Sir Roger's 6th outing as 007 is nothing less than fabulous. He is wonderfully matched by Louis Jourdan as villain Kamal Khan. Moore also, once again, generates great screen chemistry with Maud Adams (who worked with him previously in The Man with the Golden Gun) as the title character. This film deservedly won the box office battle against the irksome Never Say Never Again.
While it was cool to see 007 in space in Moonraker, the producers wisely decided to only do it once & return Bond to his down-to-earth espionage roots for the next Bond film. Bond (Moore) investigates the sinking of a British ship with the help of the daughter (Carole Bouquet) whose parents were murdered conducting a similar investigation. This film is actually closer to Fleming than most of the other Bond pics, which certainly makes it noteworthy.
Along with Goldfinger, The Spy Who Loved Me is regarded as the highpoint of the Bond franchise, and rightly so. Both films have great plots, great villains, great leading & supporting ladies, wonderful music, cool gadgets, and hair-raising suspense. An interesting coincidence- both films are the respective 3rd outings for Sir Sean & Sir Roger as Bond. "Nobody Does it Better" indeed.
The inspired casting of Christopher Lee as the title character is reason enough for this to be required viewing for any Bond fan. His scenes & dialogue with Sir Roger's Bond are, in a word, fabulous. The only thing keeping this film from being a true classic is the beautiful but dimwitted Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland). Thankfully, she doesn't ruin one's enjoyment of the movie.
What's great about it: a great hero vs. villain setup
Despite a plot hole or two, this film is a fine debut for Sir Roger Moore as James Bond. 007 investigates the deaths of 3 fellow agents in different parts of the world. Eventually, he encounters the ruthless Dr. Kananga (Yaphet Kotto) & his beautiful aide Solitaire (Jane Seymour). What the film may not entirely have in terms of scrutiny, it makes up for in its action pieces, especially the fabulous boat chase across Louisiana. The title tune by Paul McCartney & the Wings is also a classic.
Most serious movie-lovers regard Roman Polanski's Chinatown as an essential film to have in their collection, making it all the more important that Paramount's DVD edition of the film be satisfactory. There is probably still room for improvement; nevertheless, there is much to recommend this disc. It is doubtful that Chinatown could possibly look any better than it does in this format. The widescreen anamorphic transfer exhibits a superb degree of detail and completely natural colors. The sound is also vastly improved (the original mono audio track is available for purists), with a new Dolby Digital 5.1 mix that never lacks clarity and adds an extra dimension to Jerry Goldsmith's outstanding score. The additional features on the disc include the original theatrical trailer and a set of retrospective interviews with Polanski, producer Robert Evans, and screenwriter Robert Towne. The interviews are about 15 minutes long, but it is very interesting to hear the filmmakers putting Chinatown in a modern perspective. Given that Chinatown is generally regarded as one of the best films ever made, Paramount might well have done even more in the way of supplementary features. But given how wonderfully the film itself is rendered, this disc should cause few complaints.
Customer Rating
5
The Alpha & the Omega of Film Noirs
on January 19, 2009
Posted by: prlwctd
Roman Polanski's first American film following the horrific Manson killing spree is a surprising but gripping detective story. Set in L.A. in the 1930's, private eye Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is drawn into a bizarre web of intrigue & deception by a beautiful widow (Faye Dunaway) and her mysterious father (John Huston). The performances are letter perfect as are the plot twists.
Steven Spielberg's made-for-TV thriller Duel debuts on DVD with a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original broadcast aspect ratio of 1.33:1. English soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS Surround, and Dolby Digital Stereo. Spanish and French subtitles are accessible. Supplemental materials include a pair of featurettes on the making of the film and an interview with Richard Matheson on the creation of the screenplay. A still photo gallery, production notes, and biographies of the cast and crew round out this solid release from Universal.
Customer Rating
5
Spielberg's first film
on January 19, 2009
Posted by: prlwctd
This great TV movie (released theatrically outside the U.S.) is rightly regarded as one of the great directorial debuts. From the short story of the same name by the great Richard Matheson, Spielberg crafted a great thriller involving a salesman (Dennis Weaver) driving through the desert who discovers that the driver of a large diesel truck (whom he cannot see) is out to kill him.
Many regard this, the 3rd Bond film, as the best of the entire series and rightly so. Sir Sean is at his most suave as 007, and he's matched by great villains (Gert Frobe & Harold Sakata), a great Bond girl (Honor Blackman), & a great title tune (sung by Shirley Bassey). Unlike later Bond pics, this film has many great gadgets AND genuine suspense.
Following George Lazenby's abrupt departure from the Bond franchise after filming OHMSS, United Artists surprised everyone by getting Sir Sean to play Bond for a 6th time in this film, which was more 'fun' (and, therefore, more financially successful) than its predecessor. Bond is tracking the breaking up of a diamond smuggling ring, with the help of one of the smugglers, Tiffany Case (Jill St. John). The trail eventually leads to his enemy Blofeld (Charles Gray). The movie loses some momentum during the climatic battle, but, happily, picks up in the film's final sequence when Bond deals with Blofeld's henchmen Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd (Bruce Glover & Putter Smith, respectively). Overall, this was a fine Bond swansong for Connery (we'll politely ignore Never Say Never Again).
The film won 3 well-deserved Oscars (for Makeup, Costumes, & Sound Effects Editing) and Sir Anthony Hopkins is perfect casting as Van Helsing. For all that, however, Coppola's 'definitive' rendering the Bram Stoker's legendary novel is less than stellar. First & foremost, the title is misleading. This film is no closer to the book than the many other films on the Count. Here, we are supposed to sympathize with the count who is portrayed as a tragic lover. Oldman looks the part, but, thanks to the material, doesn't make the same impression in the role as Lugosi & Lee. Likewise, Winona Ryder & Keanu Reeves are miscast as Mina & Jonathan. Had this presented itself as simply another take on Dracula, I would've taken it on those terms and would probably be less harsh with it. However, its belief in its own superiority as the closest adapation of Stoker's book makes a critical analysis imperative.
What's great about it: great production values, Hopkins