SCIENCE FICTION DVDS
ARMAGEDDON
Buena Vista Home Entertainment
Movie: 3.5 Disc 4.0Even before Sept. 11, 2001, I was always a sucker for baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and patriotism. In Johnstown, PA, when I grew up, it wasn't uncool to celebrate the fourth of July, ohh and ahh at fireworks and wipe a tear from your eye when the "Star Spangled Banner" was played at high school football games. So, to those pretentious film goers who want high art, I say go to a museum. I want a movie that shamelessly manipulates my emotions, glorifies flag waving and makes my heart beat faster. Ergo, Armageddon rocks.
Roger Ebert's review of Armageddon notes: "'Armageddon' is cut together like its own highlights. Take almost any 30 seconds at random, and you'd have a TV ad. The movie is an assault on the eyes, the ears, the brain, common sense and the human desire to be entertained. No matter what they're charging to get in, it's worth more to get out." Oh Roger, lighten up.
A giant meteor is heading for the Earth and the world is a goner unless a band of misfit oil drillers become unlikely astronauts and manage to save the planet. We have stupid politicians who want to set off explosions immediately, we have the heroic loner, we have the beautiful sweethearts, we have two fathers who regret their hard-living lifestyle, we have the good man who can't follow his dream into space because of a physical defect, we have the uptight military-trained astronauts who follow their orders to the letter, regardless of the facts, we have the rest of the band of outlaw misfits who work and play remarkably hard.
Yes, we've seen it all before. But that doesn't mean you're not in for a great time. I must admit, I'm partial to Bruce Willis movies. Gary and I were probably the only two people in the world who liked Hudson Hawk. But, along with Bruce Willis as Harry Stamper, we have Billy Bob Thornton, wonderful as usual as the executive director of NASA Dan Truman, who is placing the fate of the world into the dirty hands of the drillers; as the young lovers we have Liv Tyler as Willis' daughter Gracie and Ben Affleck as A.J. Frost, who reminds Willis too much of himself; Steve Buscemi is Rockhound, a perverted genius, the cast also includes Michael Clarke Duncan as the gigantic but lovable Bear and Will Patton as Chick.
One thing I noticed about Armageddon is the resemblance to the John Wayne, Jim Hutton film Hellfighters (1968). John Wayne plays oil fire fighter Chance Buckman (based on famed Red Adair); his wife (Vera Miles) has left him because of his dangerous profession; daughter Tish (Katharine Ross) falls in love with Chance's right-hand man Greg (Hutton). Chance is extremely unhappy about this: he doesn't want his daughter to face that kind of difficult life. Although Chance doesn't rescue the world, he and his crew do save quite a few lives and countries throughout the film. Sound familiar?
After Sept. 11, I wanted to watch something where the good guys win. This seemed just the ticket. We did consider if the meteors destroying New York would be difficult to watch, but rather, it made me think about the devastation caused by things we cannot control and how we must live our lives the best way we can, for each day is precious. Armageddon may not be great art, but it's definitely good heart pounding, flag waving, everyone can be a hero medicine, and as we so tragically learned, everyone really can be a hero.
The disc is first rate with stunning sound. Includes Dolby digital 5.1 audio, theatrical and teaser trailers, Aerosmith's music video "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing."—Susan SvehlaThe Beast from 20,000 Fathoms
Warner Home Video
Movie: 2.5; Disc: 3.0Unfortunately, the black-and-white Harryhausen movies do not hold up well by today's standards. They remain marvelous Saturday afternoon children's matinee fodder, and for those of us who grew up watching those grand monster epics of the 1950s, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms still manages to entertain. But the film is memorable only for its episodic monster set pieces and grinds to a listless stop during all the other sequences. Count the five memorable scenes--the revived monster in the snow-covered Arctic is witnessed by one man with a broken leg, who lies helpless as his buddy attempts to save him--then an avalanche occurs; the monster attacks an unsuspecting fishing vessel, cuddling the ship in its claws and sinking it within seconds; the exploratory diving bell inhabited by the good-natured Cecil Kellaway descends beneath the black water and is savagely attacked by the privacy-seeking prehistoric beast; the all-too brief lighthouse sequence where the monster, attracted by the bright light, comes ashore and tears the lighthouse down; and finally, the prehistoric monster attacks New York City and climaxes with the Coney Island roller coaster death sequence. Admittedly, these special effects scenes are iconic and masterful and here Harryhausen comes closest to approximately what his mentor Willis O'Brien did with the King Kong series. Novice Harryhausen had not learned how to imbue his monster with personality as of yet, but the sequence where the monster chews up a policeman is one of Harryhausen's most memorable.
