, that is, containing Nick Nack on the boat) suspense sequence dislodging the MacGuffin from the laser. Simple, simple stuff, but watching those clouds pass in ominous interlude as the Thai sun waits to fry 007 and (in a less harrowing sense) Britt Eckland's bikini-clad oblivious self with him, I sometimes think I haven't enjoyed such a moment so much since Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint dangled somewhere beneath George Washington's chin! . . .

Goodnight, Sir........2007-05-09

The nefarious (I've no idea what that means, but I know it works) super-assassin Francisco Saramanga is out to kill Bond. Because he's like that. Scaramanga charges a million dollars a hit and is the only person in the world who has a slim chance of getting to Bond. Concerned for his safety, M takes Bond off active duty.

Never perturbed (not really sure of that word either), Bond still investigates and soon discovers that Scaramanga has stolen the 'priceless' Solex Agitator. Oh yeah, one of those! A mere MacGuffin and no more. In his mission to retrieve said 'agitator' Bond travels to Thailand and Hong Kong and gets into many silly fights, one involving a midget butler. He even finds time stress-out hillbilly Sheriff JW Pepper once more and...erm...'roger' his gorgeous assistant Mary Goodnight.

It's very dumb and thoroughly unsophisticated but it's all in the name of fun and Roger Moore's light, somewhat innocent way of playing Bond just keeps you smiling all the way through. I also liked John Barry's score, despite the fact he claims it's his weakest effort on the series.

TMWTGG was the last Bond film to be shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and I do feel that if it was shot in Panavision then it would have more slick and polished look. 33 years on, TMWTGG looks too grainy and dated and appears older than it is. I'm not sure why Guy Hamilton chose to film it this way when 4 previous Bond films had already been made in Scope widescreen.

Definitely one of the lesser Bond movies but saved by sense of humor and never-ending fun. Rent this one.

The DVD is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and a fair amount of extras.

Average customer rating:

Pretty disappointing!
Smashing!!!
It's about time!
Laugh Meter Off the Charts
Malcolm at his Best!

Royal Flash
Starring: Malcolm McDowell , Alan Bates , Florinda Bolkan , Oliver Reed , and Tom Bell
Director: Richard Lester
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Bedazzled
Play Dirty
Becket
The Errol Flynn Signature Collection, Vol. 2 (The Charge of the Light Brigade / Gentleman Jim / The Adventures of Don Juan / The Dawn Patrol / Dive Bomber)
Tyrone Power: The Swashbuckler Box Set (Blood and Sand / Son of Fury / The Black Rose / Prince of Foxes / The Captain from Castile)

ASIN: B000MQ54MQ
Release Date: 2007-04-03

Amazon.com

The term "romp" could have been invented to describe Royal Flash, a boisterous 1975 comedy-adventure starring Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Caligula) as Captain Harry Flashman: Braggart, bully, coward, thief, womanizer, and all-around scoundrel. Having risen to heroic prominence through sheer luck, Flashman gets sucked into a scheme by German statesman Otto von Bismarck (played with a superlative scowl by Oliver Reed, Gladiator) and courtesan Lola Montez (Florinda Bolkan, The Damned) to marry Flashman to a beautiful duchess (Britt Ekland, The Man with the Golden Gun) to control her province. But the political machinations are just an excuse for a rambunctious mix of satire and derring-do, much like director Richard Lester (A Hard Day's Night) and screenwriter George MacDonald Fraser (who also wrote the Flashman novels, on which this film was based) had perfected with the enormously successful The Three Musketeers. Royal Flash suffers in comparison; the pace in the middle sags from too much pomp and not enough circumstance. But the movie builds to a vigorous conclusion, including some excellent swordplay between McDowell and Alan Bates (Gosford Park) as an unscrupulous Hungarian. The movie's skeptical view of heroism and politics are a welcome tonic in an era of spin and image management. McDowell reminisces fondly on the commentary track. --Bret Fetzer

Amazon.com

Based on the popular series of Flashman novels by George MacDonald Fraser, Royal Flash tells the epic tale of the cowardly Captain Harry Flashman (famous for bullying Tom Brown in Tom Brown's Schooldays) a would-be playboy and socialite, except he doesn't have the money or the breeding. Seeing a short cut to the society crowd, Flashman agrees to Otto Von Bismarck's scheme to impersonate a Prussian prince and marry a duchess. But when the scheme goes awry, Flashman finds himself escaping via the European wars, in which his cowardliness gets mistaken for military bravery.

