Average customer rating:
- An Excellent Collection of Rare Elvis Movie Classics
- Great Additions To The Elvis Catalog
- Great to have but could've been better
- Elvis The Hollywood Collection
- The Last Six Elvis Movies Finally Available!!
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Elvis - The Hollywood Collection (Charro / Girl Happy / Kissin' Cousins / Live a Little, Love a Little / Stay Away, Joe / Tickle Me)
Starring:
Elvis Presley ,
Ina Balin ,
Victor French ,
Barbara Werle , and
Solomon Sturges
Director:
Charles Marquis Warren ,
Boris Sagal , and
Gene Nelson
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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Similar Items:
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This Is Elvis (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Elvis - That's the Way It Is (Two-Disc Special Edition)
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Lights! Camera! Elvis! Collection (Blue Hawaii/Easy Come, Easy Go/Fun in Acapulco/G.I. Blues/Girls! Girls! Girls!/King Creole/Roustabout/Paradise Hawaiian Style)
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Elvis Presley MGM Movie Legends Collection (Clambake / Frankie and Johnny / Follow That Dream / Kid Galahad)
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Viva Las Vegas (Deluxe Edition)
ASIN: B000QUUD6A
Release Date: 2007-08-07 |
Studio description
Includes: Charro! (1969), Girl Happy (1965), Kissin' Cousins (1964), Live a Little Love a Little (1968), Stay Away, Joe (1968), Tickle Me (1965).
Customer Reviews:
An Excellent Collection of Rare Elvis Movie Classics.......2007-09-05
Elvis Presley starred in 33 movies. Many of them are real classics. This box set is no exception. The brilliant ones are; STAY AWAY JOE and TICKLE ME. Both are excellent comedies. GIRL HAPPY is a very lovely musical comedy as good as the extremely popular BLUE HAWAII. LIVE A LITTLE,LOVE A LITTLE is also very very good and features some superb songs. CHARRO is a long lost Elvis Western dramatic classic. KISSIN COUSINS is fun,fun,fun all the way. A Superb value-for-money BOX SET. A must for all ELVIS PRESLEY FANS.
Great Additions To The Elvis Catalog.......2007-08-29
It's excellent to finally see these long awaited movies come to DVD and in a great presentation box. The DVD transfers are very clear and each movie comes with it's own set of 5 postcards as a nice little bonus. My only quip is that not much was done with the sound. The Paramount Elvis movies are all in 5.1, whilst Warner only have revamped Jailhouse Rock and Viva Las Vegas (sold separately)with uprated sound.
Great to have but could've been better.......2007-08-22
FINALLY we get the last of Elvis' movies on DVD (except Elvis On Tour)...Charro looks great! The others look OK but several song sequences are OUT OF SNYC! Who's in charge of quality control??
Elvis The Hollywood Collection.......2007-08-10
This box set of six of the King's less promient films is a long time in coming for his die hard fans-less juicy for your run of the mill Elvis admirers. Yes, all six films are in WIDESECREEN format, digitally remastered etc. The packaging is nice and sleek with all film sleeves containg several large postcard style B&W publicity style photos of Elvis with costars and on the sets. I will not do a critical review of the individual movies pros and cons, but speak to the group of films in this package as a whole as being what I would consider Elvis's secondary films. There is no film prowess of Blue Hawaii or Viva Las Vegas caliber here. As par for the course of Elvis's film career at this point most are of the light romantic comedy genre with his ample singing scenes tossed in. There are no sophisticated plots here-just Elvis, singing and girls watching him sing. Each film has nice menu and navigation graphics with all having the theatical trailer included. Girl Happy has an additional song of Startin' Tonight restored. They all have French subtitles except Tickle Me. All films are in color. Many of these films are out for the first time on DVD as well as in WIDESCREEN. Some of them have not been available at all for quite a number of years such as Live a Little, Love a Little. A good buy for Elvis die hard film fans and collectors at this low price for all six movies in such a nice package. They would cost quite a bit more if bought individually. Lesser fans that have none of Elvis's more promient films may wish to start elsewhere with individual film purchases of the King's classics such as Love Me Tender or the superb Jail House Rock.