The sequences with hardly-noticeable Kenneth Tobey and Paul Christian are pedestrian and heroine Paula Raymond's character and performance is generic and mostly forgettable. Those agonizingly talky, long sequences in the lab are sleep inducing. Perhaps this movie was a product of its time, made on a budget, at a time when children not of the MTV generation were willing to endure long, tedious sequences punctuated with brief moments of monster glory. Today, to the adult eye, Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is a yawn whose only redeeming features are some quaint (yet masterful) special effects sequences of a magnificent monster from before time began. Perhaps it should be noted that Godzilla was made and released in Japan one year later and that many sequences of the prehistoric monster amuck in the big city may have indeed inspired the Toho classic.
The DVD extras are many, including two documentaries ( The Rhedosaurus and the Roller Coaster and Harryhausen and Bradbury : An Unfathomable Friendship ), Harryhausen trailers and production notes. The gorgeous 35mm print used has deep contrast and sharp focus, making the film experience satisfying. But while Harryhausen does fantastic special effects, his framing movies never quite live up to expectations.
The Black Scorpion
Warner Home Video]
Movie: 2.0; Disc: 3.5The major flaw of 1950s giant monster movies has always been too much talk, and not enough monster action. The Black Scorpion , Warner Bros.' 1957 release, features a Mexican cast of virtual unknowns plus sci-fi headliners Richard Denning and Mara Corday. The special effects, co-designed by the master Willis O'Brien and Pete Peterson, are front and center with many sequences showcasing the giant stingers. However, every time I see this movie, I fall asleep--three times over a 30-year period in the cellar of George Stover who projects his personal 16mm print once every 10 years, and I fell asleep when I recently watched the DVD. And now I think I know why.
The movie is at its absolute best during the initial 15 minutes when American scientist Richard Denning and his Mexican partner are investigating the ruins of rural villages deserted/destroyed by a volcanic eruption. While we see no mutant scorpions, we do hear their high-pitched whirl. What director Edward Ludwig does create is suspense and anticipatory dread. The humans find a deserted police car half crushed, and the dead policeman is found, eerily standing erect with a look of horror on his face. He holds his pistol in his hand, all the cartridges discharged. With creepy photography, quick shock editing and set design well lit for maximum mood, The Black Scorpion offers a fantastic beginning.
Once the typical bland romance subplot develops with Richard Denning coming to the assistance of rancher Mara Corday, who is trying to protect her cattle, we finally see the insect rascals attack through the ranch fences and walls. The stop-motion models are rather horrifying and the special effects, supposedly created in O'Brien's garage /special effects studio, are quite effective but in a very low-budget sense. What is not so effective are numerous close-ups of the scorpions, cheap papier-mâché models with bulging eyeballs and rapidly moving pinchers that look fairly ridiculous. And what cheapens the marvelous special effects even further is the absolutely poor lighting used to shoot the giant insect monsters. Supposedly, Willis O'Brien wished to end King Kong , not on the Empire State building, but in a sports stadium, and during the climax of The Black Scorpion O'Brien finally gets his wish. However, the final surviving scorpion fighting tanks and military weapons is so dark and undefined that the dramatic intensity of the sequence is compromised. Often the scorpions are shown in complete silhouette and we wonder whether models were even necessary if the lighting and photography failed to showcase the stop motion effects. Thus, the plot and subplots are dull, and even the monster effects sequences are dull because of how they were photographed, so The Black Scorpion ultimately becomes one big yawn by wasting such creative special effects executed by Willis O'Brien.
Fortunately the print is pristine, and the DVD extra features are quite extraordinary. We have trailers of this film with other Ray Harryhausen movies. We have a documentary featuring Ray Harryhausen. We even have the Ray Harryhausen/Willis O'Brien special effects sequence from The Animal World , featuring a beautiful color print. But most exciting of all, we have test footage found in the trunk of Pete Peterson, after his death, containing 16mm test footage created by O'Brien and him for two potential projects: "The Las Vegas Monster" (striking monster footage) and the "Bettlemen" full color footage. These test footage sequences are alone worth the cost of the package. While The Black Scorpion is overall bland and dull, the special effects footage created by Willis O'Brien (especially the long sequence at the bottom of the cave where Denning finds a nest of the monsters) is quite effective if sometimes undermined by poor lighting and photography.
THE CRAWLING EYE
(aka THE TROLLENBERG TERROR)
Image Entertainment
Movie: 3.0; Disc: 3.5British science fiction monster movies generally do it right and do it best. Take for granted the British production The Trollenberg Terror, released in the US with the more sensational title, The Crawling Eye, a movie produced by Monty Berman and Robert S. Baker (Blood of the Vampire, Jack the Ripper, Flesh and the Fiends), with a story by Peter Kay and screenplay by Hammer veteran Jimmy Sangster, directed with tension and style by Quentin Lawrence.
