Duel (Collector's Edition)

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This is the TV movie that put Steven Spielberg on the map, shortly before he made The Sugarland Express. Working from a script by Richard Matheson, the film stars Dennis Weaver as a mild-mannered traveling salesman who unintentionally angers the driver of a semi truck. Suddenly, the truck is not only riding his tail but trying to run him off the road. No matter what he does (pulling over, stopping at a diner, calling the cops), he can't get rid of it. Spielberg makes the wise decision of never showing the driver, even as he cranks the voltage on the film's suspense elements. As a result, the truck itself takes on an air of satanic menace--even a personality of sorts--as it seems to hunt its human prey. Spielberg made a lot out of a little, suggesting just how skilled a storyteller he would become. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Chase Visa.......2007-07-15

At first i thought Steven Speilberg's Duel was a simple story of a guy on the road who angers another man and that man is going to terrorize him, and it is. Then again never putting a face on the driver is a great move, it doesn't make the man and the truck human it's just this thing relentlessly chasing us, when you remember the movie you don't remember this specific guy chasing another you remember this thing coming after you. That truck could symbolize anything we've been pursued by or feel unable to escape from be it credit cards, secrets, guilt or anything else you could think of, and for David Mann it could be guilt. In an earlier phone conversation with his wife we learn that the night before David and his wife went to a party and another man was very disrespectful to his wife and David did nothing, which angered the wife and caused a fight. Now here is this truck that is terrorizing him and David tries and thinks of every way possible to avoid confrontation and tries to rationalize what he did even though this guy is trying to kill him, but unlike the man at the party and I'm sure other times in David's life he is being forced to face his problems and isn't allowed a way out.
For all we know maybe after that fight with his wife and feeling emasculated David could've gone to bed and we are witnessing his dream.
The movie is interactive i challenge anyone to watch this with a group of friends at their house preferably with drinking involved and not talk to the screen. We've all been in little altercations on the road and we all have an opinion on what David should do, i myself was annoyed with David many times.
Duel is also ranked 67th on Bravo channel's The 100 Scariest Movie Moments, which was a great show.
THE DVD: The transfer looked great and the DTS 5.1 soundtrack gave my Sonus Faber speakers a good work out.
Thanks for reading and share any thoughts you have.

Close Encounters Of The Deisel Kind.......2007-07-15

I first saw this movie as a 7 year old, and somehow retained some subconscious connection to it, for 35 years later, I still cannot stop watching it. The plot sounds like a 6 year old thought of the story, the pace is plodding, the dialogue is non existent, yet there is something primival about this movie that draws you in and holds you until the very end. My daughter is 7, and almost without fail, every Saturday night for the past 2 months, we curl up on the couch with some snacks and watch "Duel."

Duel.......2007-07-03

Spielberg's first full length film was for television, but never mind-it's still a grabber. Absent his later big Hollywood budgets, the director's special knack for building tension is still evident, resulting in a spare, ingenious thriller. Weaver is excellent as the rattled David. For God's sake, Dave- stay off the road!

Less is more - let's have more like this please Steven!.......2007-06-22

So here's an irony: Thirty-five years on, the movie audience which Spielberg's later work helped to capture - multiplex consumers of overblown CGI, gross-out, slapstick, and ever-greater explosions - may not "get" this one at all (e.g. see some of its other reviewers here). For anybody else - and this is most certainly not "art-house" either, don't be put off - here's an astounding, must-see thriller. OK, so it's a wannabe western, or Hitchcock (or Beowulf, or Alien, or High Noon) on wheels: None of that detracts from its great premise, which is delivered utterly without frills.

So many reasons to see this:

Spielberg is SO good at doing minimal (seriously, Steve, about time to get back to some of that?): Pared-down music, only natural-sound detail; no human baddie, just a perfectly cast truck as the anthropomorphised "killer". Even the shattering finale is captured on ordinary live film, albeit in one of the most awe-inspiring shots ever taken.

Great raw material: OK, so of course the script dates just a bit, with what dialogue there is sounding TV-ish and a wee bit cheesy to the modern ear; and kids now seeing this film might snigger at the personal styling details and plot's obvious reliance on predating mobile phones; but hey... We're right there for Mann (Dennis Weaver) from the very start, as it's vital that we have to be, because his story is so discreetly and elegantly constructed.

And as a piece of performance: Not just by Weaver, who's entirely credible as the put-upon everyman reluctantly forced to find his inner warrior. The film works because it sustains a gut-wrenching kinetic energy that few others ever reach (woeful comparison with, for example, the new Pirates III, which for all its frantic rushing about, quite fails to draw its audience into the action). DUEL is all the more impressive because the whole movie is shot "for real" - perhaps partly because the frantic pace of its actual production (see below) seems to rub off onto the screen. That it works at all is largely because it's propelled by uncannily perfect pacing of the long road sequences, which (as Spielberg acknowledges) only happens when you perfectly combine the ingredients: obsessive planning of sequences; unobtrusively brilliant stunt driving; then-new moving camera techniques (including a contribution from Bullitt's road unit); and laser-sharp editing. That's not to overlook the out-of-car scenes, which have a gloriously welcome fingernails-down-the-blackboard inner screech of Hitchcockian suspense - best of all in the diner scene ("which one is him?"), complete with some hilariously dark 'red herring' moments; the snake farm; and the old couple who (with pitch-perfect Buchan / Hitchock irony) mistake Mann for an attacker.