The Last Six Elvis Movies Finally Available!!.......2007-08-10
Everyone Have No Fear The Set Is In Widescreen, Thank Goodness! I Am Glad To See The Last Six Movies Finally Out On Dvd, Especially A Widescreen Version Of Charro! Not A Great Western But Hey It Has Elvis In It. Girl Happy And Tickle Me Are Great As Well, Kissin' Cousins, Live A Little, Love A Little And Stay Away Joe Not So Much. But Again They Have Elvis In Them. Hey Warner Bros. We Want Elvis On Tour On Dvd Too!
Average customer rating:
- Elvis/ Charro
- Elvis had unlimited talent
- Charro when a western was more than between and infomercial
- Elvis, the actor
- Not Only A Great Elvis Film, But A Great Western
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Charro
Starring:
Elvis Presley ,
Ina Balin ,
Victor French ,
Barbara Werle , and
Solomon Sturges
Director:
Charles Marquis Warren
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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Similar Items:
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Tickle Me
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Stay Away, Joe
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Girl Happy
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Live a Little, Love a Little
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Kissin' Cousins
ASIN: B000QXDEDQ
Release Date: 2007-08-07 |
Description
Jess Wade is innocently accused of having stolen a cannon from the Mexican revolutionary forces. He tries to find the real culprits, a gang of criminals.
Customer Reviews:
Elvis/ Charro.......2007-09-15
Even if it is a knock off of a Clint Eastwood flick I still enjoyed the movie, As a long time fan of Elvis it was good to see him in a film where he didn't sing. I'm like a lot of others if he would have been able to star in a Star Is Born Elvis would still be with us. Anyway I think you will enjoy the movie if you like westerns.
Elvis had unlimited talent.......2007-09-07
I'm a western fan and what a plus to get Elvis in a great western!!!
Charro when a western was more than between and infomercial.......2007-08-17
Charro
The Movie
Here we have Elvis as a gunfighter in the old west. Now let it be said that I am not a big fan of the king but if u read my other reviews I love westerns, that said here we have a very good western. So good in fact I have been disappointed he didn't make another. He plays Jess Wade who is falsely accused of stealing a Golden cannon and goes in search of the band really responsible. You will notice that Victor French known to most of us as Mr. Edwards from Little House on the Prairie plays a very good villain in this tale of betrayal and love. Of course there a love interest Tracie Winters played by Ina Balin.
The Video
Here where they fixed it, the first DVD release of this movie was horrid. It jumped it faded in and out it was orange and tainted. This release fixed it, It has a touch of grain but lets be honest this wasn't a movie they expected to be a hit let alone be around 39 years later so they didn't try and preserve it. Al in all its very watch able as I am doing so on a 42 inch Hitachi plasma TV playing thru the HDMI on a Sony 400 disc DVD changer, It doesn't jump at all it is remastered.
The Audio
Here it is mono 1.0 but it was shot n 1969 so they weren't thinking 7.1 digital surround sound...lol. I have it running thru a 1000 watt Sony surround sound system. There is no hiss no distortion the music is loud crisp and clear the voices are steady and clear awesome for mono.
The Extras
The Theatrical Trailer
Here is where a lot of these DVD lose out not that I really want to see the trailer but if your going to give it too us at least remaster it so its clear. Its not really worth watching but its there.
Elvis, the actor.......2007-08-17
This film shows that Elvis had the ability to act beyond the "typical Elvis" boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl movies that Col. Parker set up for him. Knowing that Col. Parker denied him opportunities to move forward in a career he loved is sad. "Charro" is every bit as good as any Clint Eastwood "Oater" western that flooded the movies. I read that Elvis was up for a part in "The Rainman" and "A Star Is Born", and both scripts were denied not by Elvis but by Col. Parker. It makes you wonder what might have happened had that road not been blocked. I loved Elvis when he was the new and bright star to a 14 year old teen who had to sneak out of the house to him in concert in Chicago. I still love him and introduce him through music and movies to my 10 grandchildren. Charro is a good movie and you can tell Elvis is having a really good time doing something he really loves. Grandma J.
Not Only A Great Elvis Film, But A Great Western.......2007-08-10
Elvis Presley goes west in what is one of his best film performances. Jess Wade is accused of stealing a 100,000 gold cannon. He is betrayed by his friends, and ultimately the town that he is trying to protect.