The miniature model created giant eye-ball monsters, actually looking closer to big creepy-crawling brains, but white instead of gray, with protruding eyes. To make the effect even more horrible, each eye monster has elongated tentacles which reach out and entwine themselves around unsuspecting villains, ripping their heads off. These creatures are low-budget but effectively photographed and, here's the main point, never shown until the movie's climax. Throughout the entire production, the director and cinematographer (producer Monty Berman) build suspense by showing the creature's dead victims, displaying subjective death-rattle reactions as people fall victim to the fiends and creating impending dread and gloom as the dominant mood.
By the time the door at the hotel bursts open and we physically see the alien terror, our pumps have been more than primed for such a payoff. And instead of taking the American way of focusing on the military or the loner scientist, here, at this little mountain village, we have subplots of scientists referring to a similar incident that went awry a few years earlier that mimics the current mystery unfolding before our eyes, and we have a mind-reading act featuring Janet Munro as an actual psychic presence, one who is considered dangerous by the alien menace and who must be destroyed to protect them. Thus, she is psychically compelled to go up the mountain alone, and when she is prevented from doing so, human corpses of the dead, still seemingly alive, come to the hotel to silence her once and for all.
The only unsatisfying plot twist is having these dead humans being able to be killed, for a second time, with guns and knives. American hero Forrest Tucker has a secret past and Lawrence Payne, another visitor to the hotel, also seems mysterious and untrusting. Since the identity of the eye creatures is not known until the movie's end, the suspense is maintained by having such unknown creatures live in a radiation cloud, approximating their atmosphere, which remains static until the cloud abruptly moves to enshroud intended victims who generally lose their heads and have their bodies frozen into crystal.
Thus the movie succeeds on many different levels: acting and character development, cinematography and direction, suspense and a very mysterious plot, and ultimately, wonderful giant monsters from outer space. While The Trollenberg Terror does not achieve the heights of the first two Quatermass movies, it is at least as good as X—The Unknown and is generally more successfully rendered than the majority of American counterparts. To the film's merit here, for the first time, the The Crawling Eye can be seen in its 1:66:1 letterbox ratio in a beautiful 35mm print, enhanced for 16:9 televisions. Since this is the British print, it is several minutes longer than the American version, containing a few additional shots of gore (a head in a leather bag and a decapitated corpse) and some added sequences which help to clarify the plot. But this is truly the complete, uncut version never before seen in the USA. A very dupey, blurry trailer is the only extra. But I give the film additional credit for presenting a letterboxed print (very sharp with good contrast) of the British release version. For me, this film is in my top-5 B monster romps of the 1950s. On Image Entertainment's DVD, it has never looked better.
CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA
Alpha Video
Movie: 2.5; Disc: 3.0
In the declining era of video tape, we can fondly remember those gray-area distributors such as Sinister Cinema (now boldly heading into the new world of DVD), The Fang, Cinemacabre Video and many others, small video companies that released public domain titles or titles unavailable for legitimate release. Now, with the era of DVD, Alpha Video has entered the DVD marketplace offering many titles formerly released by The Roan Group and other public domain titles.
Now these DVDs are not state-of-the-art 35mm prints that have been digitally enhanced or corrected. No, these are DVDs created from collector's private 16mm prints, transferred to DVD with splices, hissy sound and scratches. Thus far, I have only had time to preview Creature from the Haunted Sea, but many other titles have become available and will become available, including The Woman in Green, White Zombie, Topper Returns, Pride of the Bowery, Nosferatu, Doctor Blood's Coffin, The Fury of the Wolfman (Paul Naschy), Horror Express, King of the Zombies, Maniac, Spooks Run Wild and Night of the Living Dead. Some of these titles are available from other companies, at higher list prices, with better quality. But some of these titles are not available from any other company currently on DVD. And Alpha Video's generally sell for $5.00 per title (and are available at Sam's Club, B.J.'s, Border's, etc.). Thus, these 16mm copies are quite fairly priced, and where else can one acquire Creature from the Haunted Sea or Spooks Run Wild on DVD?
