Peter Medak's haunted house thriller The Changeling comes to DVD with a widescreen anamorphic transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. A closed-captioned English soundtrack is rendered in Dolby Digital Surround. English, Spanish, and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include cast and crew biographies. Genre enthusiasts will enjoy this disc, and the film's fans will appreciate the fine transfer, but there is not much here to interest a non-fan.
George C. Scott is superb as a widow, not only haunted by the memory of his dead wife and daughter, but by a mysterious presence in his new house as well. Having discovered that he has recently moved into a haunted house, Scott's character is bent on finding out the spirit's identity and what is keeping it attached to the property. It involves a decades-old crime and a very prominent member of society and the ghost won't rest until the truth comes out. Not your typical spook story.
What's great about it: As much a mystery as a ghost story.
The familiar theme for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly springs nicely from this mono transfer, but technological limitations keep everything very centralized. The sounds are basically clear and the dialogue is understandable, but this track lacks the complexity of two- and five-channel presentations. This DVD utilizes an adequate 2.35:1 widescreen transfer that includes some defects brought by age. Dirt and grain also appears intermittently, but they never detract too much from the overall experience. The most significant bonus with this release is the inclusion of seven deleted scenes that were removed from the original 1966 Italian release when it appeared overseas. They cover approximately 16 minutes and use a strong widescreen transfer. The additional extras include the original theatrical trailer and some production notes. The preview appears in a mediocre 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and includes some basic narration. The notes offer a page of minor behind-the-scenes details and two screens concerning spaghetti Westerns and Sergio Leone's trilogy. It's also impressive to note the 64 chapter cues, which give very specific access to the film.
No offense to John Wayne, but although the Western genre was born in America, it was perfected in Italy. Clint Eastwood (The Good), Lee Van Cleef (The Bad) & Eli Wallach (The Ugly) are nothing short of perfection in this Civil War era Western about three men seeking a hidden treasure. Alliances are made and betrayed in this classic that ultimately pits these men against each other in a climactic showdown. (For the Metallica fans out there, you'll recognize the Ennio Morricone musical sequence that accompanies the final gunfight as the band's concert introduction). Director Sergio Leone's masterpiece in a long line of incredible action movies.
What's great about it: Perfectly cast and directed
I would recommend this to a friend!
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I was a kid in the seventies and for some strange reason enjoyed watching movies that would keep me up at night. Loved supernatural/paranormal/cryptozooalogical stuff. Bigfoot was all the rage back then and this (along with "The Legend of Boggy Creek") stands out as one of the classier treatments on the subject. Peter Graves of Mission Impossible fame hosts, so how can you not take it seriously? Features actual evidence along with reenactments to present a pretty compelling case for the existence of Bigfoot. Somewhat dated, the digital transfer from "CheezyFlicks" doesn't help. (I had just as good a copy taped from Channel 7's 4 O'Clock Movie), One thing that has stuck with me over the past 30-odd years is the original poster, which I've included here. Made me scared to death to sleep anywhere with a line of trees until i was a teenager. But maybe that's just me.
What's great about it: Bigfoot!
What's not so great: Digital Transfer adds nothing
I would recommend this to a friend!
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Before Tony Soprano, Coppola's take on the rise and fall of mafia kingpin Michael Corleone really makes you cheer for the bad guy (granted, there are no good guys in these films). Pacino, Brando, DeNiro, Duvall and Caan are at their absolute best in this series, The digital restoration is pristine (both DVD and Bluray) and everyone involved should take a bow. "The Godfather" is to director/writer Francis Ford Coppola what "Star Wars" is to George Lucas (minus the obvious marketing opportunities). I actually discovered it rather late in life, at least 15 years after its release, and have been hooked ever since. I've purchased it in every form available including the VHS of the chronological edition (for those who aren't familiar, Part II bounces between events before and after Part I). A plus in the extras is hearing about Coppola's struggle to even get the movie made the way he wanted to and adding the influence of an Italian-American upbringing, without which this may have just been another one-shot gangster movie. It truly is a monumental creation and will be appreciated as such by anyone viewing it.
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