Scarlett

Amazon.com

This soapy but highly watchable television "sequel" to Gone with the Wind, the most popular Hollywood movie ever made, has nothing to do with memories of a vanished antebellum South. But it does end up in Ireland, where the determined Scarlett O'Hara Butler (played with frosty passion by Joanne Whalley-Kilmer) turns hard times into an opportunity by buying the ancestral home of her family. Before that happens, however, Scarlett fights to win back the estranged Rhett Butler (manfully portrayed by Timothy Dalton), often seen in the company of other women, struggles for control over the homestead Tara, and gets caught in yet another compromising position with poor Ashley Wilkes (Stephen Collins). The troubles never stop (Scarlett's Ireland adventures land her in a heap of trouble from which only Rhett can save her), but this TV miniseries wisely keeps the focus on these captivating characters, their entangled histories, and the collective destiny that refuses to part them. The show also looks good: the location scenes in Ireland are particularly handsome, and there is something unaccountably satisfying about seeing Scarlett and Rhett walking through peaceful green hills. Enjoy. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly GOOD !!.......2007-09-01

If you like "gone with the wind " North and South, you will love this!!
Highly Recommended!!

This to me was a sleeper.......2007-08-30

I think Scarlet is one of the best movies I've ever seen. The first time it is hard to get used to the new lead. I am so used to them now it is hard to watch GONE WITH THE WIND. Gone with the wind had no closure, Scarlet gives that closure. I watch this movie over and over. I've worn out my copy, and am fixing to reorder it. During to the time lapse between the movies, I'm sorry folks but they could hardly have Clark Gable, whom I love, or vivian Leigh. If you like long movies this is for you. The finish to a great romance.

The Pros/Cons of Scarlett the movie..........2007-08-26

First of all there are a lot more cons than pros, but somebody did go to the trouble of adapting the book to the screen even if it was the small screen. For a hardcore Gone With The Wind Fan this movie may be too much to fathom. I've read GWTW and Scarlett twice. Now, this is the movie so I won't go into the book issues.

The pros: The costumes are pretty amazing. Timothy Dalton does a surprisingly good job as a rough Rhett Butler. The movie itself is entertaining enough and easy to follow. I wouldn't consider it a worthless piece of tripe and wasted celluloid space so it gets an average 3 stars from me. If you can sit through five hours of movie it's pretty ok. I will admit I liked the end of the movie better than the book. It expanded more on Rhett's relationship with Cat and life with Scarlett once they were reunited.

The cons: Well lets face it, there's no outdoing the original. Gone With The Wind is a classic and it's in the top 100 movies ever made list. Joanne Whalley-Kilmer grates on my nerves in the beginning and also Scarlett's emerald eyes didn't show up in this movie. Ever heard of color contacts people? Hello!!! But eventually after a couple of hours I got used to Joanne's Scarlett. The creative license the screenwriter and director took in adapting this movie from the book is ridiculous. First of all, the scene where Scarlett looks at herself in the mirror and is appalled at the vision and then breaks the mirror with the liquor bottle happens a lot earlier in the book... like before she went to Charleston to win back Rhett. But that's a small liberty and who cares when it happens. The biggest issues I have are in the latter half of the movie in Ireland. First of all old Katie Scarlett dies. Second there was an old "witch" who helped Scarlett give birth on Halloween. Third the whole Fenian brotherhood subplot was completely destroyed. Why include that if they were going to completely write it out when it was in the book until almost the very end!!! Fourth Colum didn't get killed by Lord Fenton. Fifth Lord Fenton was not the evil man they portrayed him as and he never raped Scarlett. Scarlett was NEVER on trial for murder in the book. That was taking interpretation beyond anything normal or right. I was really irritated at that... even yelling at the tv about how that wasn't in the book! I understand you have to leave some things out or the movie would be 10 hours long, but seeing as how it was 5 they should have stuck a little better to the story. Why completely change the plot?

Overall if you like period movies with sappy, suspenseful romance plots that are around 5 hours long then this is the movie for you. If you are looking for a true sequel to the original movie in the same splendor don't hold your breath. Even if you are looking for a movie version of the book don't expect much. In my opinion it's watchable - at least 2.5 stars worth but half stars aren't an option so I was generous.

Blue-eyed Rhett, brown-eyed Scarlett?.......2007-07-29

I was sorely disappointed in this mini-series. It was not true to Alexandra Ripley's book, which in turn was not true to the original GWTW. The whole murder and trial plot line was bizarre. Why did Belle Watling appear in Charleston? Rhett with blue eyes, Scarlett with brown eyes? Whoever wrote the screenplay was not familiar enough with the original material to realize what details were just not meant to be messed with. Okay as a television drama, but it doesn't live up to its association with GWTW. If you love Gone with the Wind, the characters of Rhett and Scarlett, or just want to see the screen adaptation of the book Scarlett, avoid this movie, you will be disappointed too.

Did they even read the book?.......2007-07-29

So poor quality that it is embarrassing that they call it a "sequel" to Gone With the Wind. The story line is very weak and completely follows a re-write from the novel.