Visuals: It's clear from the first frame that, as Fats Waller put it, "the gods are in the house". Details are pin-sharp, not just as to focal clarity, but in their layering up the metaphorical landscape of the story, with every single shot both perfectly framed and constantly informing character and/or building pace; and that's a lot of shots, often complex and kinetic ones. And all set in a serenely beautiful landscape, mocking the petty anxieties and feuds of the men and machines scuttling across it. All the more surprising therefore to find in the bonus material that DUEL was made in less than a month: just 13 days' shooting, including the 3 days of (ultimately unused) "spare plate" shots insisted on by the studio.

This DVD edition is deeply satisfying both for the transfer quality of the movie itself and for a joyous Spielberg interview. Refreshingly modest and candid, the director reveals his debt to a quick-witted PA, to his production team and actors, and how great achievement springs from being young and hungry. It's amusing by-the-by to see Spielberg look back on this period of coming to terms with the public impact of his own virtuosity, coming to realise how a seemingly minor movie shot in 13 days can outgrow its origins to signal his big breakthrough. (Among all the fascinating stuff about how to get a 50-mph lorry to go at 100 mph, he also, touchingly, points out a couple of minor rookie mistakes you might not otherwise have noticed.) Musing on the cultural impact that his astonishing debut piece had, stumbling upon a global audience, he notes that what started as simply a domestic "TV ratings Titanic" became, internationally, a bigger but quite different phenomenon: "Here I was making a roadkill tribute to High Noon and Hitchcock, then the Europeans were reading in all this esoteric abstract symbolism about class warfare in America". It also, so he says, earned him the instant and lasting respect of Fellini (cue archive photo to prove this!).

Hey look, this film is basically an hour of a geeky guy in a little red car being chased up and down the mountain by one helluva scary truck. You can find much more if you want to look for it - Dostoevsky stuff about man and machines, or the 20th century post-feminist crisis of male identity, or the jurisprudential question of whether we need to be able to attribute a motive to evildoing, etc - but, for me, what nails the simple greatness of this piece is that WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS in the end. On that level alone, it won't disappoint.

Ultimate proof that Spielberg was born to make movies.......2007-06-10

Spielberg's DUEL is one of the best Hitchcock movies that Hitchcock did not actually make. And the best thing about it is that Spielberg doesn't overindulge in that massive pile-up of Hitchcock references that Brian DePalma employs - often to the point of parody. A great movie, affordably priced on DVD, and a wonderful warm-up for JAWS. Just when you thought it was safe to drive on the highway. . .

Average customer rating:

A complex, moving depiction of faith, Christianity, and humanity...
I Love This Movie
A great work indeed
Psychopathy in Action
Great film, beware defective DVDs

The Apostle
Starring: Todd Allen , Brother Paul Bagget , Lenore Banks , John Beasley , and Mary Lynette Braxton
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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ASIN: B00007ELF1
Release Date: 2002-11-05

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Written, directed, and personally financed by Robert Duvall, The Apostle was the culmination of a 14-year effort on the part of its creator, who also stars as the dynamic, God-fearing Texas preacher Euliss "Sonny" Dewey. Vibrantly authentic with its use of real gospel preachers and extras carefully selected from parishes of the deep South, the film treats its complicated characters with the kind of compassion and moral complexity mainstream Hollywood wouldn't dare muster. This is especially true in the case of Sonny, who responds to his wife's infidelity with a crime of passion that sends him on a new and uncharted quest for redemption. Under the assumed identity of "The Apostle E.F.," he settles in a tiny Louisiana town to revive an old church, where he undergoes a transformation of spirit and purpose that enlivens his community. But will the law catch up to him? Does he deserve to be punished? Fueled by Duvall's powerhouse performance, The Apostle refuses to praise or condemn its fascinating central character, leaving the proper degree of forgiveness up to the viewer. Further graced with superb performances by Farrah Fawcett, Miranda Richardson, and Billy Bob Thornton, the film is clearly Duvall's labor of love. The Collector's Edition DVD features a full-length commentary by Duvall and The Journey of the Apostle, a documentary featurette about the making of the film. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

A complex, moving depiction of faith, Christianity, and humanity..........2007-09-01

I really liked this film. This film offers something much more than the usual "southern people are inbreeders, racists, and homophobes". It shows a complicated man, played by Robert Duvall, who is not a perfect man, but who is in fact, well, he did something that's a felon, we'll say. But here he is desperately trying to redeem himself and that of his small flock in a small town in Louisiana. This is a really wonderful, sincere, and at times, spellbinding film, one that shows a much more nuanced, complex, and quite moving portrayal of the deep South, something that Hollywood never offers. Films that show the complexities of faith really scare Hollywood and the left, as they dismiss anyone of the Chrisitian faith as a right winger hater. While many calling themselves Christians (preachers of the ilk of Falwell and James Dobson) embrace the "god hates fags and abortions" line (and ignore everything else in the gospel), they do so simply to attain political power more than anything else, and have no real desire to help their fellow man spiritually. Duvall's character here isn't like that at all. He is a man who truly wants to be delivered and saved, and that makes a lot of people who dismiss faith very uncomfortable. I really loved this film, as it makes you feel and think, an excellent combination. Duvall should be commended for this film, as he financed it completely on his own, and it's one of his best films.

