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DVD King Kong (2-Disc Special Edition)
"Now you see it. You're amazed. You can't believe it. Your eyes open wider. It's horrible, but you can't look away. There's no chance for you. No escape. You're helpless, helpless. There's just one chance, if you can scream. Throw your arms across your eyes and scream, scream for your life!"
And scream Fay Wray does most famously in this monster classic, one of the greatest adventure films of all time, which even in an era of computer-generated wizardry remains a marvel of stop-motion animation. Robert Armstrong stars as famed adventurer Carl Denham, who is leading a "crazy voyage" to a mysterious, uncharted island to photograph "something monstrous ... neither beast nor man." Also aboard is waif Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and Bruce Cabot as big lug John Driscoll, the ship's first mate.
King Kong's first half-hour is steady going, with engagingly corny dialogue ("Some big, hard-boiled egg gets a look at a pretty face and bang, he cracks up and goes sappy") and ominous portent that sets the stage for the horror to come. Once our heroes reach Skull Island, the movie comes to roaring, chest-thumping, T. rex-slamming, snake-throttling, pterodactyl-tearing, native-stomping life. King Kong was ranked by the American Film Institute as among the 50 best films of the century. Kong making his last stand atop the Empire State Building is one of the movies' most indelible and iconic images. And this is the definitive video version: remastered from a pristine archival print, with previously censored scenes of Kong flossing with natives restored. Also restored is the curious scene in which Kong peels poor Fay's clothing like a banana and tickles her fancy. --Donald Liebenson
So much has been written about this classic, but one aspect that is never touched upon, as far as I am aware, is the contribution by the actors who played the sailors, the natives, and the New Yorkers fleeing in the wake of the escaped Kong. Whole scenes from motion pictures were further improved by how well extras did in crowd scenes especially those involving intense emotion. Frank Capra knew the importance of extras. It has been noted that he would assign to them mini character biographies as a way to help the extras get into a particular scene. In "King Kong", the sailors seem to be right off of a real freighter, though many of them (Dick Curtis, Charlie Sullivan, Ethan Laidlaw, etc.) were actors who appeared in everything from W.B. gangster films to Three Stooges 2-reelers to Saturday matinee westerns. Their general demeanor, as well as their terror when they are set upon by dinosaurs, brings an extra depth to the proceedings. The frenzy of the island natives, preparing Ann for the sacrifical altar, pushes the excitement to a fever pitch. Be aware of the fantastic job of horror exhibited by the extras in the 3rd Avenue el sequence. The contribution by the extras in "King Kong" profoundly contributes to the quality status of this movie. The little things count as much as the big things in making a movie. Great film makers know this fact.
CAN YOU SAY CLASSIC AWESOME MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here it is folks, the opening debut of one of the most iconic monsters in film history. He will go down in history with my boy Godzilla as the greats of the monster screen. Without Kong most of the great prehistoric and giant monster movies would never been made. There is nothing better than an island full of giant prehistoric creatures and a super powerful giant ape, with a bunch of humans up for pickings. Classic scenes, T-Rex fight, empire state building scene and so much more. Take it from a true fan of films like this, this is what started all pick yourself up a copy for hours of entertainment.
Spring for the boxset!
While this is an amazing price for the King Kong set, I'd recommend you buy the boxset that includes Son of Kong and Mighty Joe Young. It just doesn't feel right to own this film without the spinoffs. Although this is good for a Christmas present for a kid that has no idea how big King Kong really was.
Despite super effects, a huge budget, and the cinematic pedigree of alien-happy Steven Spielberg, this take on H.G. Wells's novel is basically a horror film packaged as a sci-fi thrill ride. Instead of a mad slasher, however, Spielberg (along with writers Josh Friedman & David Koepp) utilizes aliens hell-bent on quickly destroying humanity, and the terrifying results that prey upon adult fears, especially in the post-9/11 world. The realistic results could be a new genre, the grim popcorn thriller; often you feel like you're watching Schindler's List more than Spielberg's other thrill-machine movies (Jaws, Jurassic Park). The film centers on Ray Ferrier, a divorced father (Tom Cruise, oh so comfortable) who witnesses one giant craft destroy his New Jersey town and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Tom Cruise - Dakota Fanning - Tim Robbins Director(s): Steven Spielberg DVD Release Date: 22 November 2005
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This silky smooth film noir pits gruff police detective Dana Andrews, stiff and blunt in his street-bred manners, against a cultured columnist and acidic wit (Clifton Webb at his prissiest) in a battle of wits during a murder investigation. The cop is a romantic hiding under a hard-boiled exterior who falls in love with the beautiful victim through the portrait that hangs in her apartment. Gene Tierney, whose heart-shaped face mixes the exotic with the girl next door, brings the poise and calm of a model to her role as the object of every man's gaze and the target of a killer. Laura, handsomely shot in dreamy black and white, is the first and best of Otto Preminger's cool, controlled murder mysteries. In the gritty world of film noir it remains the most refined and elegant example... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gene Tierney - Dana Andrews Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian - Otto Preminger DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Ending the most popular film epic in history, Star Wars: Episode III, Revenge of the Sith is an exciting, uneven, but ultimately satisfying journey. Picking up the action from Episode II, Attack of the Clones as well as the animated Clone Wars series, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (Ewan McGregor) and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker (Hayden Christensen), pursue General Grievous into space after the droid kidnapped Supreme Chancellor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid).
The Star Wars Family Tree (click for larger image)
Batman Begins discards the previous four films in the series and recasts the Caped Crusader as a fearsome avenging angel. That's good news, because the series, which had gotten off to a rousing start under Tim Burton, had gradually dissolved into self-parody by 1997's Batman & Robin. As the title implies, Batman Begins tells the story anew, when Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) flees Western civilization following the murder of his parents. He is taken in by a mysterious instructor named Ducard (Liam Neeson in another mentor role) and urged to become a ninja in the League of Shadows, but he instead returns to his native Gotham City resolved to end the mob rule that is strangling it. But are there forces even more sinister at hand?
Co-written by the team of David S.... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Christopher Nolan DVD Release Date: Released the 18 October 2005 This item is currently not available.
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Part mystery, part wartime polemic, Lifeboat finds director Alfred Hitchcock tackling a cinematic challenge that foreshadows the self-imposed handicaps of Rope and Rear Window. As with those subsequent features, Hitchcock confines his action and characters to a single set, in this instance the lone surviving lifeboat from an Allied freighter sunk by a German U-boat in the North Atlantic. A less confident, ingenious filmmaker might have opened up John Steinbeck's dialogue-driven character study beyond the battered boat and its cargo of survivors, but Hitchcock instead revels in his predicament to exploit the enforced intimacy between his characters.