In the era of spaghetti westerns and great american westerns, Charro! truly ranks as one of the absolute best. It has great scenery, music, and action, contributing to a very entertaining 98 minutes.
As a fan of Elvis, I really feel like this film shows exactly what a talent that he was. For other great performances make sure to watch Jailhouse Rock, Flaming Star, Wild In The Country, Love Me Tender, and Loving You. Highly Recommended!
Average customer rating:
- Realistic Western about an Aging Cowboy's Last Chance at Love & Family
- Will Penny
- Adequate oater
- WILL - (SHANE) - PENNY MEETS PALE RIDER
- "That's enough Shorthorn"
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Will Penny (Ws Sub)
Starring:
Charlton Heston ,
Joan Hackett ,
Donald Pleasence ,
Lee Majors , and
Bruce Dern
Director:
Tom Gries
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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ASIN: B0000648YW
Release Date: 2002-06-04 |
Customer Reviews:
Realistic Western about an Aging Cowboy's Last Chance at Love & Family.......2007-09-13
Year of Release: 1968
Writer/Director: Tom Gries
Country: USA
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 minutes
Locations: Bishop & Inyo County, California
THE PLOT: Charleton Heston plays loner Will Penny, an aging cowboy who takes a winter job riding line on a vast ranch. He runs afoul of a family of psychotic rawhiders who leave him to die in the wilderness. Half-dead, he stumbles back to the line rider's cabin where he is nursed to health by a woman (Joan Hackett) and her boy who are wintering there en route to Oregon to meet her homesteading husband. Penny discovers love and a sense of family for the first time in his nigh fifty years of life.
"Will Penny" gives the viewer a good peek at what it must have really been like to be a cowboy out West in the late 1800s. Needless to say, the lifestyle is anything but glamorous.
Most everything works great here: locations, cast, story, writing, etc. with three exceptions: The score is boring & dated. In the 60s there were numerous great Western scores that stood the test of time ("Duel at Diablo," "Bandolero!," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "MacKenna's Gold" and "The Magnificent Seven," to name a few), but the score to "Penny" is a badly-aged dud. (Then again, it DOES fit the film's main theme).
Also, the villains are somewhat contrived. Donald Pleasence is impressive as the over-the-top psycho patriarch of the rawhiding family and Bruce Dern is always reliable as a villain, but -- I don't know -- this whole side plot just seems tacked on to supply action and menace to a story that might have been better without it.
The heart of the story is Penny's first-time discovery of love and a sense of family. It's implied in the story that he was an orphan as a child and simply fell into the loner cowboy lifestyle to survive. He has never known true love or had a real sense of family. Before meeting Joan Hackett's character, Catherine, his experiences with women were limited to shallow hook-ups with prostitutes.
Penny discovers he has a knack for fatherhood and likes it. The boy clearly looks up to him and loves him.
It's almost as if God sees Penny's true noble character through all the grime and gruff cowboy exterior and throws him a pot of gold in the form of the love of Catherine and her boy. Will he take advantage of this opportunity of happiness and fulfillment, despite the risks? Will he even recognize it as an opportunity?
[SPOILER ALERT!! THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH REVEALS THE ENDING!!]
Unfortunately, even though he's a good man (generally speaking), Penny has no faith in love or life in general, no doubt because of his past experiences. Catherine gently points out that love will find a way, but Will insists that love cannot survive the cold harsh realities of life and aging, in particular in the uncaring Western wilderness. Thus Penny walks away from what is likely his last chance at love, fatherhood and family. Although this ending is realistic (not all experiences in life end on a happy note), it's frankly a bit sad. According to the film love does NOT conquer all and the viewer is left feeling a tad deflated. It goes without saying that this is NOT a life & faith affirming film. One's last impression of Penny is that he's a pathetic loser who lacks the brains and oomph to throw caution to the wind and take advantage of a great opportunity for happiness.
[END SPOILER]
FINAL ANALYSIS: I detract 1 Star for the pizzazz-less score, the forced villain subplot and the ending. Otherwise this is a stellar picture. Highly recommended if it sounds like your cup of java.
Will Penny.......2007-07-02
Tom Gries's fabulous Western transcends various shoot-outs and intrigues to serve as both a touching love story and tale of self-discovery. Sensitive, perceptive script (by Gries) is brought to life by winning lead performances from Heston and Hackett, not to mention an inspired turn by Donald Pleasance as a Bible-thumping psychopath (with two equally demented sons, one played by Bruce Dern). Ben Johnson adds authentic flavoring as Will's no-nonsense boss. "Penny" rates as mandatory viewing for Western fans.