I Love This Movie.......2007-08-09

It is true that this movie is a brutal and honest look at the men who serve God. They are no different from non-clergy. They have emotions, lusts, demons, nightmares, desires just like everyone else. But the movie absolutely brings it all together in one powerful depiction of a preacher's bitterness, anger, and ultimately his redemption. This movie also crosses racial divides by showing the South as it truly is - honest and hardworking people that really do love one another regardless of race. Of course, there are those few bigots that can be found anywhere in the country and Billy Bob Thornton plays a part about this in a scene from the movie. What follows is truly a miracle and brings tears to my eyes even now. I will remember this movie for a very long time. Powerful stuff.

A great work indeed.......2007-06-06

Robert Duval, the cast, and crew all do a great job and make The Apostile the best of the flawed preacher films. Robert Duvals Apostile E,F. is realer and more beleavable than Burt Lancasters Elmer Gantry. I like this style of peaching better than the cold stoic kind.

Psychopathy in Action.......2007-05-08

I don't think I've ever seen a clearer portrayal of the charismatic psychopath than Robert Duvall playing the part of Euliss "Sonny" Dewey. Do not think that psychopaths are mad-dog killers - only very few are and they could be considered "unsuccessful" psychopaths.

Some people think that psychopathy is the result of some attachment or bonding difficulty as an infant but psychopathy expert, Dr. Robert Hare, has turned the idea around. After all his years digging into the background of psychopaths. He says:

"In some children the very failure to bond is a symptom of psychopathy. It is likely that these children lack the capacity to bond readily, and that their lack of attachment is largely the result, not the cause, of psychopathy." Without Conscience: The Disturbing World of the Psychopaths Among Us

In other words: they are born that way and you can't fix them.

The differences in how psychopathy manifests does have to do with family background, however. How one is raised determines how the psychopath expresses himself in life.

A psychopath who grows up in a stable family and has access to positive social and educational resources might become a white-collar criminal, or perhaps a somewhat shady entrepreneur, preacher, politician, lawyer, judge, or other professional. Another individual with the same traits, and a deprived background might become a common con-artist, a drifter, mercenary, or violent criminal.

A psychopath born into a very religious background, having the early experiences with evangelism that are depicted in the movie, would very likely grow up to be exactly as Sonny is portrayed.

The point is, social factors and parenting practices only shape the expression of the disorder, but have no effect on the individual's inability to feel empathy or to develop a conscience.

As psychologist Martha StoutThe Sociopath Next Door has pointed out so eloquently, psychopaths seem to be born without a conscience. Conscience seems to depend on the ability to imagine consequences. But most "consequences" relate to pain in some way, and psychopaths really don't understand pain in the emotional sense. They understand frustration of not getting what they want, and to them, that is pain. But the fact seems to be that they act based solely on a sort of Game Theory evaluation of a situation: what will they get out of it, and what will it cost? And these "costs" do not seem to factor in being humiliated, causing pain to others, sabotaging the future, or any of the other possibilities that normal people consider when making a choice.

All of these issues are depicted in this movie: Sonny is traveling most of the time and often cheats on his wife, but considers himself to be basically a "good guy." His mother falls on the floor in a weak spell and he just walks out the door and says he'll see her in a few weeks. His barely controlled aggression against his wife when he discovers that she is cheating while he's on the road (also cheating, as he admits), and later when they discuss the break-up of their marriage, finally culminating in a violent break-out where he scares the bejeebies out of everybody by going berserk at a kid's softball game, inflicting a fatal injury on his wife's boyfriend, are all clues to the seething selfishness that drives Sonny.

Sonny also exhibits what psychopaths DO have that is truly outstanding: an ability to give their undivided attention to something that interests them intensely right now or in terms of setting up a situation where they have power and authority over others. Some clinicians have compared this to the concentration with which a predator stalks his prey. This quality is abundantly evident in Sonny's drive to preach, to "have a church," and the work he is willing to put into acquiring that status.

The qualities of the psychopath are also on display in Sonny's talents as a preacher with a mastery of hypnotic techniques. Psychopaths are naturally interesting as all get out - even exciting! They exude a captivating energy that keeps their listeners on the edge of their seats (and they talk a LOT!). Even if some part of the normal person is shocked or repelled by what the psychopath says or does, they are like the mouse hypnotized by the torturing cat. Even if they have the chance to run away, they don't. This is evident in the movie in Toosie's fascination for Sonny even though she is also repelled by him.