Filmgroup has never produced any of my favorite Roger Corman productions, and Creature from the Haunted Sea, a cult favorite for many, is still not my cup of tea. The film begins promisingly with a funny spoof of spy movies, this pre-title episode most-likely directed by Monte Hellman (Beast from Haunted Cave) and not Roger Corman. But once we board the boat that attempts to sneak Cuba's gold out of the country and out of the hands of Castro, well, the plot becomes quite monotonous with cardboard characters that do not hold one's attention. Add to this mix one of the most low-budget sea monsters imaginable, even for Roger Corman standards. The monster begins to pick off occupants of the boat, one by one, with far too much time between each monster appearance to hold the viewer's interest. By the movie's end Antony Carbone's Bogart imitation becomes overbaked and Betsy Jones-Moreland overstays her welcome. The best sequence in the film is the final one, showing the gold underwater, now guarded by the monster, who appears to be the winner in this quirky monster comedy. The DVD offers no extras except chapter stops, and the 16mm film quality is quite watchable, as long as the viewer has not been spoiled by perfect, digitally corrected DVDs such as the ones released by Image or Anchor Bay. Bottom line, Creature from the Haunted Sea is definitely worth five bucks!
EVOLUTION
Dreamworks Home Entertainment
Movie: 2.0; Disc: 3.5Director Ivan Reitman had a smash hit upon his hands when he made Ghostbusters back in 1984. The movie, a modern comic marvel, combined some of the funniest comedians of the era—Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Bill Murray, Rich Moranis—with some of the most amazing special effects offered in movies at the time. All the components worked... the sizzling sexuality of Sigourney Weaver, the dazzling visual effects, the comic camaraderie between the leads ... so the film's success prompted a sequel (although not nearly as effective).
It seems Reitman is returning to the well one time too often with Evolution, a title that suggests science text-book academics, missing links and prehistoric marvels. Unfortunately, the movie is more It Came From Outer Space, with a smile, as demon aliens arrive on Earth via meteorite and begin multiplying at an incredible rate until ultimately growing into a Buck Rogers-style gigantic blob (imagine Quatermass II with the doom creatures recreated with a budget) by movie's end. Without doubt, the incredible special effects featured in the movie, created by the Phil Tippett Studio, are the real stars of the movie, absolutely the only reason for viewing the movie.
The sequences in the shopping mall with the rapid fire creatures running wild, pursued by the scientific team, is dramatic and fun all at the same time. The film's climax, featuring the formerly mentioned blob who must be killed by receiving a cosmic suppository is childishly gross, but still funny for all the adolescents housed in adult bodies.
However, the chemistry between the major human characters of Ghostbusters made it the darling of critics and fans almost 20 years ago, but here the human chemistry falls flat. Star David Duchovny, who left The X-Files to do movies such as Evolution, is simply mediocre. He has that hound-dog sensitive face, says the lines professionally, but he fails to connect with female lead Julianne Moore, who appears to be slumming by doing this movie. So intelligent, sexy and charismatic in films such as Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Hannibal, here, she is simply silly and seems to be opting for a quick pay check. Comic Orlando Jones almost is enough to ignite the spark to bring this movie to life, but even he is overwhelmed by blandness surrounding him. Likewise, Seann William Scott has some good moments, especially at the movie's beginning when his car is literally destroyed by the meteor from beyond, and his passion to prove himself as a virgin firefighter is cleverly humorous. But when you compare the cast of Ghostbusters to Evolution, and compare the script and the interactions between the lead cast, that's when the film goes south.
Simply from the point of view of the special effects, both films impress with state of the art visuals, and perhaps, for non-thinking fans of the science fiction genre, special effects may be enough. But unfortunately, as a complete movie experience, Evolution is decidedly bland. However, Dreamworks must be commended for taking care in putting together the DVD edition of Evolution. The pristine 1:85: 1 anamorphic print, presented with both a Dolby Digital 5.1 and the superior DTS surround soundtrack, the film looks and sounds the best it could. Supplemental features include conversations with the major cast members and director Ivan Reitman, Storyboards, a Visual Effects featurette, and for me the highlight, several deleted sequences. Too bad the movie never lives up to the superb presentation that Dreamworks offers. However, for a drunken evening of fluff and yucks, Evolution might just be exactly what the doctor ordered.
THE FIFTH ELEMENT
Superbit Columbia Home Entertainment
Movie: 3.5; Disc: 4.0
What a brilliant idea! One of the major selling points of the DVD format is the supplementals included on most discs including documentaries, audio commentary tracks, deleted sequences and other bells and whistles. For some people the movie comes secondary to the extras that make owning the movie unique and extra special. You know, the people who spend hours looking for hidden Easter egg extras.But some of us simply want to watch and listen to the movie in the highest resolution sound and audio possible. Thus, the Superbit "pure performance" reissues of special movies is ideal for people who care only about the movie. Each Superbit disc starts with the highest definition masters and doubles the bit rate of the original release. Thus, the picture looks even better. And for audio, besides the regular Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, each Superbit disc offers a choice of DTS 5.1 surround. For me the DTS soundtrack only offered sporadically on bigger-budgeted movies always has the edge in clarity and density over the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks. DTS, which needs its own special decoder and is now found more regularly on moderately priced audio receivers, is definitely the way to go for the best in DVD sound.
