Midnight Express

Amazon.com

Forever embroiled in controversy, Midnight Express divides viewers into opposing camps: those who think it's one of the most intense real-life dramas ever made, and those who abhor its manipulative tactics and alteration of facts for the exploitative purpose of achieving a desired effect. That effect is powerfully achieved, regardless of how you may feel about director Alan Parker and Oscar®-winning screenwriter Oliver Stone's interpretation of the story of Billy Hayes. It was the American Hayes--played by the late Brad Davis in an unforgettable performance--who was caught smuggling two kilograms of hashish while attempting to board a flight from Istanbul, Turkey, in 1970. He was sentenced to four years in a hellish Turkish prison on a drug possession charge, but his sentence was later extended (though not by 30 years, as the film suggests), and Hayes endured unthinkable brutality and torture before his escape in 1975.

Unquestionably, this is a superbly crafted film, provoking a visceral response that's powerful enough to boil your blood. By the time Hayes erupts in an explosion of self-defensive violence, Parker and Stone have proven the power--and danger--of their skill. Their film is deeply manipulative, extremely xenophobic, and embellishes reality to heighten its calculated impact. Is that a crime? Not necessarily, and there's no doubt that Midnight Express is expertly directed and blessed with exceptional supporting performances (especially from John Hurt as a long-term prisoner). Still, it's obvious that strings are being pulled, and Parker, while applying his talent to a nefarious purpose, is a masterful puppeteer. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Great movie!.......2007-05-18

Fast shipment! This is one of my favorite movies! I was very excited to own it on DVD.

WOWer.......2007-05-13

This DVD was great to see again and came to me as promised. Very good DVD and in excellent shape. I cant say enough.

inspirational.......2007-02-22

I love this movie; it's a survivor's movie. The acting is great; I could feel the intensity of the rage and terror. Be careful, though, if you're disturbed by violence and abuse.

Midnight Express.......2007-02-03

This was a very good movie to see, even though it was made some time ago. I really enjoyed how survival became the force which gave this person the will to continue, not loose focus on his goal but to escape. If someone is looking to see a true story that will scare you straight, this might be the one to see.I hope who ever watches this movie from my review, that you enjoy this story as much as I did.

What Oliver Stone wants Oliver Stone gets..........2007-02-01

Stone won't make himself vulnerable to anyone or the facts, whether that means eliminating all JFK conspiracy theories other than his own or simplifying a story and people as he has done here in Midnight Express. Stone borrowed Billy Hayes' real story of being held in a Turkish prison for several years after being caught smuggling hashish, and hijacked it to devastating effect. [I focus on screenwriter Stone instead of director Parker because the substance of Hayes' original book was altered by Stone and Parker just created Stone's skewed vision]. Stone was successful in destroying the Turkish justice image in the minds of generations of Americans. Ask most any American [now thirty years after Stone made his movie] to picture a Turkish(or Islamic) prison or court room or justice system, and the one portrayed in Midnight Express is the one that is ingrained. Coincidence or not, it should be noted that this humiliating portrayal of Islamic justice came at a time of increased Hollywood output of negative Islamic images and favorable Israeli ones(the unprecedented and universally viewed miniseries Masada). To this day, Islam's portrayal in movies is considered horrendous by those who study it(Shaheen's 'Reel Bad Arabs').

Instead of having ANY sympathetic Muslim/Turkish characters, they ALL are beasts. It turns out the real Billy Hayes actually made friends with several Turkish inmates but accepting Stone's reality means accepting this truth as a lie. Constantly the Western inmates have more depth,..they play instruments, they sing, they constantly visibly show compassion that the Muslims lack, they even articulate in a courtroom why Western justice culture is superior to Islamic sense of justice. The Muslims in the film are stoic, opportunistic, hypocritical, and, well,..evil. They are portrayed as victims of their own culture, as the judge hangs his head down when Billy is castigating Islamic justice for its lack of mercy, and the judge seems sad when he replies that his hands are tied. There is no reaction or inquisitiveness in the faces of the Turkish prosecutor or the others - the viewer sees them as programmed by their culture. Just so the viewer isn't confused as to the root of what creates such a fiasco of justice, Stone purposefully puts Islamic prayer beads in the hands of reprehensible characters like the Turkish public defender, and makes sure that a mosque is the prominent structure occupying the frame as Billy is driven around the city by policemen. Likewise, he hangs Christian symbols on the victims in the film. The warden never attempted to rape Hayes, as the film depicts, nor did Hayes murder anyone. Stone's manufactured murder of the raping warden may have been an effort to implant the idea that the resolution the [mostly Christian] viewers should expect between their culture and the grotesque monster of Islam will take the form of a violent showdown.

The differences between the book and the film is evidence that Stone possibly used the powerful vehicle of a "true story" to instigate prejudice against Turks/Muslims. Billy Hayes, now 56 years old and living in LA, recently tried[in the Seattle Post] to correct Stone's portrayal of his book: "The message of 'Midnight Express' isn't 'Don't go to Turkey', it's 'Don't be an idiot like I was, and try to smuggle drugs." and, "I loved the movie, but I wish they'd shown some good Turks. You don't see a single one in the movie, and there were a lot of them, even in the prison. It created this impression that all Turks are like the people in 'Midnight Express.'"