Average customer rating:

Bourne Identity - the real version
When life was on a much slower pace!
Good to see if you're a Bourne Fan
Great movie
A VERY ACTUAL MOVIE

The Bourne Identity (TV Miniseries)
Starring: Richard Chamberlain , Jaclyn Smith , Anthony Quayle , Donald Moffat , and Yorgo Voyagis
Director: Roger Young
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00006AG8D
Release Date: 2002-08-27

Amazon.com

Though not as briskly exciting as the 2002 theatrical release, this earlier TV adaptation of Robert Ludlum's bestseller has distinct advantages over its big-screen counterpart. It's far more loyal to Ludlum's serpentine plot, boasts greater latitude of geography and character development (allowing Richard Chamberlain's fine performance in the title role), and rises above TV limitations to achieve a big-budget look and feel. Suffering from amnesia and forced to piece together his past as a world-class assassin, Jason Bourne (Chamberlain) enlists the aid of a Canadian economist (Jaclyn Smith), and this pairing of '80s miniseries mainstays remains consistently intelligent, well paced, and altogether respectable. Chamberlain and Smith have adequate chemistry (albeit somewhat shallow), and their dangerous adventure--and eventual romance--is played out against a dozen European locations. Incorporating more of Ludlum's interwoven subplots, this ambitious Bourne is a globetrotter's delight, with a spy-thriller identity all its own. --Jeff Shannon

Description

He goes by the name of Jason Bourne. Shot and left for dead, he is rescued from the sea not knowing who he really is... nor why he is so good at killing with cold-blooded proficiency. Attempting to overcome both the killers who continue to hunt him and the obstacle of his own amnesia, Bourne is determined to uncover his own mysterious past.

DVD Features:
Interactive Menus
Scene Access

Customer Reviews:

Bourne Identity - the real version.......2007-08-03

A must see for those who liked the trilogy of Bourne books. True to the story (for the most part) their is no resemblance to the movie with Matt Damon. It is a pity that no one sought to follow up this movie as they did the others.

When life was on a much slower pace!.......2007-06-08

It's amazing how the advancement in telecommunications technology has put a strain on the pace of movies! Neither Richard Chamberlain nor his foes have cell phones! That in itself has slowed down the pace, considerably!

It's only on watching the original that one realises how today's cinema has put such a demand on actors in terms of physical fitness in order to engage in far more explicit violence, and sex!

It's been extremely unkind of the promoters of the new Bourne trilogy not to mention that they take after a far more gentle Jason Bourne! What's more they also chronicle the same events! This is by no means a reflection on Mat Damon or his acting! However, it'd be only common courtesy to note that there's a point of origin to the modern Jason Bourne.

Good to see if you're a Bourne Fan.......2007-05-20

I'd seen the movies and read the books before watching this 1980's miniseries. I'm old enough to have watched the other Chamberlain miniseries of the era, but have no memory of this one. I found it entertaining, and surprising in how close it followed the first book. Chamberlain was a believable enough Bourne, but not nearly as menacing as the new Damon incarnation. It was sometimes a little hard to imagine Chamberlain as the Medusa killer from the VietNam War. Chamberlain would have made a better Bourne for the third book in the series, where Bourne is fifty. Jacklyn Smith was a pretty good Marie, and the intelligence and strength of the character was as it is in the book and a sharp contrast to the Marie played by Franka Potente in the first two movies. My only gripe with Smith was that she didn't come across as Canadian- more of a West Coaster. If you're one of those that belong to the cult that thinks Jacklyn Smith was the "hottest" Angel, you'll want to watch it for her performance alone.

I'm a car person, so I found the 80's fashions less distracting than the squared-off peculiar style of 80's cars. No one in the movie was wearing rubber band bracelets and balloon pants, just a few "Golden Girl" padded shoulders on Smith. The locations were great for a miniseries and you always knew and felt the stroy was taking place in Europe. Like I said earlier, it was entertaining to watch. And if you are a Bourne fan of either the books or the new movies it's definitley worth watching to get a little more history on the franchise.

Great movie.......2007-05-06

After watching the second Bourne Identity I wanted to watchthe original with Richard Chamberlain. It was definitely more entertaining and interesting and I would highly recommend it to one and all.

A VERY ACTUAL MOVIE.......2006-08-28

Although filmed in 1988 The Bourne Identity is still very actual, the fight against terrorism being very much on today's agenda as well. The two parts movie takes us mainly to Zürich, Paris and New York, to locations so beautifully chosen as to make the viewer wish he could visit them.
A man looses his memory after being shot and enduring serious injuries. The story is his search of identity intelligently intertwined with the unfolding of an international secret services action to capture Carlos, a famous terrorist and assassin who kept the CIA and other intelligence agencies around the world on their toes for years. The writers of the script certainly had an arduous task condensing the complex plot, their talent created a compelling story, a sharp dialogue without ever confusing the viewer.

As mentioned The Bourne Identity unfolds in three different cities. In each of them new elements and characters are added thus making the pace of the show pick up momentum until it reaches a cathartic peak on E 71st street.

The actor in the title role with whom we take the thrilling trip, rather rollercoaster ride, could only be Richard Chamberlain. His unique acting arc displays, with intensity, finesse and perfection, loving moments -- his face melting with love and crying for sadness when his failing memory catches glimpses of the past, his handsome and young body surrendering to the talented and attractive Jaclyn Smith who falls under the spell of this intriguing man -- and tough and violent moments paired with callousness, cold blood, swiftness of reactions, distress and cruel realisations as well as a formidable physical shape. Richard Chamberlain IS Jason Bourne and he is the one who keeps the viewer's attention tense during the entire movie.

One of my preferred scenes is one confronting a French General played by the much missed Anthony Quayle and Jason Bourne/Richard Chamberlain, two great actors among the greatest, on stage and on the screen; so powerful a scene, it grips you, one almost forgets to breathe .... Magnificent acting, soldiers !

