Shallow DVD movie review-the JBL-a/d/s sound

[LowPhreak]

Looks ok. At least it wasn't Biloxi.

[Ducatista47]

I

Sink the Bismarck! (1960)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054310/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

better, but not great .... 4 of 10 ... fine if you like model ships fighting in a water tank.

Some footage was indeed models, but the Admiralty gave full cooperation and most scenes were real capital and fleet vessels. The fifteen inch naval rifles were for real. Bells, soot, powder and all.

A related film I liked better was Above Us The Waves, the tale of the X class British midget subs sneaking into a Norwegian fjord and disabling the Bismarck's sister ship, the Tirpiz. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz...persource.html

A film I enjoyed even more, though I haven't seen it for decades, is Pursuit Of The Graf Spee. I saw it in the theater under that American title. It was made as The Battle Of The River Plate by the peerless team of Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburger, the Archers. Again the Admiralty cooperated and an incredible addition was an American heavy cruiser as the German pocket battleship. Different number of turrets, but the match of offensive main batteries and armour protection was good.

The battle preceeding the flight to neutral harbor was done at sea with real warships. The story is a most interesting one. A small, outgunned group of three light and heavy Admiralty cruisers had at it and actually forced the battleship to run. The decision was badly informed as the British cruisers were no match and badly mauled. The neutral country would allow only a very limited stay, but long enough to attract the attention of the entire World. British subterfuge convinced the German admiral aboard the Graf Spee that a much more powerful fleet had arrived and awaited them. When the ship put out to sea it was assumed it would engage, but it came to a stop in the mouth of the river and scuttled by blowing itself up. The crew had been put aboard a German freighter and was saved. There is more to the tale, but that is the bones of it.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
typical Hollywood/John Wayne buddy/non-buddy schlock. 4/10

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054757/...nm_flmg_act_34

Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros

Lee Marvin was far away the best actor in this one.

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0143145/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

James Bond is back. An oil tycoon is murdered in MI6 and Bond is sent to protect his daughter. Renard, who has a bullet lodged in his brain from a previous agent, is secretly planning the destruction of a pipeline. Bond gains a hand from a research scientist, Dr. Christmas Jones who witnesses the action which happens when Bond meets up with Renard, but Bond becomes suspicious about Elektra King, especially when Bond's boss, M goes missing. Bond must work quickly to prevent Renard from destroying Europe. Written by simon


I like Pierce Brosnan . He plays 007 seriously. He's a lot grittier than RM . The best part of the film was the title song ...by GARBAGE. They really nailed it. 6/10

[LowPhreak]

I like Pierce Brosnan . He plays 007 seriously. He's a lot grittier than RM . The best part of the film was the title song ...by GARBAGE. They really nailed it. 6/10

Same here. I always thought Brosnan was the best JB. He's really made for the role and does it well.

[SEAWOLF97]

I
A related film I liked better was Above Us The Waves, the tale of the X class British midget subs sneaking into a Norwegian fjord and disabling the Bismarck's sister ship, the Tirpiz. http://www.bismarck-class.dk/tirpitz...persource.html

A film I enjoyed even more, though I haven't seen it for decades, is Pursuit Of The Graf Spee. I saw it in the theater under that American title. It was made as The Battle Of The River Plate .

Library didn't have AUTW, but did have TBOTRP and I put that one on hold . It brought up more of the genre , and there was one that I have to watch , tho the plot is not my normal interest

The SeaWolves
The Last Charge of the Calcutta Light Horse

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081470/

In March of 1943, a group of Boer War veterans is recruited by British intelligence to destroy a Nazi spy ship in the harbor of Goa, India.

a little closer to home, but a book , was interesting (at least to me)

U.S.Navy Seawolves: The Elite HAL-3 Helicopter Squadron in Vietnam



http://www.amazon.com/U-S-Navy-Seawo.../dp/B001NJUPGQ

the blurb:

There were no dry runs for Seawolves in Vietnam.
They put their lives on the line—every time.

In the Viet Cong-infested Mekong Delta, where small SEAL teams were always outgunned and outnumbered, discovery brought swift, deadly consequences— and a radio call for backup from the United States Navy’s very best: the Seawolves. The whir of approaching rotor blades signaled their arrival as they tore through the jungle at treetop level, gunners hanging off the skids, shooting M-60s, raining down their lethal mix of high explosives and incendiary death.