Many Psychopaths "make their living" by using charm, deceit, and manipulation to gain the confidence of their victims. You see that clearly when Sonny travels to Bayou Boutte and tells an out and out lie to Rev. Blackwell that "God sent me to fellowship with you." The viewer knows that he learned about Rev. Blackwell from his cousin whom Sonny met while on the run from his criminally violent behavior. In fact, this scene is the dead giveaway that we are watching a psychopath in action. With all his praying, self-baptizing, Bible reading and thumping, and assorted other self-righteous activities, Sonny sits there and tells a bald-faced lie to another minister and ascribes it to God. (Well, he probably convinced him that it WAS God, that this was how God directed him, but that's really stretching it.)

The fact is, many psychopaths can be found in white collar professions where they are aided in their evil by the fact that most people expect certain classes of people to be trustworthy because of their social or professional credentials. Preachers, lawyers, doctors, teachers, politicians, psychiatrists and psychologists, generally do not have to earn our trust because they have it by virtue of their positions. But the fact is: psychopaths are found in such lofty spheres also, and more often than most people suppose!

At the same time, psychopaths are good imposters. They have absolutely no hesitation about forging and brazenly using impressive credentials to adopt professional roles that bring prestige and power. They pick professions in which the requisite skills are easy to fake, the jargon is easy to learn, and the credentials are unlikely to be thoroughly checked. Psychopaths find it extremely easy to pose as financial consultants, ministers, psychological counselors and psychologists. It may even be due to the fact that the science of psychology is infested with psychopaths that truly helpful research on psychopathy is never funded despite the fact that psychopaths cause more damage to society than any other psychological problem. This film is an example of that very sort of damage. Multiplied millions of U.S. citizens are subjected to this kind of hypnosis/evangelism which twists and warps their minds.

Another clue to the reality of Sonny Dewey is that psychopaths make their way by conning people into doing things for them; obtaining money for them, prestige, power, or even standing up for them when others try to expose them. That's what they do and they do it very well as Sonny demonstrates with just about everyone he comes in contact with. What's more, the job is very easy because most people are gullible with an unshakable belief in the inherent goodness of man.

Manipulation is the key to the psychopath's conquests. They will feign false emotions to create empathy, and many of them study the tricks that can be employed by the empathy technique. Psychopaths are often able to incite pity from people because they seem like "lost souls" as Guggenbuhl-Craig writes. So the pity factor is one reason why victims often fall for these "poor" people.

Hare cites a famous case where a psychopath was "Man of the Year" and president of the Chamber of Commerce in his small town. (Remember that John Wayne Gacy was running for Jaycee President at the very time of his first murder conviction!) The man in question had claimed to have a Ph.D. from Berkeley. He ran for a position on the school board which he then planned to parlay into a position on the county commission which paid more.

At some point, a local reporter suddenly had the idea to check up on the guy - to see if his credentials were real. What the reporter found out was that the only thing that was true about this up and coming politician's "faked bio" was the place and date of birth. Everything else was fictitious. Not only was the man a complete impostor, he had a long history of antisocial behavior, fraud, impersonation, and imprisonment. His only contact with a university was a series of extension courses by mail that he took while in Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. What is even more amazing is the fact that before he was a con-man, he was a "con-boy." For two decades he had dodged his way across America one step ahead of those he had hoodwinked. Along the way he had married three women and had four children, and he didn't even know what had happened to them.

When he was exposed, he was completely unconcerned. "These trusting people will stand behind me. A good liar is a good judge of people," he said. Amazingly, he was right. Far from being outraged at the fact that they had all been completely deceived and lied to from top to bottom, the local community he had conned so completely to accrue benefits and honors to himself that he had not earned, rushed to his support!

And it wasn't just "token support." The local Republican party chairman wrote about him: "I assess his genuineness, integrity, and devotion to duty to rank right alongside of President Abraham Lincoln." As Hare dryly notes, this dimwit was easily swayed by words, and was blind to facts.

This has been observed in many psychopathy cases; more often than not, and it tends to make one shake their head in wonder at how many people seem to WANT to be duped, to be made fools of. What kind of psychological weaknesses drive people to prefer lies over truth?

The kinds of people that are susceptible to hypnotic evangelists such as Sonny Dewey and become mind-controlled members of those kinds of fanatical religions.

This may have something to do with what is called Cognitive Dissonance. Leon Festinger developed the theory of Cognitive Dissonance in the 50's when he apparently stumbled onto a UFO cult in the Midwest. They were prophesying a coming world cataclysm and "alien rapture." When no one was raptured and no cataclysm he studied the believers response, and detailed it in his book "WHEN PROPHECY FAILS (A social and psychological study of a modern group that predicted the destruction of the world)." Festinger observed:

"A man with a conviction is a hard man to change. Tell him you disagree and he turns away. Show him facts or figures and he questions your sources. Appeal to logic and he fails to see your point.

"We have all experienced the futility of trying to change a strong conviction, especially if the convinced person has some investment in his belief. We are familiar with the variety of ingenious defenses with which people protect their convictions, managing to keep them unscathed through the most devastating attacks.

"But man's resourcefulness goes beyond simply protecting a belief. Suppose an individual believes something with his whole heart; suppose further that he has a commitment to this belief, that he has taken irrevocable actions because of it; finally, suppose that he is presented with evidence, unequivocal and undeniable evidence, that his belief is wrong: what will happen? The individual will frequently emerge, not only unshaken, but even more convinced of the truth of his beliefs than ever before. Indeed, he may even show a new fervor about convincing and converting other people to his view."