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"Welcome To The Human Race"
Just imagine what could have been!
Why it's Captain Ron -- after one too many drinks at a West Hollywood leather bar.
Non-Fiction film that is great!!!
Pretty good

Escape From L.A.
Starring: Kurt Russell , A.J. Langer , Steve Buscemi , Georges Corraface , and Stacy Keach
Director: John Carpenter
Manufacturer: Paramount
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ASIN: 6305222886
Release Date: 1998-12-15

Amazon.com essential video

Kurt Russell reprises his role as Snake Plissken, of the near-future thriller Escape from New York, in this reworking of that film's basic premise. Instead of New York being a maximum-security prison, this time it's L.A., which through the agency of earthquakes has become an island of the damned. This penal colony is where the film's future rulers, something very like the Moral Majority, send those deemed guilty of "moral crimes." But something has gone wrong in this new moral order, because the President's daughter has absconded to L.A. with a detonation device, and Snake is commandeered to retrieve it. The film's dark dystopia, with its satrical elements taking aim at our dwindling freedoms, and the eclipsing of democracy by narrow interests, are more the subject this time. As a result the action suffers, and the plot devices are sometimes weak and predictable. But just below the surface there is a coiled Snake ready to strike. Steve Buscemi's performance as a weasely hawker of L.A. tour maps is a standout, and the presence of Peter Fonda and Pam Grier adds to the fun. In fact, just the sight of Fonda surfing down the flooded corridor of Sunset Boulevard is reason enough to check this movie out. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews:

"Welcome To The Human Race".......2007-09-10

They sure don't make 'em like this anymore -- that much can be said for this balls-to-the-wall, over-the-top sequel to John Carpenter's classic "Escape From New York." In "Escape From L.A.," the audience is reunited with loveable Snake Plissken, the eye-patch sporting, leather-clad war-hero made famous by Kurt Russell. Russell, together with Carpenter and his long-time collaborater, Debra Hill, wrote the script, so you can bet that not only is it a labor of love for all involved in the making of the movie, but also a fitting companion-piece to the original. If you haven't seen the original, don't fear. Like any good action sequel, this one does it's audience the favor of existing as a stand-alone feature as well.

The year is 2013. The constitution has been rewritten and the president is serving his life-long term. Red meat, along with other simple pleasures such as premarital sex, alcohol and any sort of fun has been outlawed. Those who can't comply or conform with this ultra-conservative new vision of The United States are banished to Los Angeles. Doesn't sound so bad, but unfortunately and conveniently, L.A. has been isolated from the country by a devastating earthquake and transformed into a prison camp, full of the dirtiest and uncivilized criminals and low-lifes. Universal Studios has been banished to the depths of the Pacific Ocean, and you can bet this ain't the happiest place on Earth. After being captured by the government and injected with a deadly virus for motivational purposes, Snake is dispatched to this wasteland to retreive a doomsday device, hijacked by the president's daughter, which has the power to revert Earth back to the dark ages. As our hero wades through the sewers, surfs tsunamis and plays a deadly game of basketball, he encounters some colorful characters along the way, played by the likes of Steve Buscemi, Bruce Campbell, Peter Fonda and Pam Grier. If you think these characters are bold and outlandish, just get a load of the action, which takes many liberties with the human imagination and stands out from much of the disposable fluff of it's time ("Independence Day," for one).

Since this is a John Carpenter film, you know two things: First, the music is going to be good. Composed by Carpenter himself, it's yet another classic score. Second, the movie looks gorgeous. There may be some dodgy special effects here and there, but for 1996, this is a pretty tight looking feature. It's far from a perfect film, but at the very least, it's an example of the best escapism movies have to offer. Kurt Russell is brilliant and doesn't miss a mark as Snake, and Carpenter's vision is that of confidence and bold imagination. Those who appreciate a good action flick that checks your brain at the door will find salvation in "Escape From L.A."

Just imagine what could have been!.......2007-09-08

I knew what I was getting into when I rented this film. Although I'm a devoted enthusiast of the likes of Fellini, Tarkovsky and Imamura (among others), when I see John Carpenter's name on the package, I know to turn my brain off and enjoy the fun. Besides, I'd seen this before: as a much younger "Escape From New York" fan eleven years ago, I remember the disappointment that I experienced when viewing this in the theater. But I chose to dust this off and give it another shot - after all, the projector broke down twice in the theater during my viewing, and perhaps I didn't comprehend the camp appeal of this movie in my late teens as well as I might now, right?

EFLA is still a gigantic disappointment - not only because it is certainly not a good film, but because it has so much going for it. There's actually a lot to enjoy here, even though these better elements are all horribly wasted on what amounts to a bloated, mediocre production. I'll examine what works before trudging through what doesn't, if only to cushion the critique.

The film's critical and commercial failure can't be blamed on the performances of its' cast, most of whom are brilliantly deadpan. Everyone here - Russell, Keach, Golino, Buscemi, Grier, Campbell, Corraface - deliver performances as spot-on as all of their respective fanbases would expect. Old Kurt is especially fun, reprising the role of the tough-as-nails Plissken, who's no less vicious or nihilistic despite being knee-deep in middle age. Although Snake's killer instinct and closeted decency are still intact, Russell also imbues the character with a certain resigned weariness this time around, though this hint of depth hardly slows him down. The only cast member who doesn't cut it is Henry Fonda, simply because he is here what he's always been: a terrible actor. I could care less if Fonda is iconic in the context of Californian culture. So are a lot of other people. Screen lead is screen lead, and whenever Fonda is onscreen, Russell's enormous presence is almost negated by Fonda's lack thereof.

I can't bring myself to criticize the film's script as fervently (albeit fairly) as many of the other Amazon reviewers, but I must admit that a plotline that wasn't just a retread of EFNY would have been nice. Of course, this is one of many reasons why EFLA falls short of its' potential. The dialogue is mostly clever, but the stupidity of many of the concepts implemented here can't be surmounted by good performances. I did not ever want to see Snake Plissken surf a tsunami wave, fly a hang glider or shoot hoops to save his life, and I'm sorry that I ever did. It's interesting that Russell trained so rigorously between takes in order to execute a full-court shot, but the greatness of Kurt doesn't make a dumb scene any less asinine. If this is the best that Carpenter, Hill and Russell could come up with, maybe they should have just shot another scene wherein Snake fights another beastly convict with a baseball bat and a trash can lid. The film's setting of a fundamentalist Christian American theocracy (which is as emasculating as it is repressive) is cleverly conceived and portrayed, but never in sufficient detail as the concept deserves.