Adequate oater.......2007-06-08
What can one say about the west, a cowboy facing obstacles, a lady looking for just such a man and bloody action bringing the two together? Typical oater fare, but nonetheless a pleasant way to put aside for a brief time real life obstacles and bloody action. The conclusion was unexpected, which raised this movie from a 1 up to a 3.
WILL - (SHANE) - PENNY MEETS PALE RIDER .......2007-04-24
Director Tom Gries is mostly known for the two movies, Breakout and Breakheart Pass, he directed in 1975 for Charles Bronson at the peak of his career then. But this director, unlike the great majority of his contemporary colleagues of the end of the sixties, had the one in a lifetime opportunity to direct a script he had himself written and this movie was WILL PENNY, shot during the 1967-1968 winter.
If, during the projection of the film, the viewer inevitably thinks about George Stevens's Shane, WILL PENNY nevertheless lives its own life and offers scenes that linger in the head, at least mine, for quite a while. First of all, I must say that the scenes between Charlton Heston and Joan Hackett are so bashful and true that I had to make an effort to remember that I was watching a western, the male cinematographic genre in essence. Secondly, I was captivated by the performance of Donald Pleasence who, as Preacher Quint, fills the screen with his magnetism as soon as he appears. Look at him when he curses Will Penny after the death of his son Romulus or when he starts to dance alone in Penny's cabin, madness is literally pouring out of him. These are great moments of Cinema.
A DVD zone baby, it's cold outside.
"That's enough Shorthorn".......2006-12-21
Charlton Heston always seemed to bring a presence to a movie that made it dramatic and "Will Penny" is no exception. He is supported by many fine actors, many who gained fame in later years, actors like Lee Majors, Anthony Zerbe, Bruce Dern, etc. A man with no family who has lived a rugged life but in spite of it all still has a kind heart. The show begins on the last day of a cattle drive. After they're all paid they go their separate ways but Will gives up a chance to keep working so one of the other hands (Big Foot) can go to Kansas City to see his ailing Dad. Will ends up being a line rider for another outfit. He has lots of territory to cover and isn't expected to return till Spring. He finds that someone is occupying the line rider's shack (Joan Hackett and her young son). They were abandoned by their guide on the way to Oregon. He remembers her and she him from a bar/restaurant they were both in previously. He tells her she has to be gone when he gets back, he needs to inspect the layout of the land. He comes back a dying man, she nurses him back to health and a beautiful love story begins. I've left out a lot of major and minor details but the story is engrossing. What seems like a happy ending becomes more bittersweet but your imagination is left to ponder what may or may not happen in the future.
Average customer rating:
- Do not waste your money
- UNFUNNY, UNSEXY, AND TOO BORING
- rEFRESHING, fUNNY AND sEXY
- "I think I love you!"
- Some reviews here are over-reacting
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Luster
Starring:
Justin Herwick ,
Shane Powers ,
B. Wyatt ,
Pamela Gidley , and
Susannah Melvoin
Director:
Everett Lewis
Manufacturer: TLA Releasing
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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ASIN: B0000DD75T
Release Date: 2003-12-09 |
Description
An irreverent and refreshing take on the queer world of sex, lust and unrequited love. Lanky, blue haired Jackson, record store employee and poet, is in love with most of the men in his life! There's Billy, who he met at an orgy, Jed, his cousin, Derek, a customer at the shop, and Sam, his boss and best friend! A refreshing departure from the typical gay love story, LUSTER is a raw and darkly comic look at young punks in love. Limited Theatrical release.
Customer Reviews:
Do not waste your money.......2007-08-25
My friend bought this film as part of a bunch of about 9 or 10, and as she visits me each week, we've been watching them. "Luster" was the last of the bunch and thank we waited. I had no expectations of this film and, indeed the acting overall was quite good, but that's the reason for the first star.
I found this film horribly confusing, slow and mediocre. Jackson, our protagonist, works in a independent record store selling all sorts of weird and wonderful music as well as the mainstream stuff and he tools around the aisles on a skateboard and yells at customers of whose music taste he doesn't approve.