Psychopaths just have what it takes to defraud and bilk others: they can be fast talkers, they can be charming, they can be self-assured and at ease in social situations; they are cool under pressure, unfazed by the possibility of being found out, and totally ruthless. And even when they are exposed, they can carry on as if nothing has happened, often making their accusers the targets of accusations of being victimized by THEM. (Witness how Sonny blames his wife and her lover for taking everything away from him instead of taking responsibility for his philandering, lies and callousness.)

In the book Violent Attachments, women and men have noted the particular stare of the psychopath - it is an intense, relentless gaze that seems to predict his destruction of his victim or target. Women, in particular, have reported this stare, which is related to the "predatorial" (reptilian) gaze; it is as if the psychopath is directing all of his intensity toward you through his eyes, a sensation that one woman reported as a feeling of "being eaten." They tend to invade peoples' space either by their sudden intrusions or intimidating look-overs (which some women confuse for sexuality.)

The callous use of the old, the lonely, the vulnerable, the disenfranchised, the marginalized, is a trademark of the psychopath and the traveling preacher. When any of the victims wake up to what is happening, they are generally too embarrassed to complain. And those are the kinds of people attracted to this brand of fanatical Christianity promulgated by psychopaths.

One of the chief ways psychopaths prey on others is to make use of the normal person's need to find meaning or purpose in life. They will pose as preachers, grief counselors, or "experts" of various sorts that attract followings of people who are looking for answers. They are masters of recognizing "hang-ups" and self-doubts that most people have, and they will brazenly pander to them to gain a follower to use later.

This is what Sonny was doing, and doing masterfully with the character played by Billy-Bob Thornton.

At the present moment in history, the appeal of the psychopath has never been greater. Movies about psychopaths are all the rage. Hare asks "Why? What accounts for the terrific power that the personality without conscience has over our collective imagination? One theorist proposes that people who admire, believe, or identify with psychopaths, are partly psychopathic themselves. By interacting with a psychopath, even peripherally, they are able to voyeuristically enjoy an inner state not dominated by the constraints of morality such as the kind of ecstatic behavior that is generated and encouraged in such churches. Such people are enabled to enjoy aggressive and sexual pleasures under the guise of "morally correct" behavior.

For normal people, such movies may serve to remind them of the danger and destructiveness of the psychopath. They will shiver with the sense of something cold and dark having breathed on their neck. For others, people with poorly developed inner selves, such movies and glorification of psychopathic behavior only serves as a role model for serious acts of violence and predation against others.

Over and over again we come up against the problem of religion and belief systems that have to be defended against objective evidence or the beliefs of others. We have to ask ourselves "where did these belief systems come from that so evidentially are catastrophic?" And then, we have to think about the fact that now, in the present day, when many of these systems are breaking down and being replaced by others that similarly divert our attention, it becomes necessary to "enforce" a certain mode of thinking. And that is what Psychopaths do best.

Psychopaths dominate and set the standard for behavior in our society. We live in a world based on a psychopathic, energy stealing food chain, because that's just the way things are. Most people are so damaged they no longer have the capacity to even imagine a different system based on a symbiotic network that celebrates creativity and differences.

In mathematics there is something called the "first Law of Construction" posited by George Spencer Brown. It goes:

"Draw a distinction. Call it the first distinction. Call the space in which it is drawn the space severed or cloven by the distinction."

It seems that this law applies as well to societies, cultures and religions. Cultural and intellectual distinctions or divisions are all about creating "meaning" and identity and orientation for the self. Unfortunately, trying to create meaning for the self that is artificial is really an act of creating conflict, intolerance and violence.

The distinction between true and false in religion that is at the root of religious distinctions such as those between Jews and Gentiles, Christians and pagans, Muslims and infidels. Once the distinction has been drawn, once it has been declared that there IS such a division between peoples, then it becomes easier and easier to make more and more distinctions, subdivisions of them, endless permutations.

Tradition ascribes this first distinction between "true and false" in religion to Moses - the first monotheist. That isn't, of course, exactly correct. The first monotheist who attempted to violently impose his distinction on others was Akhenaten. That is probably where "Moses" got the idea. It should be noted that "Moses is a figure of memory but not of history, while Akhenaten is a figure of history but not of memory." Somehow, the two are mixed up together but this is not the place to discuss that. What is important is that the space that has been imbued with this "Mosaic Distinction" - conflict, intolerance and violence - is the space of Western Civilization due to Jewish influence on socio-cultural norms for the past 2000 years. It is not normal, nor has it ever been, but Western society is so inured in it that it is almost impossible to think outside of it.

The Mosaic distinction was a radically new division which dramatically changed the world in which it was drawn. Some scholars refer to Judaism and its initial division as "counter-religion" because it rejected and repudiated everything that went before and considered everything outside of itself to be idolatry and unclean. Instead of ancient polytheism, where the god of one group was "translated" into the equivalent in another group, leading to peaceful relations between societies, Judaism rejected translation and blocked intercultural translatability and instead promoted intercultural estrangement - or submission.