Customer Reviews:

Pretty disappointing!.......2007-05-18

As a long-time fan of the 'Flashman' book series, I was pretty disappointed to see what a hack job had been done with this, especially when considering the high caliber of some of the actors used. It is apparent throughout that a lack of money available for production, as well as a very tight filming schedule really hampered the final result. But more to the point, out of all the many adventures of Flashman, why the heck did they choose this one, which is nothing more than a hasty 'rewrite' of 'The Prisoner of Zenda??' While amusing as a book (the charm of the Flashman series is that Flashman is always somehow involved in all of the major historical events of the latter part of the 19th century; think 'Forest Gump' with sex and fancy uniforms. 'The Prisoner of Zenda' has been done many times, so I can't think what the producers and directors were thinking of when they produced this, especially when they hoped that they be able to produce sequels! Extremely bad planning, and a waste of a lot of quite brilliant material! I can only hope that one day, another filming group will 'rediscover' Flashman and do the job properly! Are you listening Hollywood???

Smashing!!!.......2007-05-12

This film is terrific fun and deserves wider recognition. Part period comedy, part swashbuckler, part slapstick, this film is wholeheartedly enjoyable. Malcolm McDowell is terrfic as the cowardly hero of the Afghan campaign who is reluctantly recruited to pose as a Prussian nobleman. Oliver Reed as Otto von Bismarck and Alan Bates as his Hungarian aide are also in top form. As for the ladies, Florinda Bolkan and Britt Ekland are not only luscious but add to the comic mayhem. My only quibble is Richard Lester's direction is not up to his usual high standards but, hey, you can't deliver "A Hard Day's Night" or "Petulia" every time out. Interestingly, this was a period of great productivity for Lester. During the space of a few years he delivered this film, "Juggernaut", and the two Musketeer films. "Royal Flash" definitely falls into the buried treasure category.

It's about time!.......2007-03-06

A great satire of Victorian England and most especially Victorian era Hollywood movies. Lots of laughs in most unusual settings. Who would have guessed Bismark would make such a comic subject? Hard to imagine why this has taken so long to make it to DVD. The only thing too disappointing about this movie is that it was the only one done to date from the immortal Flashman series, certainly Flashman in Afghanistan would be very timely and on target today, but at least the author Fraser and the director teamed up again on the Three Musketeer movies. I'll be happy to challenge to a duel anyone who dares to question my devotion to the books as long as they allow my friend to load the pistols.

Laugh Meter Off the Charts.......2006-10-05

I saw this ages ago, and I still remember being in pain the next day, from laughing so hard! My ribs literally ached, but it didn't stop me from gathering half a dozen friends and watching it again. Everything about it is a delight! Ironic, farcical, satirical comedy in the hands of masters. Everything is a joke: there are sight-gags, musical jokes, genre jests, and the movie mocks even itself, as well as the movie it's spoofing (The Prisoner of Zenda). Superbly acted, masterfully directed, by the best who could be picked for the job. Wish they'd release it again, or at least distribute it on dvd!

Malcolm at his Best!.......2006-09-28

Two great actors, Macolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Time After Time) and Oliver Reed (Tommy) are at their best in this hilarious movie. It's based on Otto von Bismarck's rise to power in Germany and a not-so-heroic English hero Thomas Flashman (McDowell).

