Richard III

Even More Impressive in the DVD Format
Those who criticize Laurence Olivier and Alan Dent -- co-authors of the screenplay -- for taking certain liberties with Shakespeare's play should also criticize Shakespeare for taking certain liberties with the historical material on which he often relied so heavily. In this instance, Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, Vol. 6, and various Tudor Historians. In my opinion, such quibbling is a fool's errand. This much we do know about the historical Richard III. He was born in 1452 in Fotheringay Castle, Northamptonshire, the youngest son of Richard, Duke of York. He was created Duke of Gloucester by his brother, Edward IV, in 1461, accompanied him into exile (1470), and played a key role in his restoration (1471). Rewarded with part of the Neville inheritance, he exercised vice regal powers, and in 1482 re-captured Berwick-upon-Tweed from the Scots. When Edward died (1483) and was succeeded by his under-age son, Edward V, Richard acted first as protector, but...

One of the greatest Shakespeare films...
Only two of Orson Welles' Shakespeare films rival "Richard III" for the title of greatest Shakespeare movie ever made. That said, Olivier's film may contain the most sheerly enjoyable performance any actor gave on film. His Duke of Gloucester is the definitive performance. Elia Kazan once said Olivier had a certain girlish quality, and that quality is used in the film: His Richard is seductive--a prancing, charming monster whose voice sounds like "honey mixed with razor blades." But one look into his black eyes, framed by false hawk nose, violently angled eyebrows and fright pageboy wig, will tell you that he's also stone-cold pure evil. Richard enacts all our homicidal, plotting fantasies as he cheerfully knocks off all his stuffy relatives and rivals.

Olivier emphasizes the black comedy and wittiness of Shakespeare's play, which he cut and refashioned into a star vehicle for himself. Though Sirs Gielgud, Richardson and Hardwicke co-star, they don't make...

a fine release of a great film.
This review is for the Criterion Collection DVD edition of the film.

Lawrence Olivier directed and stars in this great movie. As this is a Shakespeare release, I see no need to write a synopses. The acting is incredible and the photography is great also.

The Criterion Collection has done a fine job releasing this in a double disc set. It includes footage that was recently rediscovered and not seen for many years prior to the release.

The special features are:

"Great Acting: Laurence Olivier" A 1966 interview with Lawrence Olivier conducted for the BBC, a 12 minute featurette/trailer for the film as well as a theatrical trailer. There are also production and publicity photos and lobby cards. The film also has an optional audio commentary track by Russell Lees and John Wilders.

This is a must for Shakespeare fans.

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Young People [HD]

A Poignant Fox Farewell for Shirley Temple
"Young People" was Shirley Temple's final film under contract at Twentieth-Century Fox. Although she would go on to make some excellent movies as a teenager and young adult, "Young People" effectively marked the end of her reign as a child star.

In this picture Temple plays Wendy Ballentine, the adopted daughter of two vaudeville stars (Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood). She literally grows up onstage (just as Temple grew up before film audiences in the 1930s), stealing scenes from her parents and becoming an integral part of the act.

However, the Ballentines yearn for a more stable and "normal" existence, and, thus, retire from show business to take up residence in a hamlet in the countryside. It isn't an easy transition: the townsfolk seem to have a poor opinion of "show people" and shun the Ballentine family. Wendy also has trouble adjusting to life offstage: she reads "Variety" at home, teaches her entire class to do...

A sweet movie, you can watch with your kids
My six year old daughter and I watched this film together and enjoyed it very much. Shirley Temple as always, gave it her best, as well as the other actors. The story is touching and teaches children about the importance of being open to change. It teaches about caring for your fellow man, and being a good citizen. I would recommend this for parents and young children to watch together.

Temple's last Fox musical
YOUNG PEOPLE (1940) was, despite it's mix of the regular Temple movie trappings, an even bigger flop at the box office than THE BLUE BIRD, released earlier that same year. Back in black-and-white, and with the "child star" cuteness becoming a slightly uncomfortable fit for the rapidly maturing twelve-year-old Temple, it lacks a certain zest; although Temple gives a great performance and is matched every step of the way by her co-stars Jack Oakie and Charlotte Greenwood.

The story follows vaudeville team Joe and Kitty Ballantine (Oakie and Greenwood) and their adopted daughter Wendy (Temple) as they attempt to retire on a farm in New England, only to find hostility and scorn from their old-fashioned, small-minded neighbours.

This was Shirley's last movie for Fox. After her two failures in 1940 (and with no scripts on the immediate horizon), it was decided, in an agreement between producer Darryl F. Zanuck and Temple's parents, to finally terminate her contract...