He's woken up at an orgy, and decided he's in love with Billy, a participant, and tracks him down. Unfortunatly, Billy is basically the sex toy/slave of a musician and doesn't want anything to do with Jackson.
Enter Derek, a straight-laced gay guy who fell for Jackson at first sight and tells him so, but whom Jackson find too "boring."
Then add in a cousin from Iowa, Jed, who's tortured by Billy and handcuffed in the shower. Jackson asks his boss and best friend Sam if it's incest to have sex with your male cousin (duh!).
Of course, Jackson and Derek end up together, but not after Sam dies, presumably from suicide, because he "cares" too much about Jackson.
The trouble with this film really is that everything that I wanted to see happened off camera or in the dark. The film would have been grittier and harsher and more realistic if we'd *seen* the sex, the "lust", instead of just hearing noises.
I got sick of the "poetry" after the first ten minutes, which seemed to me to be kind of drunken philosophy rather than poetry.
And yet, I had to see this film out. I wanted to know what happened. And therein lies the reason for the other star.
For all its faults, this film is like a car crash - you want to look away, but you can't help watching.
UNFUNNY, UNSEXY, AND TOO BORING.......2007-05-15
The story runs slowly and make me sleep till the end of this movie. There's no looking good of the guys.
rEFRESHING, fUNNY AND sEXY.......2006-12-25
"LUSTER"
Refreshing, Funny, and Sexy
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
Unrequited love is usually not much fun and neither is it sexy nor refreshing. At least it is not until you see ?Luster? (Here! TV). Jackson is a cute, lanky frustrated poet who works in a record store. He is mad about Billy, a sexy young blonde who he meets at an orgy but Billy loves Sonny who is a musician into S and M. Then there is Jackson?s customer, Derek, who is in love with him and the owner of the record store who is straight (?) but obviously infatuated with Billy. (Got all this down?). Next we add Jed who is Jackson?s cousin who is responsible for leading his relative to contemplate incest. (Whew!!!!) To make everything even more complicated, Jed is seduced by a lesbian.
From the moment this film begins you know it is going to be different?first the actors are listed only by first name and secondly, the first scene is a bunch of young guys lying entwined and naked. So, is this a teen flick? In many ways it is but it also has a great deal to say about the nature of relationships. There is a good share of ?camp? and several of the mysterious subplots seem to bring the film down from what could have been a really good movie. Yet the more I watched the more I enjoyed it and the youthful exuberance of the cast makes it a lot of fun.
Jackson is the central character, he is cute as can be but he has his problems. His superior, record store mogul may be remembered as the gay guy on ?Sex and the City?, Stanford. He is supposedly straight but he does enjoy being beaten. The other characters give the whole mish mash a soap opera tone. Jackson could have had his character developed a bit more but somehow that did not happen.
This is a fun movie and doesn?t demand a great deal of thought or concentration. You may not remember much about it after you finish it but you will have a good time watching it while it is on the screen. Sit back, enjoy and move on. There is also a great deal of frontal nudity so that is a definite plus.
"I think I love you!".......2005-08-20
Marked as a smart, sexy romantic comedic melodrama, the roughly made Luster is anything but. Well, it's sort of sexy, but it's not particularly smart, with a plot that takes a full hour to kick in and some pretty forgettable performances by the young cast. Also, for the most part, Luster isn't particularly funny, with a storyline that ends up veering into some pretty ugly and heavy S&M, non-consensual sex, and even suicide.
Set in Los Angeles, with much of the action-taking place in the more seedy areas of Hollywood, Luster opens just as Jackson Jones (Justin Herwick) wakes up from an all night orgy. Jackson is an alternative kind of guy - he has piercings and streaky blue hair, a goatee, and works in an independent record store.
Jackson is also an amateur poet, and when he's not shelving CD's while riding through the store on his skateboard, he's writing sexy love poetry in the hope of getting himself published. He has also set his sites on Billy (Jonah Blechman), a damaged twink in white leather pants whom he spotted at a party. Billy, however, is into being bashed about for kicks, and has been having secret liaisons with the deeply closeted rock star Sonny Spike (Willie Garson).