Seawolf Dan Kelly describes the origins of this extraordinary outfit. Put through a training program unlike any other, these men emerged to perform unparalleled feats of courage. The stories of these elite warriors capture America’s real heroes in all their guts and glory, and demonstrate why the Seawolves are known as the most successful and most decorated unit in the Vietnam War.

http://www.answers.com/Q/Most_decora...in_Vietnam_war

[SEAWOLF97]

.
as is said ... "they don't make 'em like this anymore"

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070917/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

A police sergeant is sent to a Scottish island village in search of a missing girl whom the townsfolk claim never existed. Stranger still are the rites that take place there.

very memorable , good cast , filming , but the story is what will stay with you. Thought I recognized Mac in some of the scenes ..

In the extras ..the interview with Christopher Lee , he said the story was so intriguing that he worked for free.

[SEAWOLF97]

A film I enjoyed even more, though I haven't seen it for decades, is Pursuit Of The Graf Spee. I saw it in the theater under that American title. It was made as The Battle Of The River Plate by the peerless team of Michael Powell and Emerich Pressburger, the Archers. Again the Admiralty cooperated and an incredible addition was an American heavy cruiser as the German pocket battleship. Different number of turrets, but the match of offensive main batteries and armour protection was good.

Just finished it. Not bad. The USS Salem doubled for the Graf Spee . Not too much "models in water tanks".
Got a laff out of officers in combat in dress whites. Definitely a story told from the UK side. Only vaguely had known the real story . Thx Clark. 7/10

Unfortunately , NO subtitles available. Sometimes the UK English dialogue escapes me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_...iral_Graf_Spee

http://www.uss-salem.org/museum/history/movie_star.htm

The Battle Of The River Plate

River Plate is a mis-translation of the Spanish name for the river, Rio de la Plata. Plata is Spanish for silver and Plato is Spanish for plate. The river is actually called the Silver River.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048990/trivia

[Ducatista47]

Glad you enjoyed it. The decision of Captain Langsdorff, while soon costing his own life, saved many more. If memory serves, only about a hundred survived the Bismark and only three from the Hood. Reading a good Wikipedia entry, I am amused by how numbers of the German crew settled in South America permanently. This battle was apparently the first naval surface action of World War II and the only combat in South America during the conflict.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battl...he_River_Plate

When I was a kid I used to endlessly study old National Geographic maps and I knew the river as the Rio de la Plata. The maps had a cross to mark the spot of the sinking.

[SEAWOLF97]

Not too much "models in water tanks".

when my ship was home ported at NAS North Island (Coronado) , I'd frequently drive a bit south to Imperial Beach to a restaurant by the pier called "Long Juan's"

The story went that the owner was a former Hollywood prop master who took a lot of nautical props with him when he retired, There were glass display cases built into the walls. A dinghy hanging from the ceiling had male & female legs dangling from it ..in positions where you knew what was happening. A large picture of a sea Captain at the helm in a night time squall had his great coat open with a petite nude blond peeking out. Fun place.
He also had the model ships from some movies ...they were 8-12 feet long and the detail was amazing

We enjoyed our great/cheap chowder & beer there, making the rounds checking the props. Always seemed to be something new , it was like a museum with everything tagged with it's history.

This memory was kicked off by the thought of the huge expense of the various Navies in providing real ships to be in "Plate".

Long Juan's wasn't there when I was in Counter Insurgency training at the Amphib Base in Coronado in early '69 , and reading on the net ... it's gone now. ...anybody else been there ?

OH yeah, "River Plate" had Christopher Lee in it, but his role was so small & insignificant that if it were cut , surely would not be missed.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035937/

Just one that I picked up in a "walk by grab" as was passing the movie shelf at the library. Didn't have much expectations , but it wasn't bad. Ship scenes looked real, but from IMDB trivia, turns out it was just a set.

Guess I like conflicts between authority ...B&W, mono

Storyline - Ghost Ship

Tom Merriam signs on the ship Altair as third officer under Captain Stone. At first things look good, Stone sees Merriam as a younger version of himself and Merriam sees Stone as the first adult to ever treat him as a friend. But after a couple strange deaths of crew members, Merriam begins to think Stone is a psychopathic madman obsessed with authority. He tries to tell others, but no one believes him, and it only makes Stone angry.. Written by Ken Yousten <[email protected]>

I also checked out "Benjamin Button" , but can't get up the enthusiasm to watch it.

the better half has the flu so I stayed home to assist. 3 movies today

#2 was The Leopard Man (1943) (on same disk with Ghost Ship)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0036104/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Storyline