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The House On Telegraph Hill [HD]

A Psychological Thriller Where People Aren't Who They Appear To Be
The House on Telegraph Hill may not be an A thriller, but it's a B-plus thriller trying hard. It has an intriguing premise, characters who may not be who they seem, a great locale in San Francisco and a big, gloomy mansion.

Victoria Kowelska (Valentina Cortese; spelled Cortesa in the credits) is a Polish survivor of the Belsen concentration camp. Her husband was killed by the Germans and her home in Poland has been destroyed. Just before the camp is liberated her closest friend dies. This was a woman who had a wealthy aunt in America. Victoria's friend managed to smuggled her baby boy out of Poland and to the aunt just as the Germans invaded. Given a chance at a new life in America, Victoria grabs for it. She uses her friend's papers to assume her friend's identity. After spending time in a relocation camp, she learns the aunt has died. She makes her way to America and in New York meets the boy's guardian, Alan Spender (Richard Basehart). The boy will inherit the aunt's...

Gripping Thriller
This film is a real buried treasure. I found it to be reminiscent of Hitchcock at his best. Director Robert Wise perfectly captures the ominous sense of dread by letting this tale unfold subtlely to a satisfactory climax. The film is anchored by a powerhouse performance by Valentina Cortesa. You appreciate the depth of Cortesa's work here because she plays a flawed character, a Polish refugee who assumes the identity of a wealthy heiress who died in the concentration camps. The fact that we root for Cortesa's character against the potentially malevolent forces working against her is a testament to her skill as an actress. Also contributing excellent work here is an understated Richard Basehart.

Lady in the dark
Intent on making a star with this vehicle out of the unusual Italian actress Valentina Cortese, Fox opened up its coffers for THE HOUSE ON TELEGRAPH HILL and also used some of their finest technical talent: the gowns, the sets, and the cinematography are absolutely first-tier, and the director, Robert Wise, does his usual intelligent tricky work with editing to make this woman - in - jeopardy film extraordinarily compelling. The script seems to be a mélange of several 40s melodramas, including REBECCA, GASLIGHT, DRAGONWYCK and (most of all) SUSPICION, but the film's excellent use of its San Francisco locale helps tremendously, as does Cortese's extraordinary performance as the guilt-ridden concentration-camp survivor who steals another woman's identity.

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Overlord

Special features practically outdo the film
"Overlord" is a curious film that blends archival footage into a fictional account of a typical British soldier preparing for the D-Day invasion. While I found "Overlord" lacking as a narrative, it was a worthy cinematic experiment and should be of particular interest to anyone interested in World War II.

Made in England in 1975 with the help of the Imperial War Museum, "Overlord" was not released in the United States until 2006. This long overdue DVD release helps atone somewhat for the film's long absence from North American markets.

"Overlord" is a short sometimes choppy story that manages as well as might be expected to integrate actual footage of Nazis and Allied troops in action including bombing raids and their devastating results. While the focus of the story is on one soldier's enlistment in the British Army and training for D-Day, it is an at times powerful meditation on war's effect on individuals. "Overlord" specifically examines the mindset of...

"A smaller and smaller part of a bigger and bigger machine...." (3.5 stars)
One young British soldier, who celebrates his 20th birthday while training for the impending D-Day invasion, writes a letter to his parents and tells them that as time passes, he feels like a smaller and smaller part of a bigger and bigger machine.

Being a small component of a massive device is the central idea behind Stuart Cooper's "Overlord," an odd, hazy, child's-fever-dream of a movie that uses staged black-and-white scenes interspersed with actual archival footage from World War II.

We follow Tom (Brian Stirner) through a drab, dispiriting round of basic training; his experiences are interspersed with separate scenes of battle, of invasion and aftermath to illustrate events going on "meanwhile" all around him, events leading up to Normandy.

The movie is a truly unique visual experience. John Alcott shot the storyline scenes (just before he began work on "Barry Lyndon") and the movie has a look not unlike "The Elephant Man," or its thematic...

EXTRAORDINARY
This incredible film is a dreamlike recreation that mixes real vintage footage with original film as it follows an ordinary young British bloke from his military induction to D Day.

Wonderfully evocative on every level. The photography is extraordinary. Powerful images shimmer next to the sublime. The very human dilemma of how to make sense of life and war has never been told better. A great film.

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Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium [HD]

grown to appreciate it
Just watched this for the 567th time. I think I finally get it. Can anyone recommend similar titles? Thank you.

Watch it over and over again!
I'm not much of a movie guy, but this one's great for those long winter nights. I own two copies!