Jackson has been using his love for Billy, as inspiration for his poems and Sonny wants to use them as lyrics for a new album of rock music that he has planned. Jackson, however, is totally oblivious to Billy and Sonny's kinky relationship. A spanner is really thrown into the works when Jed (b. Wyatt), Jackson's hunk of a cousin arrives in Los Angeles from Iowa. Of course, Jackson falls immediately in lust with him, and wonders whether sleeping with your cousin is really incest, if it involves two guys.
Meanwhile, Jackson has a secret admirer in the clean-cut, straight-laced, and absolutely adorable Derek (Sean Thibodeau). Derrick is an unadulterated romantic, who believes in "love at first sight," and who falls hopelessly in love with Jackson when he wanders into the record store. After sharing a rather passionate kiss, Jackson decides that Derek is a bit too "normal" for his punkish, alternative persona.
But is doesn't stop there, while Jackson seems oblivious to all these romantic and sexual machinations that are going on around him, his "straight" best friend, Sam (Shane Powers), has also fallen in love with him. Tragically, Jackson hasn't a clue. He's far too preoccupied with writing his poetry and trying to bed Jed.
If this all seems a little much, well it is. Luster suffers from far too many extraneous characters that are constantly vying for screen time. There's also an unnecessary subplot involving Jackson's friend Alyssa (Pamela Gidley) is an aspiring photographer, who takes a shine to Jeb, and who spends most of her time annoyingly chattering away about post-modernist art.
Director Everett Lewis shows, with varying degrees of success, this alternative, punk acting group of men. Jackson in particular, is straight acting, far from effeminate, and is very accepting of his sexuality. And it's quite refreshing to see slightly edgy images of queer life that have nothing to do with clichéd gym clones or drag queens.
But when one considers the outrageous proceedings, Luster ends up coming across as rather repetitive, dull, and bland. The lack of a meaningful story would be easier to take if the dialogue was wittier; the characterizations were a little deeper, and the production design of better quality.
The tacked on, melodramatic plot twist at the end only further accentuates the artificiality of the proceedings. Yes - there are some good-looking, hunky guys in this film, but don't be fooled by the cover of the DVD with its photo of a group of writhing, naked male bodies, because minor nudity is all that you're going to see.
With all its good intentions and its attempts to be gritty, resolute, and urban, Luster ultimately comes across as rather fraudulent; and even Herwick's quite nuanced and natural performance as Jackson can't save it. Mike Leonard August 05.
Some reviews here are over-reacting.......2005-08-16
The fact is that many gay indie films have poor production values and inconsistent acting, so reviewers who are comparing this to a big-budget studio film are making an unfair comparison. What I liked about this film was that it is unapologetically gay. The gayness of the characters is not a big deal, and is neither the source of a standing joke (as in "Will and Grace") nor the cause of all their problems.
Instead, the film explores these admittedly flawed but interesting characters as they stumble through several days. I agree with the reviewer who wished that the character of Sam had been better developed. I also felt that even for an indie film, the dialogue was sometimes extremely difficult to understand, and this is a technical problem that should have been fixed.
However, I felt that many of the characters were likeable (not necessarily sexy, but that's a separate issue) and I cared enough about them to want to know how the film ended. I found that I was still thinking about the film long after I finished watching it.
Average customer rating:
- Why don't they remaster his movies?
- I've never saw this movie
- Rerelease this Movie!!
- Charro
- Pass the Pills
|
Charro
Starring:
Elvis Presley ,
Ina Balin ,
Victor French ,
Barbara Werle , and
Solomon Sturges
Director:
Elvis Presley , and
Charles Marquis Warren
Manufacturer: Tapeworm
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
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Similar Items:
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Loving You
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Wild in the Country
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Easy Come, Easy Go
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Frankie and Johnny
ASIN: B00005Q50J
Release Date: 1999-06-01 |
Customer Reviews:
Why don't they remaster his movies?.......2006-02-26
I saw this movie when it was first released and very much enjoyed it. I cannot understand why they don't remaster his movies, and put them in stores at an affordable price. It was not so good as to get me to spend $ 59.95 for it!
Doc Farrell
I've never saw this movie.......2005-12-08
I'd like the studio considerate a new release of this movie with subtitles in spanish. There are a lot of fan that don't buy it because of this. I understand language but not so well, but my family speaks only spanish.