The Bourne Identity ends with a moral note, Jason Bourne/Richard Chamberlain once his mission accomplished questions the violence and the need for men to become monsters to fight monsters. In the very last scene, full of symbolism, our hero, tightly holding the arm of Marie St. Jacques/Jaclyn Smith walks out of a cemetery towards a new life where he hopes to make peace with himself and be capable of love again.

A last word to say that Martin Rabbett is coproducer, adding his great talent to the list of those who made The Bourne Identity a big success.

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Roger Moore, Indiana Jones, India, Germany, Circuses, Russians, Trains and Bombs

Octopussy
Starring: Maud Adams , Vijay Amritraj , Cheryl Anne , Patrick Barr , and Kabir Bedi
Director: John Glen
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000RPCK1K
Release Date: 2007-09-04

Customer Reviews:

Roger Moore, Indiana Jones, India, Germany, Circuses, Russians, Trains and Bombs.......2007-09-16

Roger Moore's stint as James Bond lasted a whopping 12 years from 1973 to 1985, which is the longest term for any actor in the Bond role (not including Sean Connery's one-shot unofficial return in "Never Say Never Again"). Moore started as Bond when he was 45 years old and ended when he was 57. The seven films he did are as follows:

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
MOONRAKER (1979)
FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
OCTOPUSSY (1983)
A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)

All seven films were hugely popular at the box office, which explains why they kept making 'em every two years.

In the summer of 2003 I unbiasedly saw most of the Bond films (the ones I didn't see I was already well familiar with, like DR. NO and GOLDFINGER). I fully realize that many Bond fans look down on Moore's stint, no doubt because there was too much camp in most of his films, but I ultimately concluded that the Moore Bond pictures are the most consistently entertaining. In fact, there's not a dud in the bunch; even the heavily maligned MOONRAKER is great! The Connery films were more serious (always a good thing), with the exception of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, and Sean is certainly the quintessential Bond figure, but I gotta admit that -- for some strange reason -- I ENJOY Roger Moore's stint as Bond more than any of the others.

Some argue that by the time of OCTOPUSSY Moore was too "long in the tooth," but I simply don't see that. He may have been 55 years old when OCTOPUSSY was released and 57 when A VIEW TO A KILL came out, but it didn't matter. Moore ALWAYS looked perfectly convincing as James Bond, whatever his age.

As to the story, is it really necessary to go into detail about the plot of OCTOPUSSY? Every Bond film features a main villain and a few accomplices/subordinates who want to cause great havoc; Bond defies death at every turn and runs into numerous beautiful women as he moves from one exotic locale to another trying to figure out the villains' scheme and stop it.

OCTOPUSSY was filmed on location in India, East Germany & England; these locations are, needless to say, fabulous. We also get ciruses, clowns, trains, mad Russian militarists and bombs-about-to-explode.

One thing that distinguishes OCTOPUSSY is that it has more of an Indiana Jones appeal than any other film in the series, which stands to reason since Indiana Jones was hugely popular at the time (RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK came out two years earlier in 1981 and THE TEMPLE OF DOOM came out one year after OCTOPUSSY in 1984). Anyway, this is a good thing.

The "Bond women" featured in OCTOPUSSY are Sweden's own Maud Adams and Kristina Wayborn. I personally never found Maud very appealing, and although Kristina certainly has an exotic charm, she never did anything for me either. I prefer more curvy women; women with more meat on their bones (like in THUNDERBALL, which is the BEST Bond film as far as beautiful women goes). Regardless, I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there who find Adams and Wayborn incredibly ravishing. In any event, there are numerous other women in the film like Midge, the short brunette with full hair, and the East Indian beauty that aids Bond during the opening teaser.

FINAL ANALYSIS: You either like James Bond films or you don't. You either like Roger Moore as James Bond or you don't. Although, most of the time, their plots will make your head spin, they're nothing deep. You won't derive any nuggets of wisdom from these films. They're essentially mindless adventure flicks highlighted by exotic locales and beautiful women whose express purpose is to entertain, not enlighten. It's escapist fantasy/adventure pure and simple.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is usually cited as the best Moore-era Bond picture, and I would agree with this, but OCTOPUSSY ranks pretty high as well (although I generally rate them all about equally). As with most of Moore's Bond films, OCTOPUSSY strongly flirts with camp here and there, but it's essentially a serious story. It has a bit of an Indiana Jones flare and features India, Germany, scheming Russian militarists, gorgeous women, incredible action sequences, ciruses, clowns, bombs and trains gallore. What moore could you want in a Bond picture? That's WHY it rates 5/5 Stars IMHO.

Average customer rating:

Excellent movie, not banned in Hague Convention
One of the greatest movies of all time...
War, it is certainly no picnic...
"What's your major malfunction"
Full Metal Movie

Full Metal Jacket
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Peter Edmund
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00005ATQF
Release Date: 2001-06-12

Amazon.com essential video

Stanley Kubrick's 1987, penultimate film seemed to a lot of people to be contrived and out of touch with the '80s vogue for such intensely realistic portrayals of the Vietnam War as Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Certainly, Kubrick gave audiences plenty of reason to wonder why he made the film at all: essentially a two-part drama that begins on a Parris Island boot camp for rookie Marines and abruptly switches to Vietnam (actually shot on sound stages and locations near London), Full Metal Jacket comes across as a series of self-contained chapters in a story whose logical and thematic development is oblique at best. Then again, much the same was said about Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, a masterwork both enthralled with and satiric about the future's role in the unfinished business of human evolution. In a way, Full Metal Jacket is the wholly grim counterpart of 2001. While the latter is a truly 1960s film, both wide-eyed and wary, about the intertwining of progress and isolation (ending in our redemption, finally, by death), Full Metal Jacket is a cynical, Reagan-era view of the 1960s' hunger for experience and consciousness that fulfilled itself in violence. Lee Ermey made film history as the Marine drill instructor whose ritualized debasement of men in the name of tribal uniformity creates its darkest angel in a murderous half-wit (Vincent D'Onofrio). Matthew Modine gives a smart and savvy performance as Private Joker, the clowning, military journalist who yearns to get away from the propaganda machine and know firsthand the horrific revelation of the front line. In Full Metal Jacket, depravity and fulfillment go hand in hand, and it's no wonder Kubrick kept his steely distance from the material to make the point. --Tom Keogh