So the performances are almost uniformly great and the script is flawed (albeit passable), but what really brings this project to its' knees is an overblown, incompetent production. Bad choreography and editing are highlighted by painfully flat, lifeless cinematography. Los Angeles looks entirely like a series of rather cheap sets because it is. In EFNY, the slums of St. Louis served as perfectly creepy, dismal backdrops representing the massive ghetto prison that New York had been transformed into. In EFLA, almost everything was very obviously shot on a set. It's not just that the atmosphere that EFNY had in excess is lacking here; it's missing entirely! The terrible (relatively) early CGI effects don't help matters. Considering the amount of money poured into the production, couldn't more models (especially miniatures) have been used? They surely would have looked more realistic.

To put this into perspective, let me provide some proof to support my theory that John Carpenter hasn't made a good film in almost twenty years because he doesn't know how to work with a large budget. The budget for "Escape From New York" was approximately $7 million (Carpenter estimated it at $5.5 million) and it went on to gross $50 million internationally, making it one of the most successful B-movies in film history. By contrast, the budget for "Escape From L.A." was $50 million and the film raked in $30 million worldwide.

So was the tedium of my first viewing experience over a decade ago really to be blamed on a faulty projector or my own lack of wit? Unfortunately, no: the blame is to be placed on the man who took what might have been a classic sequel and made it into a rather tiresome schlockfest: John Carpenter.

Why it's Captain Ron -- after one too many drinks at a West Hollywood leather bar........2007-09-03

"The United States is a no-smoking nation," announces Stacy Keach in John Carpenter's Escape From L.A., revealing what it will be like to live in right-wing America, circa 2013: "No smoking, no drinking, no drugs, no guns, no foul language, no red meat." And, on the basis of what we see here, no decent movies. In the crowded field of "Who Asked For This Anyway?" sequels, those so-awful-they're-funny follow-ups to hit flicks, like Texasville, Beyond the Poseidon Adventure, King Kong Lives and The Evening Star, Escape From L.A. stands tall as a shining beacon of Bad Moviedom. Time has not been kind to Snake, Kurt Russell's ultramanly Escape From New York antihero, conceived over 15 years ago in tribute to Clint Eastwood's sandpapery spaghetti Western loner. Today, decked out in long hair and an all-black skintight wardrobe with matching eye patch, mondo-butch Russell conjures up not Eastwood but his own Captain Ron--after one too many drinks at a West Hollywood leather bar.

Ordered by president Cliff Robertson onto the maximum-security prison island of Los Angeles to retrieve a doomsday machine in less than 10 hours or die, Russell sneers, "You'd better hope I don't make it back" (which is exactly what we were thinking on the way out of Escape From New York). He then sets off to track down evil terrorist George Corraface in the post-apocalyptic ruins of L.A. Captured briefly by baddies inside the Beverly Hills Hotel, now a plastic surgery house of horrors full of "surgical failures" whose implants and face-lifts have all "turned to Jell-O," Russell realizes that L.A. has become an island of the damned. But Valerie Golino, the tough cookie he has teamed up with, sees it differently: for her, L.A. is "the only free zone left, where a girl can still wear a fur coat if she wants to." It's an idea she's promptly shot dead for by a sniper--presumably a 21st century PETA activist.

You know you're watching a cheeseball classic when Russell glances down at his Special Countdown Watch to see that he has only seven more hours left to complete his mission and then, several minutes later, Stacy Keach informs Russell by walkie-talkie that he has only seven and a half hours left.

Things go seriously awry for Russell when he hitches a ride with Steve Buscemi, overacting as usual, this time as a Pee-wee Hermanesque slimeball who does dirty work for the highest bidder. Buscemi hits Russell with a poisonous dart gun and what happens next is so shocking that out-of-shape couch potatoes should stop reading right this second because it's their worst nightmare: Russell wakes up to find he's been shackled to a treadmill and is being aerobicized to death. When he mysteriously survives that ordeal, the villainous Corraface has him taken to a coliseum where he's forced to play a solo game of basketball in which he must score consecutive baskets or be machine-gunned down (an idea we think the NBA should take a look at). As luck would have it, Russell (who cowrote the script, mind you) plays basketball like no white guy you've ever seen.

Russell escapes his theoretically deadly workouts only to be shot in the leg by Buscemi. Just then, a tidal wave happens by and friendly stoner Peter Fonda teaches the bleeding Russell how to surf a tsunami. As Fonda puts it, "Bitchin'!" When Buscemi drives away in an open convertible, Russell actually rides the gigantic wave directly into the villain's front seat. Together they search down Russell's onetime male partner-in-crime, now a transsexual party doll living aboard the Queen Mary, played by Pam Grier (who must have quite a mortgage to feed to have taken this role). Not believing that his bud's now a she, Russell runs his hand up, up, up Grier's innermost thigh and pulls out--no! yes!--a loaded revolver (discuss meaning amongst yourselves).

There is, as they say, much more: the cast flying on hang gliders over a bankrupt faux-Disneyland (in the film's only good line, Buscemi explains, "That thing in Paris killed them"); a climactic shootout featuring animated gunfire even toddlers would snort at on a Saturday morning cartoon show; Corraface biting deeply into Russell's bloody wound (yum). It all ends, as you'd hoped, with Russell peevishly using the doomsday weapon to shut down every source of energy on the entire Earth. We're told that all the technology of the past is lost forever. Including, we hope, any machine capable of projecting a surviving print of this movie.

Non-Fiction film that is great!!!.......2007-08-05

Well if you have ever been to L.A. then you know it is a place to run from. Yep you saw what they did to old Reginal Denney down there after viewing what, ten seconds of a 34 minute film? Since then 'ol Rodney has been to prison but that was after two more DUI's and stuff. Anyways about the movie, it is a documentary that is complete with smog, smokey choke filled air and lots of gangs and violence.