Flashman, who gained fame after being found unconscious draped in the Union Jack, had actually been trying to tear it down to appease Afghani invaders. The movie begins with his near escape from a gambling risqué house (in true Victorian style, the women daringly showing their petticoats). After goading Bismarck into a hilarious boxing match in which Bismarck is beaten silly by one of "the lower orders." Bismarck swears to remember Flashman as Flahsh laughs gleefully at the mayhem he arranged. Later Bismarck lures and then kidnaps Flashman into posing as German count because the real one has caught "Cupid's Measles" and can't attend his own wedding. In humor typical of the movie, Flashman is captured after the woman he expects to sleep with is replaced by an overweight stranger. After momentary surprise, Flashman says "well, since you're here," and proceeds with the task until stopped.

Flashman makes a hilarious cowardly hero as he barely manages to shine after a cowardly or vice-inspired act. Particularly funny and original is the poking fun of Victorian morals. The movie also has some good scenery, including and a beautiful segment with Wagnerian overture at the beginning of a hunt ("have the doggies found the boar yet"). A great and underappreciated actor, Oliver Reed does an excellent job of the very serious Otto von Bismarck. It's only too bad that more movies like this weren't made. Flashman serves as the perfect anti-hero type that we so miss from the screen these days.

Average customer rating:

Cool Caine
Caine Does A Great Gangster
Exceptional movie !
Artistic Action Movie
Gritty Crime Drama, British Style

Get Carter
Starring: Michael Caine , Ian Hendry , Britt Ekland , John Osborne (II) , and Tony Beckley
Director: Mike Hodges
Manufacturer: Turner Home Ent
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Crime | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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( G ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Long Good Friday
Funeral in Berlin
Billion Dollar Brain
Point Blank
Alfie

ASIN: 0790750716
Release Date: 2000-10-03

Amazon.com essential video

For Get Carter, the able Michael Caine checked in his likable working-class-bloke persona to play a very unlikable working-class bloke, London gangster Jack Carter. Heading "up north" to get to the bottom of the recent death of his brother, he runs afoul of the local color, who don't appreciate his meddling. Not content to accept the police report of suicide, Carter begins investigating. He encounters the local mob boss, his sleazy chauffeur with eyes like "piss holes in the snow," and the lovely town porn star. The film moves along at a leisurely pace, until Carter finds out the grim truth. The final third of the film has Jack Carter on the vengeance path. No one in this film gets a happy ending. When it's over, you feel as though you need to wipe the soot off yourself and go stand under a sun lamp. The British board of tourism would prefer you didn't watch this film. --Kristian St. Clair

Customer Reviews:

Cool Caine.......2007-05-31

This film along with the "The Long Good Friday" and more recently "Sexy Beast" remains the very best of British thrillers.

Caine is in magnetic form as Jack Carter. It certainly isn't a coincidence that the two main characters in UK TV series The Sweeney took half each of this characters name (Jack Regan/George Carter). Jack travels back up to north to investigate his brothers death and things spiral out of control from there. You will spot many well known faces amongst the cast including, Britt Ekland, Ian Hendry and Glynn Edwards (well known as the barman in the UK TV series Minder).

The film has some classic lines in it such as "you're a big man..." and is blessed with a wonderful music score by the Jazz Pianist Roy Budd. The main theme is a truly haunting piece.

This is highly recommended. The remake with Stallone on the other hand is a film to be avoided!

Caine Does A Great Gangster.......2007-04-09

Among English movies, 1971's "Get Carter" is always cited as near the top gangster/crime movies ever made. Based on Ted Lewis's ferocious book "Jack's Return Home,"it was adapted for the screen, and directed by the British Mike Hodges, who's got a gift for this kind of thing. The British best people the cast: Michael Caine in his prime, as Carter; backed by Terence Rigby, George Sewell, Bernard Hepton, Alun Armstrong, and Ian Hendry. Britt Ekland (Mrs. Peter Sellers to you) played the love interest. And well-known English playwright John Osborne plays Kinnear, an important supporting role.