Description

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Customer Reviews:

Excellent movie, not banned in Hague Convention.......2007-09-15

It was the Hague Convention of 1899 that banned bullets that flatten or easily expand in the body...so now militaries around the world use "Full Metal Jacket (FMJ)" rounds, which is why the movie isn't called something like "Jacketed-Hollow-Point (JHP)." Now while a JHP round has a lead core with a hollow tip, it also has a copper (generally) jacket of metal around the bottom 2/3rds or so of the body. Then when it hits target the speed of the bullet caused the tissue filling up the hole of the bullet to push the bullet walls out and make if larger in diameter causing more damage as it passes through the body. A full metal jacket bullet instead is a lead bullet completely surrounded by a copper jacket so it barely deforms at all when it hits almost anything except heavy bone, rock, metal, etc... The bullets are cheaper to make, less likely to jam and more likely to injure rather than kill.

One of the greatest movies of all time..........2007-09-13

One of the greatest movies of all time matched with one of the greatest playback formats available. Full Metal Jacket is a rite of passage alongside 'The Godfather' and 'Scarface' that needs to have the best sound and video to go with it so you hear the crispness of every curse and vehement disgust the drill sergeant spews at the fresh meat at Paris Island. It helps that HD DVD allows you to see every bit of spittle that goes with the screaming. Watch this movie, and if possible watch it in with and HD DVD player with a decent surround system with Dolby Digital capability and you will be stunned with it's greatness.

War, it is certainly no picnic... .......2007-08-17

Stanley Kubrick is without a doubt one of the greatest directors in the history of American cinema. While it's debatable whether or not this film can truly be considered a masterpiece (although most males between the ages of 18 - 45 will tell you it is) it is however an unforgettable one. I remember the first time I saw this, I had trouble sleeping that night. It's one big adrenaline rush from the moment this film begins with the boys at bootcamp to it's shocking, disturbing ending. It's absolutely riveting! I can't recall 116 minutes (the film's length) going by so fast. And this, is mainly because of Kubrick's amazing directing.

The film can also boast of some excellent acting performances, particularly by Matthew Modine (Pvt. Joker), R. Lee Ermey (Gunny Sgt. Hartman), Arliss Howard (Pvt. Cowboy) and my personal favorite the very underated Vincent D'Onofrio as poor old Private Pyle, Gunny's personal whipping boy. Fans of D'Onofrio's work on the T.V. drama "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" may have one hec of a time recognizing him at least fifty pounds heavier and playing the role of a dim-witted simpleton. It's a role in stark contrast to that of the mastermind police detective Robert Goren which he has become famous for. However, that's the beauty of Vincent as an actor, these two characters are 180 degrees apart from each other, yet D'Onofrio nails both roles, almost as if he was born to play both.

It's also interesting to note, that before Lee Ermey became an actor he was an actual staff sergeant in the Marine Corps for over ten years. I saw an interview with him once where he was asked if his role in this film wasn't a bit exaggerated. Before he replied, he let go a big, sardonic smile, and said "Are you kidding?" In other words, he was a hell of a lot worse in real life than the role he played in this film. SCARY! Who in God's name would ever wish to endure such abuse (of course they had no choice back then)? I guess you have to be a special type of human being to volunteer for the Marines. A much tougher, thicker-skinned cat than I am that's for sure. Thankfully so, because whether some of us wish to admit it or not, we need people like that in today's crazy world.

The film's music is excellent as well, with many songs composed by Abigail Mead, who is actually Vivian Kubrick, Stanley's daughter. In closing, this movie is gritty, and real, and apolitical (which is kind of nice for a change), and with Kubrick behind the wheel, well you know that it's got to be pretty great.

I am already starting to miss the great director...

"What's your major malfunction".......2007-08-17

This is one of the most quotable movies of all time. I'm sure you've used some of the quotes yourself, even if you don't know where they came from. The first half of the movie is the best part. You know that for this much money you get "everything you want."

Full Metal Movie.......2007-08-15

What can you say about this film? It's a sobering look into basic training for the Marines, with a gunnery Sergeant Hartman (Lee Ermy) whose drill instructor are not too far behind him. The insults and barking orders rolls off his tongue like second nature. This film is really quite a classic among 20-45 males. It's funny at times when it probably shouldn't be. You kind of start laughing until you realize just exactly what is going on. The Marine Drill Sargeant Hartman tears these young privates into pieces and builds them up the Marine Way... except for one private, private Pyle (Vincent Deoferno) who is transformed in a way no drill sergeant wants to see. The movie has a lot of unnecessary shock factor seems in it. Much of it seems like a lot of scenes with no direction, but for some reason you want to see it over and over. Not a movie for the squeamish. Must see for most heterosexual men... ladies don't tend to like full metal jacket. Can't figure out why..lol

Average customer rating:

Kubrick's meditation on the Vietnam War
Research the Aspect Ratio
Vietnam
Why 4:3?