But what about the picture? The original DVD of The Fifth Element was reference standard quality, so how could Superbit improve upon perfection? Enter Mr. Art Cuevas, a degreed sound engineer and owner of Silver Screen & Sound Home Theater sales and installation here in Baltimore (check them out at silverscrn.com). I know Art very well, because we purchased our home theater from him and he comes by the home occasionally to "tweak" the system. Last week I showed him part of the Superbit The Fifth Element, a movie he knows only too well because the original pressing is a movie he uses at the store to showcase his systems. Within a few minutes of watching a movie he already knows by heart, Mr. Cuevas stated the Superbit version looks superior, definitely.
Don't go start pointing your finger and yelling, "They are forcing us to buy our movies all over again," because perhaps the DVD you now own is good enough. However, if you have a special love for a specific movie that is offered as a Superbit disc, the Superbit movie will look and sound superior (perhaps only slightly, but noticeably none the less).
The Fifth Element, a movie I originally saw and heard at the Bengies Drive In Theater, underwhelmed me. But hey, the drive-in theater is the worst place to see and hear a movie. At home The Fifth Element is fabulous science fiction entertainment, intelligent and fun. Director Luc Besson's futuristic world of the 23th century is visually impressive, but the character performances of taxi driver Bruce Willis, half-naked Milla Jonovich as humankind's sexy savior and eccentric Gary Oldman as the half-humorous villain makes the film more than just a visual treat. The movie's special effects are inspiring and often frightening, as an outer space energy ball threatens to gobble up the planet Earth. The sequence with the alien diva who sings sci-fi opera as well as delivering secrets of survival as evil aliens attack during her nightclub performance is another high point, both visually and aurally. The sequence where Jonovich studies the human history of war within a minute, saying nothing but staring intently at her visual monitor, tears rolling down her cheeks uncontrollably, speaks volumes of a subtle performance. The 3-D animation of the airborne traffic, swooping upward and downward, left to right, is both mesmerizing and dizzying. The manner in which the film blends true futuristic science fiction with a supernatural mythos involving the alignment of stones to deflect the evil threatening the existence of the planet remains me of the similar synergy that Nigel Kneale created decades ago in his Quatermass trilogy. Without ruining the plot, let me say that The Fifth Element is a reference standard movie for any home theater, and that the marriage of visual, audio and script is a rewarding marriage of three necessary elements to make a successful movie. The Fifth Element was unfairly ignored upon its initial release, but it is definitely a gonzo movie that appeals to both the head and the heart by creating edge of the seat suspense in a visual world that has never been seen before. The Fifth Element, simply stated, rocks.
IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA
Columbia Pictures DVD
Movie: 2.0; Disc: 3.0Monster movies released during the 1950s might still have a childish charm, but far too many of them suffer from the very components that doom It Came from Beneath the Sea , one of the first movies to feature special visual effects created by Ray Harryhausen, the only single kudos-earning aspect of the movie. Show me Ed Wood's Bride of the Monster , show me the visually delightful Invaders from Mars or show me the over-the-top The Brain from Planet Arous , all three are low-budget B delights. But why is It Came from Beneath the Sea such a drag?
First of all, science fiction movies made during this post-WWII era involve plots heavy on flaunting military hardware, in this case a naval submarine, and when early in the film the giant octopus attacks the submerged vessel, the audience is stingily given 60 seconds worth of suspense and five minutes' worth of deadly dull science-babble.
Of course we have the standard at-sea attack where unwary fisherman meet a few seconds of stunning monster footage with minutes of terrified close-ups and a ship rocking to and fro upon a choppy, studio-bound miniature ocean.
And, oh yes, the characters are always stiff with the distinguished but not quite youthful Kenneth Tobey romancing the sexy young scientist Faith Domergue. Far too much plot time is wasted showing time-filling restaurant sequences where the bull-headed military professional busts heads with the equally passionate and narrowly focused scientist. Somehow the animal desires of the humans overcome their intellectual differences.
Perhaps the best sequence, other than the climatic giant monster attack on San Francisco harbor, is the moody beach sequence where the bathing-suited hero and heroine wait for the first sign of the fiend. The sequence is filmed and edited for maximum suspense and this anticipated fright becomes a shining moment in an otherwise dull enterprise. Of course the payoff is the fabulous monster vs. the unsuspecting city final sequence, which features most of the movie's budget in these marvelous special effects that last all of 15 minutes. However, for even a short 78-minute B feature, far too much time is wasted simply sitting around and waiting for the octopus to begin its monstrous human feeding frenzy. Simply put, in many such 1950s monster programmers, the final payoff seldom warrants all the dead characterizations, talky dialogue, intrusive and unbelievable romantic sequences and the focusing on dull military hardware. Ray Harryhausen created the special visual effects for some marvelous movies, but unfortunately, this is not one of them.