The movie opens as Carter, enforcer/hit man for a London mob, who's carrying on with his boss's girlfriend (Ekland) learns his brother has died back home in Newcastle in circumstances Carter deems suspicious. Against the wishes of his boss (Rigby), he decides to head north to investigate. He travels upcountry on a very smoky train reading the American hard-boiled author Raymond Chandler's "Farewell My Lovely" as he goes. Once home, nothing and no one will dissuade him from finding the truth -- fast and furiously -- and then taking a very bloody revenge on all concerned.

"Get Carter" packs a lot in its less than two-hour length. It preserves, more accurately than any other movie known to me, a snapshot of the sour swinging England of the 70's. And it makes inspired use of the aging industrial city Newcastle. The rusted chimneys against the sky, the graffiti, the miles of streets lined with traditional 2-up, 2-down cottages, the tear-down-candidate pubs and betting parlors with primitive toilets out back. Add the constant overcast sky/rain; the grey menacing northern sea. The little touches are also important: a knitted purple tea cosy, and a chamber pot under the bed at the boarding house where Carter stays. The clumsy provincial kids at a dance hall. And then there's the just right jazz score.

But it's Caine's movie, of course, and the theory goes that gangster pictures depend totally on the power and energy of their stars: consider James Cagney, Edward G. Robinson, George Raft. Caine almost shoots sparks as a sexual predator in his phone sex scene: he achieves a double seduction; Ekland on the phone, his landlady in the room with him. His feral smile at a pub cat fight, and at the end of the picture, as he moves to avenge his brother's death, is bone-chilling. Yet he's able to cry at an important-to-the-plot porn movie.

As an actor, Caine, who was born a London cockney, has played gangsters as coldly menacing as they come, and maybe we're lucky he's strictly an actor. One of the smaller gangster roles here, Sid Fletcher, is played by a man called John Bindon, who was, in fact, a London gangster. British director Ken Loach first used Bindon to play a London villain in his now little-seen "Poor Cow"(1967). Bindon went on to work in a number of movies and tv shows, always playing a villain, until he decided working as the real thing paid better. After Bindon took part in a bloody Soho shootout, not even his British duchess girlfriend could save him. He died as a guest of Her Majesty: of AIDS in a none-too lovely jail cell. But Sir Michael Caine is still with us, no longer a pretty boy, to be sure; but he still adds something to every picture he makes.

Exceptional movie !.......2007-03-29

The creme de la creme of British gangster flicks encapsulating an undercurrent of evil and excess. Caine is excellent as the jaded Jack Carter travelling north to find out how his brother died , ably supported by a galaxy of great British TV and film actors.

Do not mention this in the same breath as the Stallone version - pure rubbish.

Artistic Action Movie.......2007-03-24

So there is this guy named Carter (Michael Caine) who works for the mob in London. He's not a nice guy, though he does seem to have a way with the ladies. He also has an aura about him that makes him unmistakably cool.

At the beginning of the film Carter learns that his brother has died under mysterious circumstances, so he journeys to the industrial town of Newcastle to figure out what's going on. During the course of his investigation he manages to anger his employers so he ends up taking on the whole world alone, much like a detective from a classic novel or film.

The movie has a slow pace, like many of the cop movies from the late sixties and early seventies. It's also shot rather artistically for an action film, so it's not for everyone, but if you're looking for a film with a cool, somewhat unlikeable protagonist who's out for revenge and will stop at nothing to get it, than this might be for you. It's very similar to the film "Payback," in that regard.