Full Metal Jacket
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Harry Davies
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000P0J09C
Release Date: 2007-05-15

Description

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Customer Reviews:

Kubrick's meditation on the Vietnam War.......2007-09-13

"Full Metal Jacket" is Director/Producer/Co-Writer Stanley Kubrick's meditation on the Vietnam War.

Typical for Kubrick it has an air of detachment, surrealism, tinged with a nauseous sense of weirdness.

In the first half of the film we have basic training at Parris island, which is portrayed in its strip-lit, hospital-like setting as a kind of mental institution where Marine recruits are mentally brutalized. In the second half set in Vietnam, war is literally hell complete with fire and brimstone.

The film is stunningly photographed, well-acted, and if not totally successful, is certainly memorable.

There are no "extras" on the DVD.

Research the Aspect Ratio.......2007-09-08

In response to the complaints made by some reviewers that Full Metal Jacket is not available in a widescreen ratio, the full screen ratio shown here was Kubrick's intended ratio for home viewing. Unlike many films that are shot and exhibited in a widescreen ratio, then cropped to a standard ratio for home theater release, Full Metal Jacket was originally shot in standard. For the theatrical release, the top and bottom of the film were cut off to create a widescreen aspect ratio. Then, for the home release, these excised portions of the film were returned. So the full screen dvd version of Full Metal Jacket actually has a larger picture than the widescreen release. If you really desire the widescreen aspect ratio, try out the blu-ray or hd dvd releases of the film. However, if Kubrick originally wanted the film to be released onto video with the standard ratio, have the blu-ray and hd dvd companies completely disregarded his wishes in favor of increasing sales by releasing the widescreen versions, or has the Kubrick family approved the change? One can only wonder

Vietnam.......2007-09-02

Add this one to your DVD collection. Best scene in the movie takes place late at night on the island.

Corey Cotta, Author of All of Yesterdays Tomorrows.

Why 4:3?.......2007-08-20

It's disappointing that Warner Brothers *still* has not released this movie in regular DVD format at a widescreen ratio. 5 star movie, minus 3 stars for the format.

Average customer rating:

Full Metal Jacket (Blu-Ray)
BLU RAY VERSION
Not a perfect transfer, but hardly grainy.
Grainy transfer

Full Metal Jacket [Blu-ray]
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Harry Davies
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000HOMU98
Release Date: 2006-09-05

Description

The story of an 18-year-old marine recruit named Private Joker - from his carnage-and-machismo boot camp to his climactic involvement in the heavy fighting in Hue during the 1968 Tet Offensive.

Customer Reviews:

Full Metal Jacket (Blu-Ray).......2007-09-06

Great move but the transfer to blu-ray DVD wasn't vary good. Most parts of the movie are grainy. I expected a better quality transfer for a landmark movie such as this one. They could have at least remastered the movie but instead it looks like they made a DVD copy with slightly higher resolution. If you have the DVD version of this movie stick with it. It's probably looks the same.

BLU RAY VERSION.......2007-03-30

if you liked full metal jacket before, the blu-ray version is almost unbelievable. overall the cinematography is fabulous. in a few spots the picture is a little grainy but its like watching these poor guys get shot in 3d. a must for any collector or action lover.

Not a perfect transfer, but hardly grainy........2007-01-15

Kubrick was a visual wizard. Masterfully controlling the cinematography of Full Metal Jacket, he rendered every image is a work of art, searing them into the conscious and subconscious mind. And seeing it in high definition is a wonder. To be sure, there are better transfers, but mostly on subpar films (trash like Stargate). This version of Full Metal Jacket is crisp and clear; the soundtrack is amazing.

As far as the story goes, it's impressionistic -- a series of vignettes held together by characters we first meet in bootcamp. It leaves a powerful, lasting impression of the horror, irrationality, and, ultimately, the pure humanity of war. We are killing machines and lovers, passionate friends and brutal thugs. And, in killing and fighting, we sometimes find ourselves most alive.

There are amazingly poignant lines in this film that resonate powerfully in terms our current war in Iraq. They don't support one side or another, but merely reflect on the universality of war and on America's invervention in places where the locals might not entirely appreciate our efforts and sacrifices. Reasonable human beings can differ on what is going on in Iraq, just as they could about Vietnam. Full Metal Jacket really isn't about that kind of debate. Rather, it turns the spotlight on how much war is a part of us -- and we a part of it.

Grainy transfer.......2006-10-14

This film is my least favorite of the Stanley Kubrick films - which still makes it a thousand times better than much of what is released these days. Kubrick was a master, and this movie is a character study about what it takes to make someone a trained combat killer. There are two separate and distinct setting here - boot camp and the battle fields of Vietnam. It was clear Kubrick had an ax to grind, and for a man obsessed with detail, these guys were running around with 80s hair the latter part of the movie. But he successfully makes his point. It is violent and disturbing, but seems a bit dated after seeing Saving Private Ryan. Speilberg raised the bar on war films in regard to capturing the details of the horror of war. Kubrick got the coldness of it down to a tee.

My complaint isn't with the content - it is with the transfer and lack of special features. This movie is so grainy, it looks like a bad VHS copy. Why didn't WB properly upscale this film, add some special features, and give us what we paid for?