The concept of idolatry and the violent repudiation of it became stronger and stronger during the course of Jewish history. The later the texts, the more abusive the scorn and abominations they heaped on the heads of "idolators." This hatred became mutual and the accused idolators did not fail to retaliate against Jews again and again and again. [cf: Jan Assmann: Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism Harvard Press, 1997]

It is that kind of mind that we are dealing with when we consider such as Euliss "Sonny" Dewey and his ilk, and the millions upon millions of people that follow them and become their armies of hate in the guise of "brotherly love."

Definitely get this movie and watch it for the simple reason that you need to know about psychopaths, how they operate, and how to spot them and you need to teach it to your children.

Besides, it is a darn good movie and VERY well done! I grew up in the deep South and I KNOW people like that; heck, I have some in my family! The film characterizations are brilliant and nothing is exaggerated; it could almost be a documentary!

I'd give it six stars if I could!

Great film, beware defective DVDs.......2007-03-30

This film is just as good as mentioned by most other reviewers. I mean, seriously, can Robert Duval make a bad film? My problem with the DVD of the Collector's Edition, however, is that I have now purchased two copies from two different sellers and neither was recognizable or playable on three different players in my home. I have no explanation for this problem since all of my players are fairly new. If you are interested in obtaining this film, my advice would be to make purchase it only from a reliable seller that will provide a refund or else avoid the "Collector's Edition" version of it.

Average customer rating:

Hilarious!!
It's a different Friday, Ya'll...
Fun ;-)
Not as good as the first
Better than FRIDAY

Next Friday (New Line Platinum Series)
Starring: Ice Cube , Tamala Jones , Justin Pierce , Mike Epps , and Don 'D.C.' Curry
Director: Steve Carr (III)
Manufacturer: New Line Home Video
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ASIN: 0780631234
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

Ice Cube wrote and stars as Craig in this sequel to Friday, which he also wrote. His nemesis from that film, neighborhood bully Debo (Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr.), has just escaped from county jail and is out to get revenge. To protect Craig, Craig's father (John Witherspoon) sends his son to stay with his Uncle Elroy (Don "DC" Curry), who won the lottery and bought a house in Rancho Cucamonga. Craig expects the suburbs to be dull, but no sooner has he arrived than conflicts arise: The neighbors are hostile hoods, his cousin's girlfriend is out for blood and child support, and the house is about to be seized because of unpaid taxes. It's up to Craig and his cousin Day-Day (Mike Epps) to solve these problems before the day is over. It's a rambling, loose movie, but a genuinely entertaining one. Ice Cube doesn't write punch lines--though funny lines abound. He writes richly comic characters that speak in virtual arias of bragging, complaining, and scamming. Sure, some of the characters are stereotypes and many of the jokes are about drugs and scatology--but that's been the basis of humor since Plautus and Molière. The rhythmic energy of Ice Cube's dialogue and the easy charisma of his performance make Next Friday thoroughly enjoyable. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews:

Hilarious!!.......2007-08-23

I bought this movie as a birthday gift for my fiance. It's one of his favorites and he laughs just as hard everytime he watches it as if it were his first. A very funny movie!!!

It's a different Friday, Ya'll..........2007-01-03

I love this movie! The first Friday was more about a message and life growing up in the ghetto. The last two Friday movies are straight up comedy and will make you laugh til you on tha flo! Day-Day is Craig's loveable idiot cousin and has some of the best lines in the move - and EVERYBODY beats on this guy. If you were looking for more reality like the first Friday, you may be disappointed - this is more like the lighter side of Barbershop (If you have seen Barbershop go shoot yourself in the foot, fool!). All jokes aside.. see this movie and Friday After Next if you just want to laugh. They can get a little ridiculous, but that's what's it's about! Where's the next after next, Cube?? I can't wait.

Fun ;-).......2006-09-17

I enjoyed each of the Friday series. I reviewed the original way back, and now after re-watching Next Friday, I thought I'd finally get around to reviewing this.
I still think I enjoyed Friday the best, but this is a good follow up. Ice Cube returns as Craig Jones who has a knack for getting into trouble. He goes to stay with family out in Rancho Cucamonga. They've just won the lottery and have this whole new place. While Chris Tucker isn't in here this time, we still get the hilarious John Witherspoon. He's fantastic. I only give this four stars because it goes a little flat during the second half, but it's still good overall. The cousin Day-Day is probably the funniest, but if you are a fan of the original, then you have got to see this. I loved it.

Not as good as the first.......2006-01-20

...but a decent sequel. (But hey? It's not often that the sequel is better than the prequel.) I was mad because alot of questions were not answered and the plot was not all that good. I wanted Craig (Ice Cube) to hook up with that girl next door. All she does is have a short convo with her and at the end she blows a kiss and thats the end. I believe thats pointless for Craig's Pops (Jon Witherspoon)drops him off in Rancho Cucamonga (I don't think I spelled it right) then turns around and picks him up. Its a funny movie, but not as good as the first though.

Better than FRIDAY.......2005-10-09

I thought Next Friday was way better than the original....... The first movie was really slow in the beginning.......so slow that I fell asleep. As soon as you pop this movie in, you'll be laughing from beginning to end........ Mike Epps is hilarious as Day-Day, Craigs cousin, and Craigs father has some pretty funny lines in this one........ Rent it, you won't be sorry.......