Gritty Crime Drama, British Style.......2007-02-11

At first I couldn't watch the movie itself because there were scratches on the DVD I rented. So I had to watch the commentary which means they have the movie going but the director and actor are being interviewed. I did see the entirety of the movie without disruptions and liked the movie.
Michael Caine plays Jack Carter, a gangster in London returns to Newcastle to bury his brother. At the bar where everyone gets together to pay their respects to his brother, his neice Doreen in tears, splashes wine at a fellow friend of her father's. She is at a loss over his death but it also tells us that there is something that is troubling her which makes Carter "investigate" how his brother actually died and where she ties into this.
Caine stands out in his performance as a gangster seeking revenge for his brother's death. As cunning and clever as Carter is, he is unaware of what's going to happen to him which makes the movie interesting to watch.

Average customer rating:

A Good Comedy Movie
So after the fox, after the fox, off to the hunt with chains and locks
After the Fox
After the Fox
Funny Sellers Farce

After the Fox
Starring: Martin Balsam , Lydia Brazzi , Tino Buazzelli , Maria Grazia Buccella , and Lando Buzzanca
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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The Party
What's New Pussycat
The Mouse That Roared [Region 99]
The World of Henry Orient
The Naked Truth

ASIN: B00005S8KU
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Description

This wildly funny farce gives the comic genius of Peter Sellers free reign as he assumes several wacky personalities, each one funnier than the last! Superb direction by Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief) and a sparkling original script by Neil Simon (The Goodbye Girl) make Afterthe Fox an absolute "must-see" (Leonard Maltin)! Millions of dollars' worth of gold bullion is on its way from Cairo to an unknown Italian destination. There is only one criminal mastermind capable of stealing it: Aldo Vanucci (Sellers), also known as "the Fox." Aldo devises the perfect plan to seize the gold: Posing as a flamboyant film director, he casts an aging, egotistical film star (Victor Mature) and his own voluptuous sister (Britt Ekland) in a fake film about a gold theft!But the action really heats up when the boat with the real gold arrives.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Comedy Movie.......2006-10-27

Aldo Vanucci sits in an Italian prison. His crime?, he is a thief, and a very good one at that. He's doing his time until his friends show up and share with him that things are not going too good at home. Furious, he vows to escape and even tells the precise time he plans to leave the heavily guarded prison. The day comes, and sure enough, "The Fox" as he is known as by his countrymen, makes a sophisticated (did I spell that right?) escape right under the noses of the prison guards. Free, he makes his way home, only to find his mother running a bingo parlor for her income. So Aldo devises a plan, a plan to steal a large shipment of gold known as THE GOLD OF CAIRO. He, along with his crooked buddies, steal motion picture equipment, and head to a small village where they plan on having the gold shipped in and then load it onto a truck. But, a huge ship coming into a small port will of course raise eyebrows, so Aldo disquises himself as a famous director, and goes throughout the village promising all of the citizens a part in his picture. Soon hordes of villagers show up and even the town's police chief gets in on the act. Aldo even finds a famous Italian actor (played superbly by Victor Mature), and lures him into believing the scam. But will he succeed? I'm not telling, you'll have to see the movie yourself. But I will tell you that if you enjoy a decent comedy, one with action, suspense, and superb cinematography, you'll want to own this fine movie. One of the comical aspects of the movie is how the police eliminate their list of high profile suspects. One of them, is having eye problems, he goes into rob what he thinks is a bank, but it's not, it's a police station. Another one is so fat that after he robs the bank, he cannot make it back out the door.
This can be a movie the whole family or someone by themselves can enjoy. Get the popcorn, and cola, (for me its Chocolate covered almonds and cola), sit back and enjoy this delightful film.

So after the fox, after the fox, off to the hunt with chains and locks.......2006-10-22

Latter films with Peter Sellers were minimal on story, but After the Fox is an incredibly funny film with wit and humor, gags and a really great cast. Sellers plays Aldo Venucci who takes on the task of smuggling the Gold of Cairo into Italy. This movie is terrific, written by Neil Simon and directed by Vittorrio DeSica, it's a parody of stereotypic italian pics with lots of scenes, scenarios and sight gags to keep you laughing. Music and title song written by Burt Bacharach. Victor Mature steals scene after scene as the over the hill Tony Powell who's refusing to give in to the reality of his age. Martin Balsam as his agent has quite a few funny scenes for being Mature's straight man and that's not taking anything away from Sellers or Tamaroff. One of the funniest scenes Sellers and Maria Gazia Buccella (whoa what a babe) meeting in an Italian restaurant and I won't say anything more. As film critic Mario Stavoli said "Bravo, bravo, it's brilliant, what depth, what meaning, I cried, I cried like a baby...."