Average customer rating:

Epiphany...
The Lost Generation
"THE LOST GENERATION":The post WW1 Upper crust who sought meaning to life.
Bill Murray's first dramatic role.
Surprise, a serious Bill Murry Movie

The Razor's Edge
Starring: Bill Murray , Theresa Russell , Catherine Hicks , Denholm Elliott , and James Keach
Director: John Byrum
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000069HYF
Release Date: 2002-08-20

Customer Reviews:

Epiphany..........2007-08-01

I saw this movie on what can only be called a dare by an English teacher. If I hated it, and could tell him that, he'd pay for the movie and not make me read the book. I liked it I had to pay for my admission and I had to read the book and to the report, as I was supposed to, but school was, well, optional for me. As the movie rolled along, I got it, okay, not too subtle, war sucks, okay, then the scene in the fox hole, and I got it. I got the juxtaposition of what Murray was doing, why he was doing it, the way he was eulogizing Belushi, but basing it in this character. He was weaving. Old story, with new lines, he time on the mountain, he turns in Paris with Sophie, his forgiveness of Isoldore, implied, not spoken, his epiphanies, making up the punctuation of the story. Up until this time, my movie experiences had been Star Wars and other pop culture movies, but this was different. Movies it turned out could be subtle, not just Proky's and 48 Hours. This was the definition of juxtaposition, subtle, subtext, all those words English teachers had been saying to me for years, this is what it meant. This was craft, art, story telling. This was the meaning of learning, philosophy, of why you should try and make yourself better. I paid, I read, I wrote the damn paper and I have been reading books and trying to make myself at least a little better person as a once in a while.

The Lost Generation.......2007-06-19

This adaptation of Somerset Maugham's novel is probably the best movie ever made dealing with the WWI generation and their attempts to make sense of their lives after experiencing the horrific slaughter of that senseless, brutal conflict. Bill Murray is amazingly effective in the lead role, his first dramatic film appearance. Yet he still has that wise-guy, sly humor charm that shows through to good effect. Denholm Elliot, Theresa Russell and the rest of the cast are marvelous, as well. The cinematography is masterful, giving a very authentic period feel to the production. This one of the very few films I've ever seen that I never tire of watching.

"THE LOST GENERATION":The post WW1 Upper crust who sought meaning to life........2007-05-02

Much has been written and documented about what has now become known as "The Lost Generation".These were the the American upper crust who,being disillusioned after "The War to End All Wars",World War 1, struggled vehemently in many ways to find meaning to their lives upon returning to peacetime America.Zelda and Scott Fitzgerald,Ernest Heningway are among some of the most famous authors to write on the shallow and meaningless existence of their society, and Somerset Maugham did the same in his THE RAZOR'S EDGE.

This 1984 adaptation of Maugham's 1940's novel really captures the essence of the intense inner and outer struggles that the wealthy and privileged of that generation had to endure.Lots of hopes and expectations were radically altered in what seemed like an instant after the War,and either the rich retuned to what they had known before in their upper stations in society,a pampered,opulent,insular and quite predictable road, or they turned to an existential journey that frequently lead down the path to ultimate ruin due to alcohol and opium in Bohemian society of Paris, or to travel to Greece, India or Tibet to find "God".No matter which path was chosen,whether opting for life back in the comforts of American wealth ( eventually ruined at The Great Depression),or "mind-expanding"wandering from the streets to the Temples, each group found it treacherous to walk "the razor's edge" and survive it all.

Other reviewers have marvelously set forth the plot of Bill Murray's own adaptation of THE RAZOR'S EDGE (so I won't improve on their writings).No one could have played his character better. Too bad that the critics of 1984 did not see it that way ( much like the similar difficulties that Robin Williams and Adam Sandler first had in doing "serious roles").Murray KNEW and UNDERSTOOD Maugham's Larry and he performed the role to utter perfection.There is so much to commend Murray's rendition over the previous version,such as the outstanding cinematography, the Stanley Black musical score and the outstanding performances of Theresa Russel,Denholm Elliott and Catherine Hicks.....but most of all it is Murray's true understanding of the heart of the material and message that Maugham
intended.Could the film have been better? Probably only in the editing where vital scenes possibly were deleted in order to compact the film.But, even with that, this is a true masterpiece that seems to be appreciated so much more as the years go by (even by myself who was rather ambivilent about the film at the "know-it-all" age of then 29!!!).

Having since read Maugham's novel and learned so much more about this aimless and disheartened generation of dreamers,THE RAZOR'S EDGE has to be one of the finest expositions ever written or filmed on this subject. Anyone with an interest in "THE LOST GENERATION" will improve their knowledge vastly by watching Murray's THE RAZOR'S EDGE.

Other excellent companion films on "THE LOST GENERATION" would be THE MODERNS,THE GREAT GATSBY,SCOTT AND ZELDA, TOM AND VIV and A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY as well as the play THE VIOLET HOUR.

Bill Murray's first dramatic role........2007-03-09

Even though this is a modern adaptation of the novel, it was undervalued and under-rated when first released. I'm glad that this version as well as the original B&W (closer to the novel) are now available on DVD. 5 stars for Bill Murray taking the risk.

Surprise, a serious Bill Murry Movie.......2007-03-08

This is a movie set in the past and one that will surprise many people. We have a lead actor, who is best know as a commedian, acting in a serious movie and doing an extremely good job of it. Yes there is humor in it but there is humor in life. I didn't care for the original version of this movie but Bill made the difference in a big way.

