dean_martin
07-29-2005, 02:26 PM
No exhaustive reviews here ladies and gents. Just a few recommendations - one which I haven't even thought about in years (my copy is on vhs and WAS packed away in a box on the top shelf of my closet) and two that I've seen recently.
First up is a Peter Weir gem from Australia called Picnic at Hanging Rock. This film was recommended by a genuine Australian bloke who just appeared here one day at the fave films board. I used my Barnes & Noble gift cards (yes, I received more than one) that I got for Christmas and picked this up early in the year - and now I'm just getting to it!
Criterion did an outstanding job on this 1975 film - pristine picture and even a 5.1 treatment. But I watched this one in the bedroom with my NAD 2-ch. amp and NHT speakers firing at the bed from either side. Even in stereo I was impressed with the sound. Some older movies that are reproduced in mono or that receive no special sound treatment have a harsh often compressed sound, especially when the music crescendos in the big scenes. It often hurts my ears, but not this one, folks. The sound is smooth and warm and I believe it had to be because none other than Zamfir shows up throughout the soundtrack! Can you imagine the shrill of that damn pan flute on a harsh recording?
This film is dreamy with its soft visuals, unusual music and interesting subject matter (it's unbelievable what you can see in the lengthy rock formation shots - I don't have to tell you to look for the faces because they will suddenly appear). The story revolves around an Australian boarding school for girls and is set in 1900. It begins with the appropriately chaperoned young sheilas traveling to Hanging Rock for a picnic which soon turns otherwordly and nightmarish. Three of the sheilas disappear along with a teacher, but the way they vanish is cleverly and mysteriously depicted. And then we have a mystery with no answer, only clues leading in different directions.
Now for a jolt - Dog Soldiers. I happened to rent this one a couple of weeks ago and if you're looking for action and suspense with a little legend and family secret thrown in then this is for you. Some Scottish guardsmen are out doing their weekend warrior thing except this time, unbeknownst to them, they're supposed to be confronted by special forces from Scotland's regular army. Instead, the band of special forces is destroyed, and I mean ripped to shreds, by some horrific force from the wooded hillsides. It turns out that this is a werewolf flick - the best one I've ever seen - and only the weekend warriors are up to stopping these lycanthropes!
Last is the little flick that had escaped my mind for several years - Spider Baby. This B-movie from 1968 by Jack Hill was a pleasant surprise when I first saw it in '96. I understand it's been released on dvd. If you've sought famous B-movies in the past, searched high and low for them and then finally see them and come away disapointed, I feel your pain. I've sought out many "cult" status films in which I could find no redeeming qualities. Here, however, we have a well-acted little horror tale told in a playful manner. Lon Chaney, Jr. is the glue in this picture, and his last film performance is one of his best. Sid Haig, a strange looking character actor who shows up in many of Hill's later movies like the Pam Greir vehicle Coffee, shines in his freakish role. And the females (there are 3 high-lighted female roles) are all pleasant to look at. This is a story about the Merrye family which is cursed with a dreadful genetic defect caused by too many generations of in-breeding (yes, in-breeding). Chaney plays the chauffer and caretaker of the Merrye estate, but he's also undertaken to care for the three remaining Merrye children who are afflicted with what's known as the Merrye Syndrome. Chaney and the children remain isolated and they've developed a special bond until one day some distant relatives and their lawyer come to the Merrye House to claim their part of the estate. Things get a little out of hand from that point on. You'll have to see it to believe it folks.
Have a great viewing weekend and report back on Monday with all you see!
First up is a Peter Weir gem from Australia called Picnic at Hanging Rock. This film was recommended by a genuine Australian bloke who just appeared here one day at the fave films board. I used my Barnes & Noble gift cards (yes, I received more than one) that I got for Christmas and picked this up early in the year - and now I'm just getting to it!
Criterion did an outstanding job on this 1975 film - pristine picture and even a 5.1 treatment. But I watched this one in the bedroom with my NAD 2-ch. amp and NHT speakers firing at the bed from either side. Even in stereo I was impressed with the sound. Some older movies that are reproduced in mono or that receive no special sound treatment have a harsh often compressed sound, especially when the music crescendos in the big scenes. It often hurts my ears, but not this one, folks. The sound is smooth and warm and I believe it had to be because none other than Zamfir shows up throughout the soundtrack! Can you imagine the shrill of that damn pan flute on a harsh recording?
This film is dreamy with its soft visuals, unusual music and interesting subject matter (it's unbelievable what you can see in the lengthy rock formation shots - I don't have to tell you to look for the faces because they will suddenly appear). The story revolves around an Australian boarding school for girls and is set in 1900. It begins with the appropriately chaperoned young sheilas traveling to Hanging Rock for a picnic which soon turns otherwordly and nightmarish. Three of the sheilas disappear along with a teacher, but the way they vanish is cleverly and mysteriously depicted. And then we have a mystery with no answer, only clues leading in different directions.
Now for a jolt - Dog Soldiers. I happened to rent this one a couple of weeks ago and if you're looking for action and suspense with a little legend and family secret thrown in then this is for you. Some Scottish guardsmen are out doing their weekend warrior thing except this time, unbeknownst to them, they're supposed to be confronted by special forces from Scotland's regular army. Instead, the band of special forces is destroyed, and I mean ripped to shreds, by some horrific force from the wooded hillsides. It turns out that this is a werewolf flick - the best one I've ever seen - and only the weekend warriors are up to stopping these lycanthropes!
Last is the little flick that had escaped my mind for several years - Spider Baby. This B-movie from 1968 by Jack Hill was a pleasant surprise when I first saw it in '96. I understand it's been released on dvd. If you've sought famous B-movies in the past, searched high and low for them and then finally see them and come away disapointed, I feel your pain. I've sought out many "cult" status films in which I could find no redeeming qualities. Here, however, we have a well-acted little horror tale told in a playful manner. Lon Chaney, Jr. is the glue in this picture, and his last film performance is one of his best. Sid Haig, a strange looking character actor who shows up in many of Hill's later movies like the Pam Greir vehicle Coffee, shines in his freakish role. And the females (there are 3 high-lighted female roles) are all pleasant to look at. This is a story about the Merrye family which is cursed with a dreadful genetic defect caused by too many generations of in-breeding (yes, in-breeding). Chaney plays the chauffer and caretaker of the Merrye estate, but he's also undertaken to care for the three remaining Merrye children who are afflicted with what's known as the Merrye Syndrome. Chaney and the children remain isolated and they've developed a special bond until one day some distant relatives and their lawyer come to the Merrye House to claim their part of the estate. Things get a little out of hand from that point on. You'll have to see it to believe it folks.
Have a great viewing weekend and report back on Monday with all you see!