After the Fox.......2006-08-28

1966 - Screenplay by Neil Simon, directed by Vittorio De Sica (The Bicycle Thief), starring Peter Sellers and Victor Mature.

In the first ten minutes, the Pink Panther formula is laid out, just waiting for Blake Edwards to come take it. It even has animation during the opening credits, with music by Burt Bacharach. Peter Sellers is the master thief rather than the bungling detective, the Fox is Italian, and there is no Cato in the cupboard. Otherwise, I can't think of a thing in the Pink Panther franchise that I didn't see here.

Victor Mature was excellent as an over-the-hill actor clinging to the delusion of youth. This is an overdone stock character, right? Not with the right actor. (No, I'm not thinking about William Shatner. Really.) Otherwise, Sellers carried this movie on his shoulders and he did it well.

After the Fox.......2005-12-01

I am a huge Peter Sellers fan, and this stands out in some ways as one of his greatest performances. Who else could, as an Englishman, play the role of an Italian who in one scene disguises himself as an American tourist, and speaks fake English?

Buy this and have a good laugh.

Funny Sellers Farce.......2005-10-11

"After the Fox" succeeds on so many levels. It is equal bits caper film, slapstick, and filmmaking satire. It also allows Peter Sellers' fertile comic mind to run free as a master criminal masquerading as an Italian neo-realist filmmaker. Good supporting turns are given here by Victor Mature as a vain American movie star and Martin Balsam as Mature's exasperated agent. Britt Ekland, Sellers' wife at the time, is good as Sellers' incorrigible sister. Director Vittorio De Sica makes good use of the Italian locales and peoples the film with authentic locals. I was surprised that this film was scripted by Neil Simon because alot of his work is topheavy with verbal gags but this film is equally weighted with the visual and verbal jokes. A wonderful entry in the Peter Sellers canon.

Average customer rating:

Still love it!
Come To The Asylum....To Get Killed!
Great Stuff
Classic Horror
One of the best horror anthologies from Amicus.

The Asylum
Starring: Peter Cushing , Britt Ekland , Herbert Lom , Patrick Magee , and Barry Morse
Director: Roy Ward Baker
Manufacturer: Dark Sky Films
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Horror | Genres | DVD | Video

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( A ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Beast Must Die
The House That Dripped Blood
Torture Garden [Region 99]
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Trilogy of Terror

ASIN: B000FC2GFK
Release Date: 2006-07-25

Amazon.com

One of the patients in an institution for the incurably insane was once its director, and a young psychiatrist (Robert Powell) has to figure out which one as they all tell him their stories. What better setting for a horror anthology? It's an inspired framing device, making this one of the better examples of the genre, even if screenwriter Robert Bloch at times resorts to gimmicks rather than invention. The first two stories are less than brilliant (the first is highlighted by dismembered body parts neatly wrapped in butcher paper wriggling back to life for revenge), but Charlotte Rampling and Britt Eklund are marvelous in the third tale, about a mentally unbalanced young woman and her dangerous best friend. Herbert Lom is also excellent in the final story as a scientist who carves an army of dolls he claims he can bring to life by sheer will power.Director Roy Ward Baker (Quatermas and the Pit) builds momentum with each story until the dark and deliciously bloody climax. This Amicus Studios production looks visually dull compared to Hammer's gothic gloss, but it features a great British cast (including Patrick Magee and Hammer stalwart Peter Cushing), and ultimately Baker makes that gloomy look work for his increasingly creepy production. Amicus produced a series of horror anthologies, including the original 1972 Tales from the Crypt and The Torture Garden (also scripted by Bloch). --Sean Axmaker