Extras include a pristine, widescreen, deep-contrast print, a featurette ( The Ray Harryhausen Chronicles ) and theatrical trailers. It Came from Beneath the Sea is not the worst sci-fi monster romp ever filmed, but it seldom rises above the mediocre.MAD MAX
MGM Home Video
Movie: 2.5; Disc: 3.5Mad Max, the audacious debut of future movie superstar Mel Gilson and director George Miller, is a movie best remembered as a blur in one's past rather than a movie to be revisited today. Without doubt The Road Warrior is the classic of the trilogy and best exemplifies Miller's visual style and Gibson's Mad Max character. Mad Max, a violent B movie with minimal plot and motivation, features loving photography of speeding autos and cycles running down the road, crushing, burning, exploding, flipping, flying and metal crunching on Australian streets of death. Mad Max is only a low-budget shadow of the infinitely superior second entry, this first entry being more an attitude and a visual exercise than a full-blown movie.
First of all the characters are macho stereotypes, comic book cut-outs, the police as maniacal, brainless and hormone-driven as the villains, who are even more psychopathic and cruel, but the cops wear the bronze badges and the villains become the modern equalavent of Marlon Brando's Black Rebel Motorcyle Club from The Wild One as filtered through numerous Italian Westerns.
From the movie's beginning, the villains, seen in souped up hot-rods of the near future, ride down the endless highways with their eyes ablazd and mouths open, screaming and whooping it up, for no apparent reason other than these are joyriders out for a deadly amusement park thrill ride. Their motives are simply that they are evil. The police's only duty, it seems, is keeping the highways safe for the innocent, but they are equally foolhardy.
The movie involves Max pursuing first psychopath, Nightrider, who speeds through an off-limits construction area and kills himself crashing into another parked vehicle, exploding upon impact. It seems Nightrider's best buddy Toecutter and his gang of crazoids vow revenge, and the rest of the movie concerns first the maiming of Max's best friend cop Jim Goose who is trapped in an overturned vehicle leaking gasoline as Toecutter forces his gang member to torch the car, burning Goose to a cinder. But this is small change compared to the terrorizing and road-kill slaughter of Max's infant child and wife, who are brutually mowed down on the open road. After Max's revenge is complete, the film abruptly ends. The video game is over.
Granted, the film's kinetic style does gain momentum during the film's final third, with Max's forced vacation (by his supervisor) into the country with his wife and child. The manner in which Max manages to quite accidentally cross paths with Toecutter's gang is the stuff of which B movies are made. But Miller's direction is crisp and suspenseful with wife Jessie's romp through the endless woods to reach the beach, pursued by Toecutter's men, and the sequence where Jessie runs out of the cabin to find her child and instead finds Toecutter's gang with one greasy member bouncing her baby on his lap. The intensity of the wife, clutching her child to her chest, running full throttle down the road, leading to the motorcycle gang's advance charge, resulting in their brutality of simply running her and her baby over in the middle of the road, is emotionally draining and gut-wretching.
But Mad Max is more of an emotional roller coaster ride than a true movie. The plot is attitude and setting—good vs. evil and who will rule these streets of death. The acting is more attitude and bluster, eye-rolling and snarls. Truly, Mad Max is a comic book come to life. Fortunately, the DVD release marks the debut of the original Australian voice track instead of the American dubbing that American International served up upon the film's release here in America, the studio thinking the heavy Australian accents would be too difficult to understand for American audiences. To be honest, the Australian original is easy to understand.
The DVD offers both a panned-and-scanned and letterboxed version, and the print featured is pristine and sharp. Numerous features include an audio commentary track (which unfortunately does not feature director George Miller), a photo gallery, Triailers and TV spots, a wonderful 5.1 Dolby Digital surround soundtrack and several documentaries. Even though the film did not hold up as well as expected, the presentation here is state-of-the-art, and with the original soundtrack restored, the movie here on DVD is superior than the version released to theaters here in the States back in 1979. And wow, does Mel Gibson look young!
METROPOLIS
Kino on Video
Movie: 4.0; Disc: 4.0I am thoroughly convinced that the medium of DVD home video drives film restoration (cable channels such as TCM also encourage such money to be spent), as so many well-worn classics of the past are being digitally restored and released to home video, looking as though 60 years of wear and age have been removed. Fritz Lang's early classic of science fiction cinema, Metropolis , has been released by Kino on Video restored to 124 minutes (using new inter-titles to segue between still missing sequences--sequences, I am sure, never to be found), the longest release print of the movie ever to surface in modern times. And the restored print looks absolutely gorgeous, better even than the tinted and rock-scored Giorgio Moroder 80-minute version released two decades ago. For me, seeing this two-hour plus version of Metropolis is akin to seeing it for the first time, and now I better understand its classic status.
