It also mentions that the British (only?) release was cut for violence until quite recently, when it was released by Redemption video "restored from the European laserdisc." Apparently this version also has more tavern scenes and tits.

Certainly, the version I saw had neither violence NOR tits. I assume this was a special version heavily censored for a TV showing. British TV used to do that a lot, and perhaps still does.

I also watched Man Beast. Someone had posted on the board some time ago about knowing the composer who had scored this film. The score had that generic B-movie score sound though. The best aspects of the film were documentary shots of the mountain climbing. The acting was poor and the creatures far from horrific. Someone at Amazon.com once wrote that they thought this was better than the Hammer film on the same subject, The Abominable Snowman. He was wrong. Interestingly, the two films do share some ideas. In both, the Yeti have been hidden by local people from the outside world, but in MB, the Yeti are backward, while in TAS, they are highly-evolved and telepathic.

The DVD looks and sounds quite good (mono track.) Unfortunately, the "stereo" track is actually just that "out of phase" crap, like was used on The Ghost and Mrs. Muir. I also thought that the loud 5.1 THX intro and Panasonic logo at the end were not appropriate for this title. If the feature is in mono, please do not blast me back in my seat with 5.1 ping-pong crap on both ends of the film. Yes, my sound system has 6 speakers, I know that. Thanks for verifying that they all work correctly, but I'll only be needing the center speaker for this film.

On the flip side of the disc is what appears to be a fairly old documentary (IMDB says it's from 1995) that looks pretty cheap, could have used a narrator, and could have also used a little bit more cutting in the editing room. Even though the presentation isn't real slick, there's still a lot of decent information here from Robert Wise and Julian Blaustein. Herrmann biographer, Steven C. Smith, also makes an appearance with his book not-so-subtly placed behind him-- I should buy that book sometime-- uhh, anyway, he obviously chats about the score. Wise also provides a commentary on the movie side of the disc, which I have not listened to yet.

So anyway, this disc is a great presentation of the movie and for about $15 it's a great price as well... Once again, I paid less for this antique film than I did for the antique soundtrack album. I'll probably end up paying another $17 to buy the re-recording now.

NP: The Day the Earth Stood Still (OST album)

I ask this because I think (though I could be wrong) that this great movie has one fatal flaw. I haven't seen it for a while, but although it seems to be ostensibly a "pacifist" film, I was never comfortable with the ultimatum "Live in peace or we'll blow you up", nor the idea of Michael Rennie's planet achieving peace through the presence of humungous great robot policemen. Isn't that just a totalitarian state?

I can't say anything about this film which hasn't been said before, so I'll just conclude by saying that this may very well be my favourite Hitchcock film, and that's saying a lot.

Oh, no score, as you all know. The brilliant sound design obviously loses a lot on the small screen, though it's still nerve-racking. Must have been really hellishly nerve-racking in the cinema.

THE BIRDS (USA 1963)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Screenplay by Evan Hunter, from a story by Daphne du Maurier
Photography by Robert Burks
Electronic sound production and composition by Remi Gassmann and Oskar Sala
Sound consultant: Bernard Herrmann

quote:

---

Originally posted by Graham Watt:
Jonathan, I'm intrigued by your comment on THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL - "I put my political views aside and just enjoyed the thing." Why did you have to park your political views?

I ask this because I think (though I could be wrong) that this great movie has one fatal flaw. I haven't seen it for a while, but although it seems to be ostensibly a "pacifist" film, I was never comfortable with the ultimatum "Live in peace or we'll blow you up", nor the idea of Michael Rennie's planet achieving peace through the presence of humungous great robot policemen. Isn't that just a totalitarian state?

---

Graham, you hit the problem right on the head. Robert Wise is anti-war, and I can understand that, but I share your feeling that the "peace by giant robots" idea is just a totalitarian state. Perhaps 'political' wasn't the best word to describe it.

Even with this issue, I still thought this was a great film, but it could have been even better if the ending speech was toned down a bit.