Worst thing they ever did down there was take the guns away from the good people, but hey whatever. Compton and Watts are shown with a tantalizing high regard in all their trashy wonder.

Kurt Russell is Snake! Snake has to find a way out of this place because you know if the dinosaurs did not survive the Labrea Tar pits, and the Rams and Raiders left then you know it is just a bad place to be. Not a good place to be from and certainly not a good place to visit.

They should have a warning sign at the city limits that says "nothing to see here move along now people" hahaha.

Pretty good.......2007-07-20

Got it in good condition and watched it immediately. If you like cheesy, fun, action filled movies than this is the one for you. I personally bought it because its a classic. The kind you can have playing in the background of a house party or enjoy with a brew and some sci-fi buddies. If you enjoyed Evil Dead 1 and 2 and have watched EFNY, then you'll probably except what Carpenter did to LA.

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Down by Law
Hey Little Bird
Get something other than explosions and impossibly shallow writing!
Swamp Gas on The Low Side of The Road
An American classic

Down by Law - Criterion Collection
Starring: Vernel Bagneris , Ellen Barkin , Richard Boes , Nicoletta Braschi , and L.C. Drane
Director: Jim Jarmusch
Manufacturer: Criterion
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ASIN: B00005JKFX
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Amazon.com

After creating one of the breakthrough movies of the American independent cinema, Stranger than Paradise, Jim Jarmusch stayed right in the same minimalist, oddball, black-and-white groove. Down by Law takes place in Louisiana, where two losers (musicians Tom Waits and John Lurie) find themselves stuck in a jail cell together. One day they are joined by a boisterous Italian (Roberto Benigni), and the chemistry changes--suddenly an escape attempt is on the horizon. Conventional drama is not Jarmusch's intention; one of the emotional high points of this movie is the three guys marching around their prison cell shouting, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!" Yet the deadpan style creates its own humorous mood, underscored by melancholy (also underscored by the music of Lurie and the gravel-voiced songs of Waits). This was the first American film for Roberto Benigni, the Italian comedian (Life Is Beautiful), and he lights it up with his effervescent clowning. Jarmusch has said that Down by Law forms a loose trilogy with Stranger than Paradise and the subsequent Mystery Train, a triptych of disaffected, drifting life in the United States. Few filmmakers have ever surveyed ennui so entertainingly. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Down by Law.......2007-07-06

An oddball road movie with three of the quirkiest characters you're likely to encounter, "Law" is a hilariously deadpan portrayal of hipster cool on the skids. Waits is perfectly cast as Zack, a struggling record spinner with a gravelly voice like Wolfman Jack's, and long-faced New York musician Lurie is excellent as the scowling, caustic Jack. Of course, irrepressible Italian comedian Benigni steals virtually every scene he's in (which is pretty much the second half of the movie), but the three have a punchy rapport nevertheless. Watch for Ellen Barkin in her first screen appearance as Zack's fed-up girlfriend. Witty and melancholic, "Down By Law" is tailor-made for off-kilter tastes.

Hey Little Bird.......2007-03-23

Jarmusch's Down by Law opens with Tom Waits's seemingly nonsensical song "Jockey Full of Bourbon" playing in the background as the camera films various poor sections of New Orleans. However, while the song's lyrics might seem nothing more than a series of random phrases, it is quite fitting because they are a good representation of the absurdity of life and how chance circumstances can lead one on completely unexpected paths in life.

Filmed totally in black and white, which gives the already grim scenery an even grainier appearance, the film follows two characters, Zack (Tom Waits) and Jack (John Lurie), and the circumstances leading to their imprisonment. Both men set up by "friends" who seemingly had a bone to pick with them and while in prison they are introduced to a third fellow named Roberto who eventually helps them escape from prison.

While the above description is quite bare boned, it does sum up most of the film's "action" however, those who are familiar with Jarmusch's filmic work should be well aware that the minimalist director rarely, if ever, does anything overblown, but instead allows the humor of his films to seep through with dialogue and bantering amongst his characters. In fact much of the film takes place within the confines of a small jail cell. The music, by Tom Waits, is, as with almost every Jarmusch film, quite excellent.

While Down by Law might seem like nothing more than talking heads to some viewers, for those who enjoy simpler films that are stripped down to the bare essentials while still maintaining a great sense of humor, Down by Law is a great film to see.

Get something other than explosions and impossibly shallow writing!.......2007-02-18

This is a film that I never knew of but for the fact that at the time, I had a large satellite dish. Saw a bit of the movie on one of the hundreds of channels available. I had to see the whole thing. It's a good movie and written and directed by craftsmen not mainstream war mongering moguls. If you like this you must also get "Dead Man." One of the most brilliant pieces of cinematography that I have ever witnessed.

Swamp Gas on The Low Side of The Road.......2007-02-15

First, I 'd like to mention to the Waits fans here that the film that really charms with Tom is Cold Feet. Order immediately...it will put a big smile on your face...Tom is all over Cold Feet, charming, nuts, and real gone.
Back to Down By Law, I should preface by saying I'm completely in love in Ellen Barkin, and now that she's lightened her load, I'd be more than happy to let her throw my junk out the window. And speaking of that,, those shoes that Tom and Ellen fought over in the beginning..."No, baby, not the shoes", turned up on ebay years ago being sold by the the Starlight Childrens' Foundation...seems that they had already auctioned them and sold them, but no one picked them up, so a couple years later, they put them on ebay, and now they are under my bed. In color, they are crimson red on the inside...and size 10D. Well, they don't fit me. Down By Law is a fascinating romp, a film that lets time and place take over the plot, and characters fall in and out of their place. The DVD of this film by Criterion is the way to go...beautiful. Get Cold Feet on DVD...very cheap...very funny. Andre

An American classic.......2006-08-16

Jim Jarmusch has, up to the present date, done no wrong in his career. His films, all of which he's written himself, are on the same level of genius as Truffaut, in his ability to tell a realistic story, and Fellini, to fill said realistic story with all kinds of eccentric and memorable characters. Down By Law, his second full length film, is his undisputed masterpiece.