The film's thesis--there can be no understanding between the hands and the brain unless the heart acts as mediator--is perhaps too often popping up as an inter-title on the screen, but its handling within the context of the film is subtle and emotionally gripping. Today, in our modern world of technology gone evil, with the great clashes between the corporate mentality and the worker drones who toil their whole lives only to lose their jobs (downsizing or elimination of the position) on a whim, makes the imagery of Metropolis that much more poignant. It is amazing for a film released in 1927 to encompass similar themes of the death of individualism in 2004. Just looking at the workers who march in rhythm to and from the factory, looking more zombified than any image in any Val Lewton or George Romero movie, shift workers who assume positions at the hands of a giant clock whose arms they must constantly manipulate, strikes a chord of truth within all of us today.
The chasm between the rich corporate owners who live in an above-ground futuristic dream city (looking surprisingly like the modern New York City) and the working class who dwell in depressing underground cities still rings true again reflecting American society with its ever widening divide between the world of the haves and the world of the have-nots. The visual richness of this classic futuristic worldview is almost mesmerizing and the well-crafted cinematography, by Karl Freund, lingers in the mind long after the movie has ended.
But the performances are equally impressive, especially Brigitte Helm's dual performance as Maria the liberator and the insidious and subversive robot turned human. The initial images, almost religious in a brightly lit Joan of Arc sort of way, introduce perhaps the most innocent visage of Helm's underground leader who seeks to organize the workers for a better, richer way of life. In contrast, once the female robot has been made human in the image of Brigitte Helm, she now features a snarling, curling lip, blackened eyes and an aura of manipulative evil that never could radiate from the formerly religious martyr. Without speaking a word of dialogue, the dual-character contrast within Brigitte Helm is cinematic acting of the highest order.
Fritz Lang created many classic movies, but perhaps this gem of the silent movie era, Metropolis , may well be his shining achievement. And this Kino on Video restoration release makes the diamond sparkle like it never has before. Besides featuring a stunning print with restoration of its original score, extras include two long documentaries on both the making of the film and its modern restoration, photo galleries, cast and crew bios, 5.1 Dolby Digital surround track, audio commentary, etc. Simply stated, Metropolis ' release may well be the DVD release of the year and perhaps the decade. This is essential viewing for any fan of classic fantasy and science fiction.
STAR WARS: EPISODE 1 THE PHANTOM MENACE
Fox Home Video
Movie: 3.0; Disc: 4.0While the original Star Wars movies have aged well in one sense (their magical, mythical sense of childhood wonderment and space opera morality) and not well in another (the special effects aren't as special, not even with the Lucas Redux makeovers and the pacing is sometimes lethargic), lovers of the franchise were very critical of The Phantom Menace with all its overblown excesses, poor acting (credit Jake Lloyd here) and its trivialization of the mystical essence behind the Force. The movie made a fortune and for many fans of the series, the less than stellar production was good enough, while others more critical used this fourth entry to disparage the entire Star Wars series, both past and potential future.
Surprisingly, and, for no specific reason, The Phantom Menace works better on the home video screen than it did at the theaters. After only one viewing, it seems that Lucas may have "tweaked" the movie in subtle ways that even I haven't been able to put my finger on, at least not yet. Perhaps what we see and hear on DVD is exactly what we saw and heard in the theatrical version, but the film seems tightened up and all the annoying racially-influenced accents seem less obtrusive. Even Jar Jar Binks seems a tad less overpowering. Perhaps ones perceptions were not so high upon watching the DVD home release and the viewer can digest the movie without bias or high expectations. Ultimately, the film is never better than three stars, but the story seems better cemented, the various set-pieces better fused together and the pacing seems to move at a faster clip.
On the positive side, The Phantom Menace has been transferred to DVD with a pristine THX mastered print, letterboxed at 2:35:1, containing an awesome Dolby Digital 5.1 EX soundtrack that is state of the art. For instance, the film's centerpiece pod race has never looked nor sounded better, and the sequence would be a fine test for anyone considering purchasing a home theater system. The two disc set containing over six hours of additional material includes deleted scenes and a deleted scenes documentary; The Beginning, an hour-long documentary on the making of the movie; special effects sequences (multi-angle) from storyboard, to animatic, to film; five featurettes involving different aspects of the making of the movie; a 12-part web documentary; music video; poster and publicity campaign from around the world; theatrical trailers and TV spots; a DVD-ROM weblink to more Star Wars content; etc. In other words, for the most dedicated fan, this home video release is definitive and priced right.