Rerelease this Movie!!.......2005-02-15
Please rerelease this Elvis classic"Charro" at a more modest price so that humble people can afford it!!So spread the word!!!!!!!!
Charro.......2004-10-24
All you people who didn't like the Charro dvd I would like to buy it please let me know if you are interested in selling it
Pass the Pills.......2004-06-15
No wonder Elvis took "Prescription Medication" making dreadful movies like this. It's so awful words cannot describe. It looks cheap, nasty, badly acted, badly directed, badly edited with no story. It's just awful.
What on earth was going on in his and the Colonel's heads thinking that fans would put up with watching this crap at the movies when you had the real deal in Clint Eastwood. Even at the time it was made, Westerns were going out of fashion.
This was, thank God, one of the last movies he made. I'm a big Elvis Fan but could not bear to watch it twice.
The DVD is bad quality, no picture clean up, no extras, nothing. What's the point?
Average customer rating:
- Realistic Western about an Aging Cowboy's Last Chance at Love & Family
- Will Penny
- Adequate oater
- WILL - (SHANE) - PENNY MEETS PALE RIDER
- "That's enough Shorthorn"
|
Will Penny [Region 2]
Starring:
Charlton Heston ,
Joan Hackett ,
Donald Pleasence ,
Lee Majors , and
Bruce Dern
Director:
Tom Gries
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
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Similar Items:
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The Mountain Men
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Nevada Smith
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Tom Horn
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Ride the High Country
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The Professionals (Special Edition)
ASIN: B000085ROF |
Customer Reviews:
Realistic Western about an Aging Cowboy's Last Chance at Love & Family.......2007-09-13
Year of Release: 1968
Writer/Director: Tom Gries
Country: USA
Runtime: 1 Hour 50 minutes
Locations: Bishop & Inyo County, California
THE PLOT: Charleton Heston plays loner Will Penny, an aging cowboy who takes a winter job riding line on a vast ranch. He runs afoul of a family of psychotic rawhiders who leave him to die in the wilderness. Half-dead, he stumbles back to the line rider's cabin where he is nursed to health by a woman (Joan Hackett) and her boy who are wintering there en route to Oregon to meet her homesteading husband. Penny discovers love and a sense of family for the first time in his nigh fifty years of life.
"Will Penny" gives the viewer a good peek at what it must have really been like to be a cowboy out West in the late 1800s. Needless to say, the lifestyle is anything but glamorous.
Most everything works great here: locations, cast, story, writing, etc. with three exceptions: The score is boring & dated. In the 60s there were numerous great Western scores that stood the test of time ("Duel at Diablo," "Bandolero!," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "MacKenna's Gold" and "The Magnificent Seven," to name a few), but the score to "Penny" is a badly-aged dud. (Then again, it DOES fit the film's main theme).
Also, the villains are somewhat contrived. Donald Pleasence is impressive as the over-the-top psycho patriarch of the rawhiding family and Bruce Dern is always reliable as a villain, but -- I don't know -- this whole side plot just seems tacked on to supply action and menace to a story that might have been better without it.
The heart of the story is Penny's first-time discovery of love and a sense of family. It's implied in the story that he was an orphan as a child and simply fell into the loner cowboy lifestyle to survive. He has never known true love or had a real sense of family. Before meeting Joan Hackett's character, Catherine, his experiences with women were limited to shallow hook-ups with prostitutes.
Penny discovers he has a knack for fatherhood and likes it. The boy clearly looks up to him and loves him.
It's almost as if God sees Penny's true noble character through all the grime and gruff cowboy exterior and throws him a pot of gold in the form of the love of Catherine and her boy. Will he take advantage of this opportunity of happiness and fulfillment, despite the risks? Will he even recognize it as an opportunity?
[SPOILER ALERT!! THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH REVEALS THE ENDING!!]
Unfortunately, even though he's a good man (generally speaking), Penny has no faith in love or life in general, no doubt because of his past experiences. Catherine gently points out that love will find a way, but Will insists that love cannot survive the cold harsh realities of life and aging, in particular in the uncaring Western wilderness. Thus Penny walks away from what is likely his last chance at love, fatherhood and family. Although this ending is realistic (not all experiences in life end on a happy note), it's frankly a bit sad. According to the film love does NOT conquer all and the viewer is left feeling a tad deflated. It goes without saying that this is NOT a life & faith affirming film. One's last impression of Penny is that he's a pathetic loser who lacks the brains and oomph to throw caution to the wind and take advantage of a great opportunity for happiness.