How I found out about this film was through being a fan of Tom Waits. Looking at his filmography on IMDB I stumbled across this film, it sounded promising, it's rating high (not that all films with great reputations are good,) so I decided to give it a shot - I was not disappointed.

Waits, Lurie and Benigni all turn in spectacular performances, full of life and subtle humor that makes the story of three escaped convicts not only highly enjoyable but fully heartwarming.

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An amazing success in filmmaking
Awesome movie
A "Best in Class"
Most powerful film on forgivness that I have ever seen
Wanted to give it 5 stars...

To End All Wars
Starring: Ciarán McMenamin , Robert Carlyle , Kiefer Sutherland , Mark Strong (II) , and Yugo Saso
Director: David L. Cunningham
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B00021R7BM
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Amazon.com

A Japanese P.O.W. camp during World War II becomes the battleground for the souls as well as the lives of its Scottish and British prisoners. Based on a true story, To End All Wars centers around Ernest Gordon (Ciaran McMenamin), a young soldier who wants to teach philosophy. When Gordon recovers from seeming death by illness, the other prisoners agree to become Grodon's pupils, studying Plato, Shakespeare, and the Bible. Gordon's superior officer, Ian Campbell (Robert Carlyle, Trainspotting, The Full Monty), scoffs at the increasingly pacificist bent of Gordon's teachings. Jim Reardon (Kiefer Sutherland, 24, Freeway), a lone American running a black market, is equally skeptical. But under the relentless brutality of the camp, the only way for the soldiers to survive is to find what gives their lives meaning. The strong performances of To End All Wars makes this moral conflict as vivid as any gun battle. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Kiefer Sutherland and Robert Carlyle star in this explosive war film based on an amazing true story. Captured by the Japanese, a group of courageous soldiers are forced to build the infamous "Railway of Death" between Thailand and Burma during the height

Customer Reviews:

An amazing success in filmmaking.......2007-07-20

Absolutely incredible. This is one of the most powerful movies I've ever seen...a story about justice, forgiveness, and hope. I felt like I knew each character personally, and I felt like I was in the prison camp with them---fantastic acting. The values that are presented and the questions that are asked have great significance in anyone's life, and it really makes you consider your own personal ethics and reasons for living. Absolutely one of my favorite movies the moment I was finished watching it.

Awesome movie.......2007-07-20

To End All Wars was an incredible movie from start to finish. You will empathize, cry and stand proud with this group of men. It is a story of friendship, bravery, sacrifice and love.

A "Best in Class".......2007-03-26

This is easily the best "prisoner of war" film I've ever seen. Indeed, it's one of the best films produced this decade in any category. To tag it as thought-provoking is an understatement (and when was the last time you watched a WWII POW camp flick that you would call thought-provoking?).

The film is strongly based on the true story of the Allied prisoners that were used by Japan as slave labor to build the 400 km "death railway" from Thailand to Burma. The conditions were intolerable and deadly.

Some of the prisoners reponded to their lot with hatred and bitterness. Some, and this is key to the film, sought out education and spiritual refreshment. Plato, Shakespeare, music, the Bible, and ethics are taught and learned. Oddly, neither Jesus nor the God of Christianity are ever specifically named, but the message regarding foregiveness, love and submission are overwhelmingly obvious to those familiar with the teachings of Jesus. The film characters are transformed by this philosophy, including the captors to some degree. This is not about religion, but rather how one lives one's life, especially under extreme adversity. An additional note on the "Jesus factor" . . . the character Dusty, played so well by Mark Strong, parallels the nature and circumstances of the biblical Jesus so well that during one climactic scene I realized that I was leaning forward in my seat with my jaw hanging open. Very, very powerful stuff (I won't give it away).

Do not be scared off at this point thinking that this is one of those "religious flicks". It is not. It's fairly gritty and realistic with Academy Award quality acting, directing, and all other production values. It is about war, hardship, duty and honor, good and evil, and cruelty and forgiveness, selfishness and self-sacrifice. There are violent scenes but I did not consider them gratuitous. And, unusual for an R-rated flick, the production team did not cook up some reason to include a woman without her shirt on. There is no nudity in the film (although after extended captivity, much of the POW clothing had become sparse rags).

Finally, special mention to the location and set. A very realistic look. As I mentioned above, all of the production values were top shelf.

Thoughtful, intelligent, and certainly entertaining. A great movie.

Most powerful film on forgivness that I have ever seen.......2007-01-09

After viewing a heart wrenching movie clip (or WingClips as it was watermarked) from this movie during a sermon at church, I had to see it. This movie is extremely powerful and truly a life changing experience. Excellent performance by Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Ciarán McMenamin.

Wanted to give it 5 stars..........2006-10-21

I wanted to give the movie version of To End All Wars 5 stars but...

There's a trend lately for faith-based entertainment to use elements such as swearing to "keep it real". Perhaps this is an effort to reach a broader audience. ...or out of defiance of what is typical of faith-based entertainment.

But once you've read Ernest Gordon's firsthand account (published under a few different names) you have proof that the same moving and powerful story can be told without the language.

For others concerned like we were as to WHICH words are used - it's basically the F word said repeatedly by one character 13+ times in a row in a moment of anger and then one time shortly after by another character. There are other words as well but never is God's name used in swearing (which is where we would've drawn the line).

Other than that, the movie is really gripping. There are some tense scenes with violence, but there are many excellent performances by the actors.

Hope this review is helpful!