Gae

Directed by Jim Abrahams
Screenplay by Jim Abrahams and Pat Proft
Photography by John R Leonetti
Music by Basil Poledouris

Main Cast: Charlie Sheen, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Crenna, Valeria Golino, Brenda Bakke, Rowan Atkinson

A Rambo-type must defeat Saddam Hussein in order to rescue an elite squad taken hostage during a rescue mission of its own.

Wow! Why did I watch this? Well, it was Friday night and I'd had a few beers, and this promised to demand zero on both the intellect and the attention span. I was right. HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX is very silly indeed, but the trouble is it's just not funny, nowhere near as good as the NAKED GUN movies for example. I laughed about twice, which left about 99% of the film embarrassingly feeble. It really is pretty pathetic, and I'd never recommend getting the video out, but if it comes on TV and you've had a few beers, there are worse ways to pass the time.

Directed by Jerry Hopper
Screenplay by Lawrence Roman and Robert Blees, from the novel by Conrad Richter
Photography by Maury Gertsman
Music by Frank Skinner

Main Cast: Anne Baxter, Rock Hudson, Julia Adams, Natalie Wood, Barry Curtis, William Hopper

Towards the end of the 19th century, a former "casino hostess" attempts to find true love and respectability.

Very typical of Universal's pink-tinted, frilly-clothed romantic melodramas of the 50s, I quite enjoyed ONE DESIRE. The hard centre is blandified (new word?) by all the pretty colours, but it's still eminently watchable, and it all ends in a final conflagration worthy of a Roger Corman/Vincent Price film. However, this kind of "woman's picture" probably needed the hand of Douglas Sirk to bring the tortured ingredients to the boil.

The film itself was pretty predictable. It's Hamlet, a character even talks about a Shakespearean moment. But I didn't like any of the characters so I didn't care who they were modeled after. Actually, given that DiCaprio was in reform school for 16 years, comes out, gets taken in by Bill who lets him sleep with his best girl, treats him like a son, and lets him live after DiCaprio bungles an attempt to kill him, I thought DC was pretty ungrateful. Sure Bill killed his dad, but Bill also explains the respect he had for the man.

In the one quiet, personal moment in the film, where DD Lewis monologues about his age and need for a son, etc., he's wrapped up in an American flag. Earlier he had said that his family had fought in the Revolutionary War, so that when DDL explains that he's ruled by fear, it's really the USA that's speaking there.

One neat touch that you've got to be quick to catch. DDL is playing poker and the guy next to him is cheating. DDL puts a knife through his hand and calls him Harvey and I'm sure that's meant to be a reference to Harvey Weinstein from Miramax who later did such damage to the film.

I don't see why Elmer's score had to be junked. It's not like the music in there was anything special and I can't imagine that EB's music would have been worse than what was in there.

One element I did like was all the slang and discussion of the different gangs. DDL was fine, if a bit mannered and over the top. A shame the film around him wasn't as good as he was.

William Wyler keeps things (very) tightly under control. His direction breathes intelligence and good taste, frame composition is always meaningful, and he was justly celebrated as a master of deep-focus shots.

All these qualities made up for a lack of passion, one could have asked for less « perfection » and more inspiration, visual flair.

All this may sound as nitpicking, since as such it is a beautiful film. Max Steiner’s score is never intrusive and carfully spotted, soaring up with a choir for the emotional finale.

And I definitively can’t get used to George Brent.

First up was ANALYZE THIS (not THAT). Well, I thought it was okay, but there's not really an awful lot of mileage to be got out the situation, and the film relies a bit too heavily on De Niro's mugging and face-pulling, which is funny up to a point. On the whole, not many great ideas on display I'm afraid.

Howard Shore's score has some good dramatic moments of big band swing, but it's mostly discreet. Shows the composer's versatility though.

ANALYZE THIS (USA 1999)

Directed by Harold Ramis
Screenplay by Peter Tolan, Harold Ramis and Kenneth Lonergan
Photography by Stuart Dryburgh
Music by Howard Shore

As sincere and bland as the film itself is Jerry Goldsmith's music. This is my wife's favourite Goldsmith score, which proves it's a bit girly.