Description

When Dr. Martin (Robert Powell) arrives at the Dunsmoor Asylum for the incurably insane, he expects to be interviewed by asylum director Dr. Starr. Instead he is met by Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), who explains that Dr. Starr had suffered a mental breakdown and now is one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford decides that if Martin can deduce which one is really Dr. Starr, then he will be given the position. Is it Bonnie (Barbara Parkins), whose affair with a married man turns murderous? Is it Bruno (Barry Morse), a hardluck tailor visited by a mysterious stranger (Peter Cushing) with a blueprint and very special fabric for an unusual suit? Is it Barbara (Charlotte Rampling), accused of murdering her brother and her nurse but insisting that her friend Lucy (Britt Ekland) was responsible; Or is it Dr. Byron (Herbert Lom) who claims the ability to transfer collecting.

Customer Reviews:

Still love it!.......2007-03-09

Great movie, great delivery time, still entertaining! Not as scary as when I was in elementary. Very happy!

Come To The Asylum....To Get Killed!.......2006-11-19

Ah, remember the days of horror anthology films? I love this format. You really don't see much of it anymore, though Creepshow 3 is slated to come out sometime soon. This film is fun and from a good era for horror films. The film could have been longer with a few more stories, but, hey, what can you do? The script is done by horror writer Robert Bloch, so it's certainly a must if you're a fan of his. It's his style through and through. Very much in the way Creepshow was a total Stephen King showcase. Those familiar with horror films will have the twists and such figured out almost immediately, but what is surprising anymore, eh? It's still well done. A pretty cool cast is assembled here as well, which is certainly a who is who of British horror. The twenty minute featurette is the only thing here of real significance as far as features go. Amicus cofounder Max Rosenberg(who looks like he's about 110), Amicus(and Hammer) directors Freddie Francis and Roy Ward Baker are interviewed to talk a bit about working for Amicus. Pretty cool considering I've never seen Francis or Baker before. The Asylum probably won't win over alot of new fans and may not seem as original today as it did then, but it is a fun ride which is all we really ask of a horror film.

Great Stuff.......2006-11-09

Wow, this movie was fun. I never saw it before and, because I've been on a big Hammer and Amicus kick lately, took a chance on it. I was not disappointed.
Like other Amicus productions, what we get here are several horror stories in one, all centered on "incurably insane" patients in a British asylum. There are some great stars here that make it work oh so well, including Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange), Robert Powell (Tommy, Jesus of Nazareth), Herbert Lom (Phantom of the Opera-1962), Peter Cushing (Do I need name all of his great horror films?), Richard Todd (Stage Fright)Barry Morse (Gerard from the 1960s TV series classic The Fugitive), Geoffrey Bayldon (The House That Dripped Blood), the scrumptious Britt Ekland (The Wicker Man-1973), beautiful Charlotte Rampling (The Fury), and lovely Bonnie Parkins (The Mephisto Waltz).
The transfer from Dark Sky Films is fantastic; it looks like a brand new film. It's presented in anamorphic widescreen and looks great when played in a progressive scan DVD player on a HD television.
Looking forward to the upcoming release of "From Beyond the Grave" from Image. Never saw that one before, either, but am looking forward to buying it just the same.
I'm hopeful other Amicus classics, including "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors," "Tales from the Crypt (1972)," and "Vault of Horror" will be released on DVD soon. There are rumors abound that Vault and Tales will soon be released by 20th Century Fox in England, but that won't help those of us living in the states much. Dr. Terror was released in England on DVD, but never in the U.S. There is a demand for these films here. Let's get with it, whoever owns the rights.

Classic Horror.......2006-11-07

I originally saw this film in 1972 when it came out and it was intense. Usually, when I re-visit a film years later, I have a different response then when I first saw it. This one still got to me, so I checked the credits. It was written by Robert Bloch. That's why it still works.