Average customer rating:

Kirk Douglas plays a bad guy as does Henry Fonda
Good Early Seventies Western From Legends Douglas and Fonda
Stylish Western
I REMEMBER SEEING AND LIKING THIS MOVIE 30 YEARS AGO
Cynical, witty and murderous...a fine, jaundiced view of humanity

There Was a Crooked Man...
Starring: Kirk Douglas , Henry Fonda , Hume Cronyn , Warren Oates , and Burgess Meredith
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000HRLWWQ
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Amazon.com

Shelved for more than a year and released as an un-holiday-like afterthought at Christmas 1970, this sardonic comedy-cum-Western-cum-prison movie immediately dropped off the radar and has scarcely been heard of since. We can understand that. By their own admission, hotshot screenwriters David Newman and Robert Benton (just off Bonnie and Clyde) and veteran director Joe Mankiewicz (more typically associated with the likes of All About Eve) never found the right focus for their mix of sociopolitical satire, frontier bawdiness, and brutal Western action. Still, the very unevenness makes for fascinating tensions, and the myriad insights and moods created by a cast comprising Kirk Douglas, Henry Fonda, Hume Cronyn, John Randolph, Warren Oates, and Burgess Meredith more than repay a visit.

Douglas plays one of those charming bastards at which he excelled--here, Paris Pittman Jr., a bandit capable of seducing virtually anyone into doing his will. Pittman has a fortune in gold stashed somewhere. Inconveniently, he himself has been stashed in the territorial penitentiary in the middle of the desert, so he begins conniving to escape. This means betraying everyone in range, including the liberal-minded warden (Fonda) who's determined to redeem him. The stellar adversaries are ideally cast, with Fonda cannily subverting his own image (as he recently had in Leone's Once Upon a Time in the West). Cronyn and Randolph are priceless as "an old married couple," and Oates is heartbreaking as a congenital loner who thinks that, in Paris Pittman, he has at last found a friend. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

Arizona Territorial Prison inmate Paris Pittman is a schemer, a charmer and quite popular among his fellow convicts - especially with $500,000 in stolen loot hidden away and a plan to escape and recover it. New Warden Woodward Lopeman has other ideas about Pittman. Each man will have the tables turned on him. Academy Award? winner* Joseph L. Mankiewicz cleverly lassoes a twisting, turning Wild West tale of brawls, chases, shootouts and wry wit, courtesy of a script by David Newman and Robert Benton (Bonnie and Clyde). Kirk Douglas as Pittman and Henry Fonda as Lopeman headline a sterling cast, with Hume Cronyn, Burgess Meredith, Warren Oates and Lee Grant among the solid support. Boisterous yet blistering, lighthearted yet lacerating, There Was a Crooked Man is, throughout all its moods, delivishly entertaining.

DVD Features:
Featurette
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Kirk Douglas plays a bad guy as does Henry Fonda.......2007-06-09

Actually I thought that this was a different movie before I viewed it.
I confused this one with the movie 'Scalawag' also starring Kirk Douglas.
It's an ok movie. so if your a Kirk Douglas or Henry Fonda fan it's worth you while.

Good Early Seventies Western From Legends Douglas and Fonda.......2007-04-04

Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda are two of the Western genre's alltime greats, and seeing them together in a movie like this is always fascinating. Perhaps even more so in a early 70's Western with all of its characteristics, including rampant cynicism, blatant anti-heroism, and surprise endings.

There Was A Crooked Man features Douglas as a bank robber who has hidden his loot away, and then gets caught and sent to prison. In prison, he and the warden form a grudging respect for each other. The warden, played by Fonda, was a well known lawman who was wounded in the line of duty, and ended up taking a warden's job because he couldn't perform his old job anymore. Douglas begins to make friends with other inmates, including Warren Oates, who plays a convict with whom no one else wants to bother.

This film is cagey, and turns lots of traditional Western themes and philosophies on their ear. The performances are good, and the ending will please some, and infuriate others.

There Was A Crooked Man was definitely a Western for its time, and not a bad one at that.

Stylish Western.......2007-03-16

This is a quirky little western with a bevy of interesting characters and a style all it's own. Kirk Douglas is a convicted robber who tries to outwit warden Henry Fonda (and vice-versa) who knows Douglas has a large amount of money hidden in the desert.

This is one of those you love it or hate types of films. It is irreverent, slightly off center and, as I said , quirky. Even the inappropriately contemporary film score, usually out of place for a period western, seems, well, appropriate.

Odd? Yes. Enjoyable? Absolutely. Give it a try. I think you'll "love" it more than "hate" it.

I REMEMBER SEEING AND LIKING THIS MOVIE 30 YEARS AGO.......2007-01-21

So, I bought it, viewed it and realized that it was THE VILLAIN I saw/liked. This movie is
the personification of why studios shelve movies. A boring mush of wasted star power,
illogical , unfocused characterizations, plotting and irritating meaninglessness.

Now, to go buy THE VILLAIN and revisit a cynical, black-humored, hopefully funny
western of the Golden Seventies.

Cynical, witty and murderous...a fine, jaundiced view of humanity.......2007-01-04

How could someone not like a western full of genial and persuasive cynicism, full of improbable piety and stuffed with vivid characters, from the two leads, Kirk Douglas and Henry Fonda, down to just about everyone else. And look at the pedigree: Directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, who gave us All About Eve, Letter to Three Wives and that most elegant of cynical films, Five Fingers, and with a screenplay by David Newman and Robert Benton, just after their first effort, Bonnie and Clyde, made their bones for them in Hollywood. Well, the answer is, an awful lot of people didn't like it and even more ignored it...including the studio executives. There Was a Crooked Man was buried after it finally was released, with almost no marketing dollars devoted to it.

I think the studio had no idea what to do with the film. Not only is it a witty and cynical western, it has a climax which is mordantly violent and unexpectedly ruthless (especially if you weren't paying attention to a brief scene at the start of the film). Not just that, we wind up with one of the leads dead (snake bite to the throat, guaranteed to make you flinch) and the other...well, you may find yourself pondering just who is the crooked man all the fuss was about.

Me, I like the movie a lot. It's not perfect; it's too long; there are a couple of sub-themes that could have been established faster. Still, for an amusing, sardonic look at human nature, There Was a Crooked Man is hard to beat.