FOREVER YOUNG ((USA 1992)

Directed by Steve Miner
Screenplay by Jeffrey Abrams
Photography by Russell Boyd
Music by Jerry Goldsmith

Christopher Komeda's score sounds as if it was recorded live at a jazz club and then tracked in. It's sometimes distracting, but its very "wrongness" is perhaps just "right" for the overall ambiguities.

KNIFE IN THE WATER (Poland 1962)

Directed by Roman Polanski
Screenplay by Jerzy Skolimowski, Roman Polanski and Jakub Goldberg
Photography by Jerzy Lipman
Music by Krzystof Komeda

I liked the structure ("documentary" testimonies recall Lenny Bruce's life, interspersed with later stage show recreations of how the artist exploited those earlier personal events for his material, all the while becoming more and more self obsessed with his busts with the law and the the supposed hypocrisy of society).

Hoffman is excellent. Valerie Perrine is good too, even if her mock-documentary footage is dangerously close to spoof-documentary footage of the Spinal Tap variety.

I did feel that the finale was a bit hurried (he dies - The End), but on the whole it's a strong movie, in my humble opinion.

Ralph Burns' scoring is more in a supervisory capacity than anything else - lots of good Miles Davis jazz etc on the soundtrack.

LENNY (USA 1974)

Directed by Bob Fosse
Screenplay by Julian Barry, from his play
Photography by Bruce Surtees
Music by Ralph Burns

The Trevor Jones score is very direct - major key for the majestic scenery, minor key when things go wrong. His action scoring is exciting, though disconcertingly similar to Alan Silvestri's stuff, particularly PREDATOR.

CLIFFHANGER (USA 1993)

Directed by Renny Harlin
Screenplay by Michael France and Sylvester Stallone, based on a premise by John Long
Photography by Alex Thomson
Music by Trevor Jones

Main Cast: Sylvester Stallone, John Lithgow, Michael Rooker, Janine Turner

Man, what a laugh, such a stupid film that I had to own it on DVD, Nitro Glycerene and Chris O'Donnell doing super heroic leaps across vast expanses...ludicrous or what?! This film is nothing more than escapist rubbish and I can see myself returning to this again in the future for another couple hours of nonsense!

The scenery is, of course, spectacular! Taking in vistas from the States and Pakistan's Concordia region where K2 is situated, with some mountains from Canada standing in for lower altitude stuff where film makers might fear to tread! Considering most of the worlds mountain peaks end where the Himalaya/Karakoram begin you can't really blame them.

James Newton Howard's score is excellent, just love that sweeping main theme!

Timmer and Gae - so, what's better, VERTICAL LIMIT or CLIFFHANGER? As I said, I thought CLIFFHANGER was excellent, but maybe it's really crap. Is VERTICAL LIMIT as good crap as CLIFFHANGER, or is it just crap crap?

I must admit, after Lou Goldberg's and Bob Bowd's retirement, my enthusiasm was kind of dampened, so I haven't posted anything here since. The wind is still kind of out my sails, so I'm not putting any anal-retentive cast and credits onto these thoughts, nor am I even thinking much about what I'm writing, but... what have I seen...?

Well, I saw another Spike Lee movie, GET ON THE BUS. This has a microcosm of black universe getting on a bus to go to a march. Quite clever, quite well scripted and acted, but ultimately false. Why do they only talk about race issues on the journey? There are gay blacks, racist blacks, all kinds of blacks mouthing off eloquently, but the film never overcomes its artificial premise. But maybe that artificiality was necessary in order to get its point across. It all ends up smacking of a mixture of nobility and sentimentality. Very questionable use of songs on the soundtrack, even when it's not source, behind dialogue etc. Terence Blanchard's score doesn't stand a chance.