Average customer rating:

He Just Needed A Hug...
Very Impressed
Science created him, but can Chuck stop him?
norris's charm carries this movie,but only so far
See Norris hit a guy in the round tables with a pool cue!

Silent Rage
Starring: Chuck Norris , Ron Silver , Steven Keats , Toni Kalem , and William Finley
Director: Michael Miller
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005QVZ0
Release Date: 2001-12-04

Customer Reviews:

He Just Needed A Hug..........2007-06-20

Poor John Kirby (Brian Libby), if only he'd taken his pills, all would have been well. Alas, he dropped them on the floor, leading to a husband and wife massacre by axe. John is then captured by police, escapes, and is gunned down by sheriff Stevens (Chuck Norris). John is revived and kept alive by looney doctors who try their new experimental serum on him. This turns Mr. Kirby into an indestructible juggernaut of death! Meanwhile, the sheriff is busy battling bikers and rekindling a romance w/ his ex-girlfriend. Soon John kills enough people to get the sheriff's attention. I like SILENT RAGE, and that's saying a lot since I'm no Chuck Norris fan. The scene where Kirby stalks and kills his old psychiatrist (Ron Silver) and his wife is fairly creepy. I also enjoyed the whole hospital-holocaust! I even got a kick (pun? what pun??) out of the karate-man vs. zombie-madman finalé! Very entertaining indeed...

Very Impressed .......2006-07-04

Dear Sir Or Madam:

I am writing to you to inform you of my response to my shipment from the above mention seller. I am very impressed with this seller and Give him a THUMBS UP.

Science created him, but can Chuck stop him?.......2006-06-23

Chuck does horror in the 1982 classic "Silent Rage" in which Chuck Norris, as Sheriff Dan Stevens, takes on a superhuman biological project gone bad in John Kirby. John Kirby was already dangerously disturbed before he was killed, but after he is brought back to life by a mad scientist, this guy is unstoppable!! I mean I am talking Michael Myers style!! John Kirby is evil, dangerous and deadly as he kills a bunch of people on his way to a match with Sheriff Dan Stevens and his karate kicks...will Chuck be a match for John Kirby? On paper, the answer is no, but with Chuck's karate kicks and chops having more power than shotgun blasts, one would have to give the edge to Chuck Norris in this matchup.

Notwithstanding Chuck Norris' notorious karate scene when he beats the butts of an entire biker gang in a bar all by himself, this movie does have some horror merit to it, although not much. First, you gotta love the music in this flick, especially John Kirby's theme or death song. Kirby does look mad and evil at times in this movie and is quite effective at presenting this look to the audience...I was especially impressed with his killings in the beginning before he became superhuman...brutal kills!!! That being said, this movie is very light to nil on scares.

Give John Kirby credit guys...this guy has skills. Can Chuck Norris stop him? Better check it out along with Chuck Norris's comic sidekick in the 80's classic karate horror flick named "Silent Rage". The kills are decent in this movie and the killer, John Kirby, is extremely formidable. The acting is average to slightly above average for this type of flick and there are moments where horror is evident as John Kirby stalks his victims. I must admit this is not a great or a good horror movie, but I do speak of "Silent Rage" with affection as it does not try to do too much with its simple plot.

The good thing about "Silent Rage" is that it stays within itself and does not try to do too much with silly twists. The creators of "Silent Rage" do a decent job of presenting an evil and maniacal killer with superhuman strength killing people for the sheer enjoyment of it; and it is up to Chuck Norris to stop John Kirby? After watching this movie myself, I do not know who is more unstoppable between the inhuman John Kirby and the infallible Chuck Norris. Check out Chuck Norris in "Silent Rage" NOW!! Do not expect a great horror movie and you should enjoy yourself mightily.

norris's charm carries this movie,but only so far.......2006-06-13

i like chuck norris movies and i like parts of this movie. norris is a lawman in a texas town,and as the movie opens we find a nut job talking to his doctor telling him that he's loseing it,and he does as he kills everyone in the house! of course chuck comes to take him in but in the course of the arrest the killer is shot and killed,so we think. 3 doctors use this nut to test a life saving drug on and it works better than they though because not only does it save him it makes him an even bigger nut and unkillable! now the nut starts to kill people off and chuck must stop him.of course chuck must also stop a biker gang and have a bar room fight along the way!
chuck really looks and acts better in this one than some of his early work,but with the "halloween" theme of unstopable killer wears it's self out early and try as he may norris just can't save this one alone,and with no help from the rest of the cast this one sinks slowly,but it does have a few good points and that is because of chuck!

See Norris hit a guy in the round tables with a pool cue!.......2006-06-05

John chops up some people (off screen) with an ax. Sheriff Dan Stevens (Chuck Norris) don't take kindly to that and smites him with some kicks to the face. John is taken to the hospital where some doctors secretly pump him full of a superhealing drug and it works. A little too well and John's back out on the street - in a snazzy Devo suit - killing people. Then he messes with Chuck's girlfriend and wins a one way ticket to pain.