Full Metal Jacket: Deluxe Edition [Blu-ray]

Average customer rating:

Full Metal Jacket: Deluxe Edition [Blu-ray]
Starring: Adam Baldwin , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Vincent D'Onofrio , and Harry Davies
Director: Stanley Kubrick
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: Blu-ray

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ASIN: B000UJ48UO
Release Date: 2007-10-23

Average customer rating:

For Fans of Campy Sci-Fi and Phillip K. Dick
Loved it!!!
Close to Phil Dicks vision, but not quite
AVOID THIS PRODUCT!!!!! NOT WIDE SCREEN!!!!
WONDERFUL ADAPTATION OF DICK'S SHORT STORY 'SECOND VARIETY' GETS THE MORBID & PARANOID ATMOSPHERE DOWN COLD

Screamers
Starring: Peter Weller , Roy Dupuis , Jennifer Rubin , Andrew Lauer , and Charles Edwin Powell
Director: Christian Duguay
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0767810880
Release Date: 1998-07-29

Customer Reviews:

For Fans of Campy Sci-Fi and Phillip K. Dick.......2007-03-29

Filmed in the Montreal area during that period of time in the 90s when it was economically advantageous to shoot movies in Quebec, Screamers is a loose adaptation of Philip K. Dick's short story "Second Variety". It is a throw-back to the days when campy sci-fi was still a marketable genre, it feels more late 80s than mid 90s. Peter Weller is seems to fit comfortably into this genre with just enough over-acting to not compromise his integrity.

Personally, I really loved the scenes that involved the screamers themselves: mechanical devices reminiscent of rats sporting razor sharp saw-blades in their heads. They are programmed to eliminate the "enemy" in this post apocalyptic setting, but, in the tradition of all great sci-fi, SOMETHING GOES TERRIBLY WRONG(spoken in classic, cinematic threateningly low voice). All to say that many will end up with severed limbs.

Definately a fun movie to watch, despite its lacking somewhat in the second act. It turns out that two of my wife's cousins were extras in the final act of the movie when dozens of "davids" come marching out of the compound. Makes the whole thing that much more enjoyable for me.

Scott

Loved it!!!.......2007-03-14

I loved this movie for it's sci-fi purity and simplicity. There's military, space, AI, mystery, suspense, nukes, drama, sexual tension, love... I'm planning to read more of the works from the writer that wrote the story the movie is based on. This is a classic sci-fi movie. Add it to your collection and get ready to watch it every 2 or 3 months.

Close to Phil Dicks vision, but not quite.......2007-02-04

I have collected books written by Philip K. Dick for as long as I can remember, including over 100 of his short stories in the original publication edtion going back to 1952. I've got all movies related to him, inluding Barjo, which is really pretty good, as an aside. Even the Valis opera on CD which is kind of strange.

Anyway, this movie, as said elsewhere, is a very good B-movie. There are no A-list actors here, mediocre special effects and some dropped threads in the story line here and there. But in general is the kind of movie I expect to be shown on a Saturday afternoon scary movie matinee.

Don't watch this expecting a high intensity movie. There are parts that are slow, but for the most part it moves along in a fairly steady pace keeping you interested in it long enough to finish your popcorn.

The ending is expected and nothing is really a surprise. Almost looks like a grad school film project, but nothing wrong with that, look at Halloween and THX 1138.

So, neither 1 nor 5 stars, but in the middle. Find it used, well worth 5 bucks.

AVOID THIS PRODUCT!!!!! NOT WIDE SCREEN!!!!.......2007-01-08

AVOID THIS PRODUCT!!!!

IT IS NOT WIDESCREEN AS ADVERTIZED!!!!

I have ordered and returned this product 3 times. It is not widescreen. There is no option to for viewing it as widescreen. Amazon has no explanation for the mistake and unfortunately they will not correct the web page. This leads to an interesting question. Why does Mr. Leach state in his review that the disk offers a widescreen option when it doesn't? Either Amazon is massively screwing up the order or he is not reviewing this actual disk from Amazon. If that's the case, he should not be providing a review on it.

WONDERFUL ADAPTATION OF DICK'S SHORT STORY 'SECOND VARIETY' GETS THE MORBID & PARANOID ATMOSPHERE DOWN COLD.......2006-10-26

FIRST OFF: ALL SCI-FI GETS THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT FROM ME

I must admit that this type of film, gritty futuristic sci-fi set on another planet, would have to be horrid for me to not like it. Nevertheless, I do believe that, objectively speaking, 'Screamers', based on the short story 'Second Variety' by Philip K. Dick, is an excellent and worthwhile film.

***---> $20 MILLION FOR A B-FILM?

It seems rather amazing that by 1995, a 20-million dollar budget would only produce a 'B film' which the critics have referred to as "budget challenged"! I do agree that more effort should have been made to create the setting for this film, but would that really have made it more effective? 'Screamers' still manages to create a rather chilling atmosphere where it feels like something horrible is about to happen, but we don't quite know what. The world of 'Screamers' seems real enough and the bleakness seems totally appropriate to the subject. Nevertheless, there is something in 'Screamers' that seems like it was filmed with the least amount of scenery, and whatever was on hand was adapted to fit the story. Maybe this is true and maybe not. In any event, the film still works and does not feel like it is suffering from a lack of anything, specifically, that a bigger budget would have bought.

***---> IN A NUTSHELL [there may be plot spoilers below]

Here we have a planet that was exploited for a new form of energy which fizzled out as it generated an immense, toxic, radioactive waste as a by-product of its production. Two factions collided over the issue and it is now 20 years later. The year is 2078 and there is little left of the planet Sirius 6B, once a real garden spot, we are told. A lone soldier comes to the alliance bunker where Marshall Joseph Hendricksson [Peter Weller] is commanding, with a message which seems to offer a peaceful solution to the war that has ravaged the planet. From here the story goes on the road, a kind of trek that we have seen in the 'Wizard of Oz'. Marshall Hendricksson departs from the bunker with one new arrival in search of his N.E.B.s counterpart to sort out the meaning of the peace offering.