Paris Pitman, and don't forget the Jr., please (Kirk Douglas), is a charming, eye-glass wearing rogue. He could talk a coyote out of a chicken, one character says. He's a natural leader, smart and calculating. He's also a robber and a killer. He stole a whole lot of money and, we begin to notice, his gang one by one doesn't make it far. Paris does, but eventually is caught because of his fondness for easy women. Woodward Lopeman (Henry Fonda) is an upright lawman who doesn't drink, take bribes or, as far as we can tell, consort with easy women. The two meet at a desolate territorial prison set in the middle of nothing but desert scrub and blistering heat. Pitman is doing time for the robbery. However, he hid his loot before he was captured and he plans to find a way to escape. Lopeman is the new warden, determined to rehabilitate the prisoners when he can, and at least be fair to them when he can't. Before long Pitman has recruited his cellmates on a carefully organized breakout. They're an odd bunch, but Pitman has a role for each one. The Missouri Kid (Burgess Meredith) is an aged coot who a long time ago was a skilled bank robber. Dudley Whinner (Hume Cronyn) and Cyrus McNutt (John Randolph) are failed con artists, just a bickering old married couple with Whinner the shrewd one. Floyd Moon (Warren Oates) is a backstabber from way back who has never had a friend. He begins to think Paris is one. Coy Cavendish (Michael Blodgett) is a dumb but eager teen-ager who is scheduled to hang for inadvertently killing the father of the girl he was about to know too well. Ah-Ping (C. K. Yang) is a big, tough, silent Chinese who decides to follow Pitman.

We spend a lot of time in that sweltering prison observing how Lopeman tries to improve things and how Pitman step by step organizes the breakout. There will be explosions, misdirection, food fights with fried chicken and mashed potatoes, stolen dynamite...and deliberate killings, cold-blooded and murderous set-ups, and sacrifices those doing the sacrificing hadn't planned on. You can't help grinning at the cynicism or being a little revolted at some of the cold-blooded murders.

Pitman, of course, escapes and heads for the place he hid his loot, a natural cave with an opening just small enough to reach down and snag the bags stuffed with cash. Did I mentioned, Pitman chose the place because it was a nesting ground for rattlers. After we have experienced the cold-blooded cynicism of one of the two leads, it's nice to report that the movie ends with a satisfyingly bit of good-natured cynicism on the part of the other.

The DVD transfer looks just fine. There are a couple of extras with little interest. One is a featurette named On Location With There Was a Crooked Man. It seems to have been made at the time of the movie as a puff-piece promoting Michael Blodgett.

If you're a jaundiced observer of human nature, I think you'll enjoy this movie.

Average customer rating:

Boring
Only to be watched on MST3000!
Subterranean world below our feet...
Another time, Another place
One of the Top B-Movies

Alien from L.A.
Starring: Kathy Ireland , William R. Moses , Richard Haines , Don Michael Paul , and Thom Mathews
Director: Albert Pyun
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
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ASIN: B0000AM6IV
Release Date: 2003-10-07

Description

Supermodel Kathy Ireland stars in this wild and sexy fantasy-adventure as an L.A. loner stranded inthe underground'the real underground! A fast-paced and funny visual feast, this spoof of Jules Verne's Journey to the Center of the Earth is a nonstop trip to fun and excitement! Social misfit Wanda (Ireland) is devastated when her boyfriend dumps her because she "lacks a sense of adventure." To prove him wrong, she goes in search of her missing father and, before long, finds herself in a bizarre underground world where crazy subterranean creatures think she's a spy and want her dead! Thwarting them at every turn, Wanda discovers an inner strength she never knew she had. But if the denizens of the underground have their way, she'll never find her fatheror see the light of day in sunny Malibuagain!

Customer Reviews:

Boring.......2006-05-13

I remembered seeing this on Mystery Science Theater 3000 a long time ago, so I thought it might be interesting to get the original movie and see how it stands up.

It doesn't.

We start with Kathy hanging out on Malibu Beach (wearing a big oversized T-shirt), getting dumped by her boyfriend. Then she gets a letter informing her that her father (who she hasn't seen in 10 years) has been killed. He was an archaeologist working in Africa. He had a theory that Atlantis was a giant spaceship that sunk to the center of the Earth after a volcanic eruption. So, Kathy goes to Africa and ends up falling down the same bottomless pit her father fell into. (It's about 30 feet deep, all the way to the center of the Earth!). Anyhow, she finds Atlantis and the government puts a price on her head - they don't like "aliens" from the surface. So various people chase her around while a couple of guys she meets defend her.

Overall, this movie is just silly and boring. Imagine "Space Hunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone", except instead of being done for a teen audience it's done for an audience of nine year old kids. You can't take any of the action the least bit seriously because it's all done in such a silly way. Really, this would make a great double-bill with "The Goonies". What the heck is the point in hiring a supermodel to star in a film for little kids?

Overall, very disappointing. If you wanna see Kathy, but one of her exercise videos instead. They're much sexier than this silly thing.

Only to be watched on MST3000!.......2004-07-19

Awful awful movie, but Mystery Science Theater 3000 fans will recognize it fondly. Pass this disc up, and go for the MST3k treatment of it!!

Subterranean world below our feet..........2003-10-21

I really like Alien From L.A. Maybe It's because I like Kathy Ireland's sweet little voice? They used to show this often on HBO/Cinemax & Showtime in the early 1990's. It was a fun way to waste 90 minutes on a summer afternoon.

Sure, Alien From L.A. is a complete fantasy and way over the top but it has a certain charm to it that I really love. It often has that Roger Corman B-Movie "cult atmosphere" going for it. Personally I wouldn't change a thing about this movie. It is so much better than similar types of films released in the last few years.

Most people probably don't like this film because it seems so unrealistic and cheesy. I think that it was really meant to be satirical comedy, and only a limited percentage of viewers will actually "get" it. You don't have to really believe the things happening in the story could really happen...after all, it is only a fantasy movie!