Mediocre Norris film, there should have been less talking and more fighting. Also when the motorcycle flew through the window and lands in the parking lot why did it sound like a trash can?

Average customer rating:

"Just victims of the in house drive-by...
Loud and Full on
A must for any Rage' fan, nothing crappy here.
Rage at their best...
One of the most explosive rock visuals ever...

Rage Against the Machine
Starring: Rage Against the Machine
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 6305019703
Release Date: 1999-01-05

Customer Reviews:

"Just victims of the in house drive-by..........2007-08-29

They say jump, you say how high..."

This is a hard-hitting music video from the group that originated the heavy metal/rap fusion. Rage Against the Machine unleashs a riveting mixture of music, chaos, poetry, and rebellion that is difficult to ignore.

This DVD starts off with some great live performances, containing powerful tunes like Vietnow, Bullet in the Head, Know Your Enemy, and Tire Me. I find it impossible to listen to any of these without bobbing my head and feeling an extreme surge of adrenhaline.
Then there are some video clips, all of which contain strong messages that are hard to ignore. Their very first video(besides just concert footage)still hits me the hardest, the intoxicating song Freedom. Lead singer Zack de la Rocha screams "Check the diagonal, 3 million gone, C'mon! Cuz you know they're counting backwards to zero!". This song is of course referring to the Native Americans, and more specifically Leonard Peltier.
There are some other important topics Zack presents in the videos, none of which can be taken lightly. He sings about government corruption, the Mexican Revolution, the Zapatista movement...he even recites a solemn poem called Memory of the Dead.

This group is passionate as they sing about injustices in the world. They are(were)one of the few bands actually trying to make a difference with their music instead of simply wanting to cash in. Now their diehard fans are forced to sit and wait for a possible reunion. This DVD helps The Rage live on!

Loud and Full on.......2006-11-10

This is an awesome collection of load and full on performances from one of the most intense bands around.

Sound quality isn't the best sounds like it was recorded from a mic rather than off the desk but other than that a really good dvd. Sounds best through a massive stereo/surround system with subs!

A must for any Rage' fan, nothing crappy here........2005-07-06

Rage Against the Machine's self-titled DVD kicks Audioslave's self-titled DVD right in the ass in both quality and quantity. There's fifteen clips alltogether. Ten live performances, five music videos, and a really moving poem by Zach de la Rocha called "Memory of the Dead." The two best live performances are of "Zapata's Blood" and "Killing in the Name." Luckily, they chose a video clip of "Killing in the Name" from the "old-school Rage'" phase, as it includes Zach's grunts in the song (like in the studio recording) and cooler sounding guitar solos from the guitar wizard Tom Morello. The only bad performance was of "Bombtrack" as it had that stupid "whammy peddle" solo instead of the cool one you'd hear on the studio recording. "Bullet in the Head," "People of the Sun," "Tire Me," "Bulls on Parade," and "Vietnow" were stunning.

Now to the music videos. None of them are censored. "Killing in the Name" is just a collection of old video clips back when Rage' was just a garage band. "Bullet in the Head" was from a BBC performance. "Freedom" was the best video as it showed everything about the false accusations of Leonard Peltier.

I can keep going but trust me, you'll love this, and you'll see why Rage' was one of the best live acts ever.

Rage at their best..........2004-12-23

If you like Rage, and even if you dont, this is a must see. They are at top form here, and i have watched this over and over again. The only slight problem i have is the visual effects, but its not bad. But overall it is an amazing live film and from the opening song "bulls on parade" to the closing song of "freedom" the entire thing is great.

One of the most explosive rock visuals ever..........2004-11-24

I said "..one of" in my headline but the truth of the matter is that this one might actually top them all. RATM's live performances were legendary by any standard one sets and this DVD does capture to a very satisfying degree their unique talent and spirit.

Filmed on a world wide tour, this is RATM at their very peak musically and as a band. Their chemistry is absolutely stunning, their music is at its most fueled drive and the band performs it with a vengeance unparallel and almost impossible to top.

For those unlucky enough not to have witnessed one of rock's greatest bands live this DVD will more than compensate for that loss (if that could be said at all). Having said that, I'm not a big fan of live music DVDs but this one is a very special case and those who do go for the DVD format in music will easily attest to that.

It's a nice collector's item as well as it offers the "Ghost of Tom Joad" maxi with it, a song which happens to be a gem when performed live by RATM.

Coming to the performances themselves, aside of their incredible quality there's been a very good job made in capturing some funny or visually impressive moments from their concerts and this definately counts to the extras. De La Rocha's antics on the stage are to cherish and watching him show why some consider him the best rock frontman ever is addicting.

Legendary stuff.

Rage Against The Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

Average customer rating:

Nearly unwatchable.
Clearance to Run the Interference
get mexico city instead
RATM - okay but not great
Amazing

Rage Against The Machine - Live at the Grand Olympic Auditorium

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Alternative Metal | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000WVV7O
Release Date: 2003-12-09

Customer Reviews:

Nearly unwatchable........2007-08-15

There has been some discussions about how this dvd really captures a live RATM show. I think those opinons couldn't be farther from the truth. The video is so extremely over-edited that I find it impossible to watch. The sound quality and pe