[END SPOILER]
FINAL ANALYSIS: I detract 1 Star for the pizzazz-less score, the forced villain subplot and the ending. Otherwise this is a stellar picture. Highly recommended if it sounds like your cup of java.
Will Penny.......2007-07-02
Tom Gries's fabulous Western transcends various shoot-outs and intrigues to serve as both a touching love story and tale of self-discovery. Sensitive, perceptive script (by Gries) is brought to life by winning lead performances from Heston and Hackett, not to mention an inspired turn by Donald Pleasance as a Bible-thumping psychopath (with two equally demented sons, one played by Bruce Dern). Ben Johnson adds authentic flavoring as Will's no-nonsense boss. "Penny" rates as mandatory viewing for Western fans.
Adequate oater.......2007-06-08
What can one say about the west, a cowboy facing obstacles, a lady looking for just such a man and bloody action bringing the two together? Typical oater fare, but nonetheless a pleasant way to put aside for a brief time real life obstacles and bloody action. The conclusion was unexpected, which raised this movie from a 1 up to a 3.
WILL - (SHANE) - PENNY MEETS PALE RIDER .......2007-04-24
Director Tom Gries is mostly known for the two movies, Breakout and Breakheart Pass, he directed in 1975 for Charles Bronson at the peak of his career then. But this director, unlike the great majority of his contemporary colleagues of the end of the sixties, had the one in a lifetime opportunity to direct a script he had himself written and this movie was WILL PENNY, shot during the 1967-1968 winter.
If, during the projection of the film, the viewer inevitably thinks about George Stevens's Shane, WILL PENNY nevertheless lives its own life and offers scenes that linger in the head, at least mine, for quite a while. First of all, I must say that the scenes between Charlton Heston and Joan Hackett are so bashful and true that I had to make an effort to remember that I was watching a western, the male cinematographic genre in essence. Secondly, I was captivated by the performance of Donald Pleasence who, as Preacher Quint, fills the screen with his magnetism as soon as he appears. Look at him when he curses Will Penny after the death of his son Romulus or when he starts to dance alone in Penny's cabin, madness is literally pouring out of him. These are great moments of Cinema.
A DVD zone baby, it's cold outside.
"That's enough Shorthorn".......2006-12-21
Charlton Heston always seemed to bring a presence to a movie that made it dramatic and "Will Penny" is no exception. He is supported by many fine actors, many who gained fame in later years, actors like Lee Majors, Anthony Zerbe, Bruce Dern, etc. A man with no family who has lived a rugged life but in spite of it all still has a kind heart. The show begins on the last day of a cattle drive. After they're all paid they go their separate ways but Will gives up a chance to keep working so one of the other hands (Big Foot) can go to Kansas City to see his ailing Dad. Will ends up being a line rider for another outfit. He has lots of territory to cover and isn't expected to return till Spring. He finds that someone is occupying the line rider's shack (Joan Hackett and her young son). They were abandoned by their guide on the way to Oregon. He remembers her and she him from a bar/restaurant they were both in previously. He tells her she has to be gone when he gets back, he needs to inspect the layout of the land. He comes back a dying man, she nurses him back to health and a beautiful love story begins. I've left out a lot of major and minor details but the story is engrossing. What seems like a happy ending becomes more bittersweet but your imagination is left to ponder what may or may not happen in the future.
Average customer rating:
|
Charro! [Region 2]
Starring:
Elvis Presley ,
Ina Balin ,
Victor French ,
Barbara Werle , and
Solomon Sturges
Director:
Charles Marquis Warren
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
General
| Westerns
| Genres
| DVD
| Video
Balin, Ina
| ( B )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Brinegar, Paul
| ( B )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
French, Victor
| ( F )
| Actors & Actresses
| Stores
| DVD
| Video
Grey, Duane
| ( G )
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Landers, Harry
| ( L )
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Presley, Elvis
| ( P )
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Young, Tony
| ( Y )
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( C )
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ASIN: B00009PAJA |
DVD:
- Fight Club (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
- Five Corners
- Funny People
- Futurama the Movie - Bender's Big Score
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- Girl Play
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