As for the new DVD from MGM...They've done yet another admirable job on this release. It is in full-screen format, but that may possibly be it's original format. This is actually the way many movies are shot, some are later "matted" for theaters. The Picture quality and Dolby 2.0 Surround track are just about as good as could be hoped for on the DVD format. It is vastly superior to the old VHS video I used to have of Alien From L.A. THANK YOU MGM!!!!!!

Another time, Another place.......2002-01-19

Considering the high pitched voice of Kathy Ireland and a B-class plot line, this movie ranks amoung the top in my cheesey B-class movie collection. In another time, another place this was a great movie.

One of the Top B-Movies.......2001-12-16

If you like B-Movies, like Kathy Ireland or both then you will like this movie. Except for Wanda's (Kathy Ireland) high pitched voice, I thought it was kind of cute. It is a funny, science fiction adventure with a little romance thrown in.

Average customer rating:

Great Movie:-)
Boring. Slow. Silly. Full Of Holes.
SLOW MOVING AND PREDICTABLE
Rent don't buy. Movie about an anti-abortion serial killer
5 stars for madsen

Sacrifice
Starring: Michael Madsen , Bokeem Woodbine , Jamie Luner , Diane Farr , and Deborah Shelton
Director: Mark L. Lester
Manufacturer: Lions Gate
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00004WGBY
Release Date: 2000-11-28

Customer Reviews:

Great Movie:-).......2006-04-24

I have this movie both on VHS & DVD & I must tell you it is darn good...I don't know what these other viewers are complaining for, because this movie follows true to the book on these actually killings...I personally love Michael Madsen & this movie just goes to show you that he can play any role given to him...A must buy for any Michael Madsen fan & even if your not, it's still a GREAT MOVIE:0)...

Boring. Slow. Silly. Full Of Holes........2005-10-29

A bad story idea poorly executed. I do not know how the director managed to coax such a reasonable cast into performing in this inconsistency-laden yawn-fest but one may only assume that hard cash dollars were involved :) The story is so full of holes as to lead you to wonder what the hell is going on.. How does Jamie Luner's character, Naomi, manage to spend so much time with the escaped con, Tyler Pierce (played in lacklustre-style by Michael Madsen) when her other half has threatened to kill Pierce and has seen Pierce and Naomi plotting behind his back? Why does the Naomi character leave herself open to attack by the clinic nurse who is obviously involved in the killings? Why did none of the psychotic nurse's colleagues spot that it was obviously her local patients who were being killed? As shallow as a woodland grave, I'd steer well clear if I were you.

SLOW MOVING AND PREDICTABLE.......2004-12-11

SACRIFICE is another entry in the cache of director Mark L. Lester. Michael Madsen once again tries his Bruce Willis imitation, and although he's a little more effective than usual, his weak performance drags the film down a good bit. Bokeem Woodbine offers little in his role as the frustrated FBI agent; Jamie Luner is luminous but does some pretty stupid things in the movie; Deborah Shelton (Body Double, Dallas) portrays Masden's ex-wife and though I've always enjoyed both her beauty and skill, neither is evident in this whiny role. The movie is slow moving and little suspense is introduced or maintained. It could have a lot more impact with better performances and direction.

Rent don't buy. Movie about an anti-abortion serial killer.......2004-12-08

Jamie Luner sublimely transcends another bad movie. Otherwise,
there's nothing to recommend it. Summaries you may read are
inaccurate. For example: "The daughter of an ex-con
becomes the latest victim to a serial killer eluding the FBI. Her
father and boyfriend join together to track the killer." Wrong,
the boyfriend is hardly involved.
The story takes place entirely against the background
of abortion. There's some bad acting (the drug dealer in
particular) and characters act in unlikely ways. Why doesn't
Naomi yell out when she has the chance? Why does Namoi have so much free time?
Also, abortion clinics are usually very careful whom they
employ.

5 stars for madsen.......2000-12-15

This is flick is alright for two reasons: mr. madsen and the fact that it was filmed in my hometown.The film does strike an erie tone at the end when the killer tells (his or her) reasons for killing the victims, but it could have been better.The movie looks better than it should, but it needed a stronger story.not a bad film if you like the star.

Charlie Rose with William Rubin; Chris Rock; John Carpenter (September 9, 1996)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with William Rubin; Chris Rock; John Carpenter (September 9, 1996)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Description

First, William Rubin, director emeritus of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, on the work of artist Pablo Picasso. After, comedian and actor Chris Rock speaks about his career and serving as the sole presidential campaign correspondent for Comedy Central's Politically Incorrect. Finally, the filmmaker who revolutionized the horror genre over two decades of filmmaking, John Carpenter, talks about his newest film, Escape from L. A.

Average customer rating:

"Welcome To The Human Race"
Just imagine what could have been!
Why it's Captain Ron -- after one too many drinks at a West Hollywood leather bar.
Non-Fiction film that is great!!!
Pretty good

Escape from L.A. [Region 2]
Starring: Kurt Russell , A.J. Langer , Steve Buscemi , Georges Corraface , and Stacy Keach
Director: John Carpenter
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000059H22

Amazon.com essential video

Fifteen years after John Carpenter squandered a great idea on a mediocre movie (Escape from New York), he does it again--this time on the Left Coast. Kurt Russell is back as the terminally cynical one-eyed action hero Snake Plissken who, this time, has been coerced into saving the world in Los Angeles. It's 2013 and L.A. is now an island maximum security prison off the coast of California. Snake has 10 hours to find a doomsday weapon that's fallen into the hands of revolutionaries before he dies of a virus with which he's been injected. But the action is clumsy and unimaginative: lots of shootouts and very little suspense. Even the bad guys aren't particularly inventive; only Pam Grier, as a transsexual gang leader, strikes any sparks. Russell growls his way through the role but can only blame himself: He cowrote the script with Carpenter. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

"Welcome To The Human Race".......2007-09-10