Charming...Charming
I would just like to say that it is rare in this day and age for a theater audience to stand and applaud at the end of a movie. That is exactly what happened when I saw Mr. Magorium.
It is also rare for a movie to captivate, not only myself and my wife, but my 13 year old, 10 year old and especially my 4 year old all at the same time.
It was a truly magical movie. Dustin Hoffman was brilliant and brought the charm of Mr. Magorium to life; a performance matched only perhaps by that of Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka.
To those who suggest this is a child's movie. They are correct. It is for children...of all ages.

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Delgo [HD]

Great family fair
I was really disappointed that this movie was not better advertised when it came out at the theaters. I would have loved to have taken my kids and grand kids to see this. This is great fair. It has a very good story. Great animation and imagination. Get this for yourself or for your family. You won't be disappointed.

An old story told in a new way
This movie might almost be called "Star Wars Episode IV - A New Hope (1977 & 2004 Versions, 2-Disc Widescreen Edition) in all-digital form;" as other reviewers have pointed out, it has many of the latter's elements--a naive and reckless young hero, a wise mentor, a mystical system of beliefs and battle skills, a traitor, and a far-distant setting. The planet Jhamora is inhabited by two races, the "barbarian" Lochni and the highly civilized, four-winged Nohrin, who uneasily share what's left of its space after the Nohrins' original country became uninhabitable some 20 years ago. A Lochni youth, Delgo (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), unexpectedly meets the Nohrin princess, Kyla (Jennifer Love Hewitt), and is drawn into a plot by her exiled aunt Sedessa (Anne Bancroft) to seize the throne from her father, King Zahn (Louis Gossett, Jr.), and destroy the Lochni once and for all. To thwart her, Delgo and his friend Filo (Chris...

Great Movie
My daughter found this movie while looking for movies here on Amazon. She researched it and decided that it looked interesting and would be nice for the whole family. It is a wonderful movie. They love the animation and how it is different than most animations that they have seen. I love the story line. I did think that it could have had a different ending. All-in-all, it is a good movie.

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Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison [HD]

20th Century FOX WAR CLASSIC now on WideScreen DVD!
20th Century Fox has done an OUTSTANDING job remastering & digital transferring to DVD many of their World War II movies under the heading of FOX WAR CLASSICS!

"Heaven Knows Mr. Allison" is the best of this series thus far. This 1957 film is presented beautifully in Delux Color & Anamorphic WideScreen (automatically adjusts to your tv size including 16:9 HDTV) format.

Summary: John Huston directs this outstanding story about two of the dearest, most delightful & wonderful people who must survive together in the Southern Pacific during World War II. Sister Angelia (Deborah Kerr - absolutely fantastic (Oscar Nominated for Best Actress)) as a missionary nun and U.S. Marine Corporal Allison (Robert Mitchum - perfectly casted truly) who are stranded on an island in Japanese occupied territory. Their 2 faiths (hers in God & his in the Corps)bring them together and provide each other the strength to overcome over whelming odds.

"Heaven Knows Mr...

From Heaven
Very few war films have a script with just two characters and all the lines in the movie are spoken by those two characters only. One wouldn't think this would be a war film, but it is. This classic WWII war film focuses on the pinacole of opposite human beings, thrust together and forced to survive on each other's individual strengths. Mr. Allison (R. Mitchum) is the marine who beaches on an island after being cast a drift in the Pacific Ocean for several days. There he searches the island and finds only one living person: a nun. Sister Angela (D. Kerr) is a dedicated nun who accompanied a priest to the island but got marooned there instead, and the priest dying a day or so later. Mr. Allison and Sister Angela work as a team on the island in order to sustain themselves. They do everything together: they gather island fruit, fish for turtles, build a sail, and have deep conversations about each other's contrary occupations and past.

The character of Mr. Allison is...

2 legendary stars...and a Japanese Army!
This John Huston classic is one of my favorite war movies. The beautiful island scenery is breathtaking, and Robert Mitchum and Deborah Kerr are flawless. The chemistry between these two, despite Kerr playing the role of a nun, is awesome. Mitchum, playing a tough-as-nails Marine sergeant, is perfectly cast, and gives one of his finest performances. Kerr is also perfectly cast and was nominated for best actress (she didn't win). This movie doesn't have epic battle scenes like other war films, but it perfectly captures the spirit of the U.S. soldiers in WW2. One of the film's best scenes is when Mitchum gets drunk and almost forgets Kerr is a nun! The dvd version has a great picture quality and the special features include a newsreel from WW2 showing battle scenes in the Pacific, and there are a few trailers. If you want to see a different kind of war movie, I highly recommend this classic.

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