One of the best horror anthologies from Amicus........2006-10-26

Asylum was directed by Roy Ward Baker and was written by Robert Bloch who also wrote Psycho and some other Amicus films, the film has four stories which are told by a different patient that lives in the Asylum and they are played by an all star british cast that you may recognize that includes Peter Cushing, Brit Aklend, Herbert Lom etc. This film has got to be the best anthology horror I have ever seen now it is not gory but it had one of the best format storylines, Amicus allways made these low budget horror films in the 70's and were trying to rival Hammer but usually there films turned out to be very bad and cheesy. The four stories are woven together with a clever framing device the story begins as a psychiatrist applying for a position at an English insane asylum and it seems like the previous director of the institution has gone mad and has become one of the patients. Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee) tells him that he must pass a test in order to be hired which is to find out who the director is and it all ends in a surprise I'm not going to ruin it.

The first story is about a young woman whose boyfriend cut his wife into little pieces and put the parts in the freezer but it soon turns out to be a tale of revenge when the pieces start moving, this part was very cheesy and hilarious but it still worked and was effective cause it was the best storyline.

The second story is about Bruno the tailor who is hired by Peter Cushing to design a magical suit for his son. It was a bit predictable but still great because of the performances from the actors.

The third story is about a woman named Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) who had been in a mental institute before, when she arrives back home she finds her friend played by Britt Eklend who causes alot of trouble by murdering people and might send Barbara back to the institute.

The final story is about Bryan (Herbert Lom) who makes little robot dolls which can be controlled by his mind and are able to do anything including murder. This one has a lot of twists and turns and it all concludes with the psychiatrist trying to figure out who the real director is. The film is not scary but still fun to watch and I highly recommend this great British horror film and two thumbs up!.

Average customer rating:

One for the ages
Simple Review

Love Scenes
Starring: Tiffany Bolling , Jack Carter , Britt Ekland , Monique Gabrielle , and Franc Luz
Director: Bud Townsend
Manufacturer: Private Screening
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000KHX7JY
Release Date: 2007-01-30

Description

Sexy `70s drive-in goddess Tiffany Bolling (of THE CANDY SNATCHERS, BONNIE'S KIDS and THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS fame) delivers the most revealing performance of her cult career in this erotic `80s late night cable classic. Bolling stars as Val Binnes, an acclaimed Hollywood actress nervously preparing for an uninhibited role in her husband's controversial new film. But once the cameras begin to roll, Val is shocked to find herself surrendering to a twisted spiral of illicit affairs and forbidden desires. In a town that throbs with adultery, voyeurism, Sapphic temptation and wanton orgies, where does reel passion end and real ecstasy begin? Legendary cinema sex symbols Julie Newmar, Britt Ekland and Monique Gabrielle co-star in this provocative drama - also known as ECSTASY and LOVE SECRETS - from Playboy Productions and the director of NIGHTMARE IN WAX, THE BEACH GIRLS and the infamous X-rated ALICE IN WONDERLAND.

Customer Reviews:

One for the ages.......2007-06-05

This is one of the best ever and i have seen quite a few so i know.This is the movie that true fans have dreamed of seeing sence it was show on MAX in 1985, i never dreamed this day would come but i am so glad it is here, i would says its right up there with House On Hotter Hill or Virtual Desire.

Simple Review.......2007-05-26

Good Movie with a realistic view of how a wife can seek attention from another man but in the end find that her true love is her husband.

Average customer rating:

The Original
This Version Should Win Any Straw Poll
MASTERPIECE!
The Wicker Man - 2006 vs. 1973 - It's No contest
The new double disc the one to own

The Wicker Man
Starring: Juliet Cadzow , Ian Campbell , Walter Carr , Diane Cilento , and Michael Cole
Director: Robin Hardy
Manufacturer: Anchor Bay
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000FUF6QS
Release Date: 2006-08-22

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