Still, the film is very much flawed. The casting of Jake Lloyd as Anakin Skywalker was a terrible misstep, Evan McGregor as Obi-Wan vanishes far too long in the middle of the movie and is woefully underused and Ray Parks as Darth Maul becomes the MTV/video game Darth Vader bastardized clone that belongs in the movie only to demonstrate his combatic skills. The film lacks any of the surprises nor even the grandeur of the three earlier movies and substitutes a larger budget for lack of imagination and vision. Also, use of current slang and Rugrats-type potty humor helps to ruin the mythic feel of the original series. However, since The Phantom Menace did intend to introduce the nine-part serial (that plan has apparently fallen by the wayside and the series will stand with six films), perhaps some allowances should be granted allowing the dramatic cumbersome structure to snap into gear.
Natalie Portman as the Queen, both in disguise and in her actual queenly garb, becomes the dramatic centerpiece of the film, the focus of our attention and the only character to engage us emotionally. Lian Neeson as Qui-Gon is fine when playing the stoic Jedi master, but he is too aloof and misdirected (insisting that Anakin be trained as a Jedi even though the Jedi council detects a disturbance in the Force involving him) to make him a flesh and blood character that we care for continually throughout the screenplay. Even the usually brilliant Samuel Jackson seems to be sleepwalking through his part. The podrace, annoyingly long in the theaters, does improve with time as a technical marvel, but too many technical marvels simply are included to draw attention to themselves, instead of being an integral part to the development of story and character.
I am anxious to see the next installment in this new Star Wars trilogy (it will be especially pleasing to see Christopher Lee, just as it was to see Peter Cushing in the origianl), but unless the second installment, to be released in 2002, is a vast improvement over The Phantom Menace, George Lucas might be considered the latest wizard of movie magic who overstayed his welcome reducing a superb film franchise into expensive, superficial fodder. While The Phantom Menace is at best a good movie, such is not enough to be worthy to join the legendary status of the Star Wars classics.
THE THING (FROM ANOTHER WORLD)
Warner Home Video
Movie: 3.5; Disc: 3.0It doesn't matter if Christian Nyby (the credited director) or producer Howard Hawks directed The Thing , for it is a landmark entry in both the science fiction and horror film genres, a movie that posed the original question: But it is science fiction or horror? The answer is that it is both, but it is more essential to the horror film genre that embraces it as the first modern example of science fiction horror. Simply stated, we have the sci-fied image of both Dracula (the veggie creature lives on human blood) and Frankenstein (its lumbering, silhouetted image resembling Karloff's classic creation) coming to Earth via flying saucer, crashing into Arctic ice.
Surprising, while The Thing has always been noted for its marvelous use of overlapping dialogue (another essential trademark for director Howard Hawks), it remains a tremendously talky movie, a movie that is almost too talky for its own good. Those military and scientific supporting characters are always interesting, but the sequences of action are scant and those sequences of men sitting around and shooting the breeze are considerable. It is truly the repartee between the essential cast of characters--Kenneth Tobey's wizened military captain, Dewey Martin's youthful second banana always with that gleam in his eye, Robert Cornthwaite's obsessed scientist who only wants to communicate with the alien and Douglas Spencer's long and lanky journalist Scotty, prone to fainting and unable to even snap a photo of the alien predator--that makes the movie snap, crackle and pop. For a film with so much dialogue, surprisingly, the characterizations are always interesting (even the cold-as-ice Margaret Sheridan performance as Nikki) and the suspense intense (although the film's major action sequences only include the Thing melting from the ice and fighting the dogs outside in long shot, the Thing on fire, the Thing's sudden appearance at the greenhouse door and the finale where the military finally fries the Thing). James Arness looks menacing as the outer space carrot, but to be honest, any stuntman could have done the job as well. But it is a shame that the distinguished Howard Hawks, whose classic film resume includes screwball comedies, film noir and Westerns, did not work in horror more often, as the production establishes all the requisite components necessary: isolated and claustrophobic setting, sporadic quick glimpses of the fiend, a character-driven plot, the creation of an underlying tension that permeates the production suggesting greenhouse reproduction of a planetful of veggie predators that will overrun the Earth in a short period of time (feeding on our life's blood). While The Thing is wonderful at its 87-minute original edit, it might be even better at its re-release edit of 81 minutes that makes the film move faster and seem even tighter.
The fine-grain print used on this Warner Home DVD release of The Thing is marvelous, with intense blacks. Some hardly noticeable replacement footage (restoring the film to its 87-minute original running time) seems one generation away from the rest of the print, but the film hasn't looked this good since the 1950s. Besides a well-worn trailer, no extras appear.