--- ON THE WAY --- EXPOSITION AS WE HIKE TOWARD THE NEB's BUNKER

Everything you will ever want to know about the situation on Sirius 6B and more is delivered via a thinly-disguised expository lump. This comes in the form of Hendricksson telling the new arrival, 'Ace' [Andrew Lauer], who he has taken with him on the trek, everything WE need to know in order to better understand this rather meandering tale. On the way to meet with his NEBs counterpart, the Marshall and Ace find a little boy who appears to be orphaned, several NEBs stragglers, and an attractive black marketeer [Jennifer Rubin]. All of these people have a distinct and vital role in the story, and little is as it seems.

--- AND OF COURSE THERE ARE SCREAMERS!!!!!

These screamers are the real deal here and we never really know what is happening with them and what motivates them because the Alliance that created them, represented here by Marshall Hendricksson, doesn't know either. We do know that they are evolving and upgrading themselves in many rather scary ways and that nobody is safe as long as they are in the same universe as human beings.

And there lies the heart of the story -- the Screamers. Just what is their significance to the human race????? After you see the film you will know!

Average customer rating:

These cuts are moronic.
Paramount, issue a legitimate DVD release
One of the rare cases of the movie being better than the book!
BEWARE: Hacked-up version
Ragtime is one of the greatest movies ever!

Ragtime
Starring: James Cagney , Brad Dourif , Moses Gunn , Elizabeth McGovern , and Kenneth McMillan
Director: Milos Forman
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0002WZTO8
Release Date: 2004-11-16

Amazon.com essential video

Fact and fiction intertwine in Milos Forman's colorful kaleidoscope of E.L. Doctorow's sprawling novel of turn-of-the-century America. Anchored in the true story of the murder of architect Stanford White (Norman Mailer) by Harry Thaw (Robert Joy) over the affections of his wife Evelyn Nesbit (Elizabeth McGovern), Forman weaves a portrait of early 1900s America in a tapestry of intertwining fictional tales. The primary thread involves the proud black pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. (Howard Rollins) and his demand for justice when a racist fireman destroys his automobile, which escalates into a reign of terror by Walker and a band of revolutionaries. A secondary story involves an ambitious immigrant artist (Mandy Patinkin) whose primitive flipbooks send him on the road to creating early cinema. Centering all of these stories in one way or another is an upper-class family known simply as Father (James Olson), Mother (Mary Steenburgen), and Younger Brother (Brad Dourif). James Cagney came out of a twenty-year retirement to play the irascible Irish police commissioner, a character created for the film. Forman's biggest departure from Doctorow's novel, however, is his focus on Walker's story, cutting away the other threads to little more than asides in the final half of the picture, the primary dramatic weakness of an otherwise rich evocation of America's past. Randy Newman's lyrical score and Miroslav Ondricek's understated cinematography earned two of the film's eight Academy Awards nominations --Sean Axmaker

Description

Based on the popular novel by E.L. Doctorow, RAGTIME tells the story of four New York families at the turn of the 20th century. Starving immigrant artist, Tateh sets off to make his fortune in Hollywood, but along the way encounters showgirl Evelyn Nesbit who is at the center of a murder investigation. Meanwhile, an upper-class family finds their seemingly perfect existence ruined when black pianist Coalhouse Walker Jr. begins to romance a pregnant girl living in their home.

Customer Reviews:

These cuts are moronic........2007-05-18

What a stupid piece of vandalism to cut 40 minutes out of such a great picture! Fortunately the Region 2 version is complete, a good reason in itself to buy a multi-system DVD player.

Paramount, issue a legitimate DVD release.......2007-03-20

I can't overemphasize the level of disappointment I have at the hack censorship Paramount management has engaged in with the DVD release of Ragtime. How they got Milos Forman to participate in adding commentary to that blatant smear of his efforts is is beyond me.

Does the studio actually think that diluting the film to "reposition" it (ergo, move it from an R to a PG rating) is going to dramatically grow its appeal? The core market for this DVD is the universe of film fans old enough to fondly remember seeing the original theatrical release in the early 1980s -- but what the studio is offering them (as many reviews here clearly state) is unacceptable.

I want to see Elizabeth McGovern's entire performance, Paramount - so I went to the secondary wholesale market and purchased a new old stock VHS copy, which contains the FULL original release.

Or put another way, one less DVD sale for you.

Because yes, while it's your right as the copyright holder, I won't purchase censored goods.

One of the rare cases of the movie being better than the book!.......2007-03-17

I read the novel RAGTIME years ago and was rather underwhelmed possibly because of my prejudice at the time against books that mingle fiction with real historical characters and events - a literary style I have now come to accept and appreciate. Even so, the movie is much more enjoyable and emotionally moving than the novel. The sets and costumes look authentic, the acting is convincing and the film simply transports the viewer to the early 20th century. One caution, though the movie is rated PG, the version I saw on DVD had some scenes that would probably put it in the R category today and would definitely make it PG-13 though that rating did not exist in the early 1980's when the film was produced.

BEWARE: Hacked-up version.......2007-02-13

BEWARE: the VHS version is 156 minutes long - the DVD version is 115 minutes long. THEY DELETED 41 MINUTES FROM THIS.

The long version is worthy of 4.5 stars - this short version is useless.

Ragtime is one of the greatest movies ever!.......2007-01-19

The central theme still resonates with how America was, and is, in this classic turn-of-the-century period piece. Intertwining multiple storylines with know historical events gives the movie a real sense of being. The directing is brillant, the music even better and the acting is stupendous!!!

DVD:

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