Saw THE HULK today. Some great things in it, but in general I found it very over-extended. I could have done without the dad turning into a big energy monster to fight his son. Amazing effects (even if the Hulk's leaps and bounds are almost too funny), rather heavy-handed family background stuff, and a very frantic Danny Elfman score, but intermittently impressive. I'd still cut half an hour out.

VERTICAL LIMIT = good crap

I actually bought this on DVD (cheaply!), it's got more heart stopping moments than Cliffhanger, superb photography and a better score....all In My Not So Humble Opinion , and surely 'no Sylvester Stallone' could be seen as a bonus?!

Gae, That 'Ravine' leap is even more ridiculous when you consider it was supposed to be at an altitude of around 25000ft, anyone who's watched 'Mt Everest and the like' documentaries (of which there have been a lot recently due to the 50th anniversary) will know that it's difficult to put one foot in front of the other at that height let alone do a death defying leap!

NOTE: Graham, I've always enjoyed reading your reviews here, just because I don't contribute much doesn't mean I'm not regularly reading here, I miss big Lou too and hope he'll change his mind and come back?!

BEST: Adaptation

Originally, I held off on this because I wasn't so sure they could pull it off with N cage playing 2 roles overlayed in a scene(s). I consider this film to be pure brilliance... great premise, screenplay, acting, everything.

WORST: Gods And Generals

I had read the reviews and was braced for the worst, but being a Civil War buff I had to see it and decide for myself. In short, this movie in MONUMENTALLY bad. It's a study in how not to make a movie. I haven't seen such a wooden screenplay and acting since the "The Ten Commandments", a flick I consider as the litmus test for banality.

In the middle of the movie a union soldier and rebel awkwardly exchange coffee for 'backy' (tobacco). All I could think was I wanted my $3 rental fee 'backy'.

Even if you think The Ten Commandments is poorly acted, you've got to love those Bernstein moments of epic melodies!

Regarding your comments on VERTICAL LIMIT's death leap at 25,000 feet, well, no such prob with CLIFFHANGER. They only jumped at three feet above sea level, evident in the studio lighting in some early shots. I still like the film.

BTW, if you haven't seen "Ride With The Devil" directed by Ang Lee, check it out. It's a Civil War era movie with some edge and authenticity.

First off, I'll have to say that this film has one of the best sound designs I've ever heard. The DTS track, unsurprisingly, has a slight edge over the DD counterpart. It almost sounds like the surround channels on the DTS track are attenuated by a few dB, but whatever the difference is, it certainly created a more realistic sound. At one point in the very beginning of the film, it sounded as though the FedEx truck was in the driveway behind my viewing area. Very rarely do soundtracks fool me into looking out the window behind me...

The beginning of this film is great. The plane crash sequence is amazing. But I was left disappoined with the middle of the film and highly let down by the ending.

I thought the ending with the Helen Hunt character that had moved on and married another man was just ripped off from The Dead Zone. The "four corners" ending was a big cop out as well. I expect a writer to write the end of the movie, not to just get tired of writing and leave me with an ambiguous ending. It's even more frustrating to think that a film took over two hours to reach this disappointing ending.

Now onto the middle of the film... Why did we have to see this poor guy cut up so much? It was almost comical. I thought the "rotten tooth" ordeal probably could have been edited out of this film completely, as it did nothing other than force me to fast forward through the tooth extraction scene. Perhaps this was a lesson to keep our teeth in good shape so that we don't have to remove them with the blade of an ice skate? I dunno.

I think the first section of Hanks' ordeal on the island could have been summed up into a ten minute montage. Show him making fire. Show him opening the FedEx packages. Show him making shelter and getting food. Ok, now jump forward four years and show the making of the raft and leave that damn island. Wow, I just shaved about an hour off of this overly long picture.

I think the makers of this film were probably too busy patting themselves on the back to cut this movie down to a watchable length. After a while it just gets tedious seeing some of this survival stuff, especially when I know deep in my head that this guy is surrounded by dozens of people who are working on the film.

To sum up this film:

• Great beginning and sound design
  
• Too long on the island. I felt that I nearly spent 4 years watching it.
  
• Very disappointing ending