At the encouragement of her manager, a nightclub performer in New Mexico (Kiki Walker) takes a leashed leopard into the club as a publicity gimmick. But her rival, angered by the attempt to upstage, scares the animal and it bolts. In the days that follow, people are mauled and the countryside is combed for the loose creature. But Kiki and her manager begin to wonder if maybe the leopard is not responsible for the killings. Written by Ken Yousten <[email protected]>



#3 was Kagemusha (1980)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080979/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_5

epic, but I couldn't tell who's who ??? w/o subtitles, would have been even more lost

Storyline - Kagemusha

When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty living up to his role and clashes with the spirit of the warlord during turbulent times in the kingdom. Written by Keith Loh <[email protected]>

[SEAWOLF97]

La Dolce Vita (1960)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053779/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

I was under whelmed at this "masterpiece" and FF'ed through the 2nd half 3.5/10

The Sea Wolves (1980)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081470/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

good true story ...but played out too much as comedy , judging by music
big cast , but didn't live up to potential ...Roger still can't act. 4.5/10

Gregory Peck	...
	Roger Moore	...
	David Niven	...
	Trevor Howard	...
	Barbara Kellerman	...
	Patrick Macnee	...

I did pickup Hitchcock's "Rope" and hope it will be better.

[hjames]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0035937/



#3 was Kagemusha (1980)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080979/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_5

epic, but I couldn't tell who's who ??? w/o subtitles, would have been even more lost

Storyline - Kagemusha

When a powerful warlord in medieval Japan dies, a poor thief recruited to impersonate him finds difficulty living up to his role and clashes with the spirit of the warlord during turbulent times in the kingdom. Written by Keith Loh <[email protected]>

If you like Science Fiction, check out Robert Heinlein's novel -
DoubleStar ...
Hammish actor is hired to secretly impersonate a major politician who was wounded
during an assassination attempt ... the public can not know -
but there are clashes with his original life and life he winds up living ...

[SEAWOLF97]

If you like Science Fiction, check out Robert Heinlein's novel -
DoubleStar ...
Hammish actor is hired to secretly impersonate a major politician who was wounded
during an assassination attempt ... the public can not know -
but there are clashes with his original life and life he winds up living ...

I wouldn't say that Akira Kurosawa's story of feudal Japan has much to do with Science Fiction
(and I usually don't either) Have you noticed much Science Fiction in this reviews blog ? (Tron excepted)

[hjames]

I wouldn't say that Akira Kurosawa's story of feudal Japan has much to do with Science Fiction
(and I usually don't either) Have you noticed much Science Fiction in this reviews blog ?

I saw Kagemusha in the 80s when it first came. I enjoyed the film.
I read the novel years before. Heinlein's story was first.
I WOULD say that they are similarly themed - one man subsuming his life to live another's for the greater good.
I was simply making the point that Double Star is a similar story in a different setting ...
I am not the first one to notice the similarities.

Its just a casual conversation, Tom, and often about the art of story telling. Take care.

Wiki - Double Star is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first serialized in Astounding Science Fiction (February, March, April 1956) and published in hardcover the same year. It received the 1956 Hugo Award for Best Novel (his first Hugo). A brilliant actor and mimic is down to his last coin when a spaceman hires him to double for an unspecified public figure. It is only when he is on his way to Mars that he finds out he will have to impersonate one of the most prominent politicians in the solar system, Bonforte, one with whose views Smith deeply disagrees
... At the moment of electoral victory, Bonforte dies and Smith realizes he has little choice but to assume the role for life.

Wiki - Kagemusha (影武者 literally "Shadow Warrior"^?) is a 1980 film by Akira Kurosawa. In Japanese, kagemusha is a term used to denote a political decoy. It is set in the Sengoku period of Japanese history and tells the story of a lower-class criminal who is taught to impersonate a dying warlord in order to dissuade opposing lords from attacking the newly vulnerable clan.

Update - Both stories actually owe it all to a book from 1894 that has been made into a film MANY TIMES over the years

The Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his coronation must go forward. An English gentleman on holiday, who fortuitously resembles the monarch, is persuaded to act as his political decoy in an attempt to save the situation.

[SEAWOLF97]

.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040746/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Storyline

Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley and as a consequence decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet and their old schoolteacher Rupert from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect. Written by Col Needham <[email protected]>



This was actually better than expected. It's a film adaption of a stage play and edited to look like one continual unedited scene. James Stewart was quite good. It must have been a real revelation in 1948. The small touches that Hitch adds total up to great film making.

7.5/10