Change Your Image
gary-224
Reviews
Legends of the Fall (1994)
How did I miss this film when it first came out?
What World was I living in when this film appeared in 1994? I sure would have loved to have seen it on a big screen rather than on a 19-inch wide computer monitor flat screen. As a person with a talent for outdoor photography, I can readily understand why Legends of the Fall won the Academy Award for cinematography. But there's much more to this movie. The acting is superb. It does not appear to be acting. The sets are beautifully produced. And the music by James Horner is so beautiful that I can hardly allow a day to pass without playing tracks 1,2,6 and 13 of it from the original soundtrack CD.
I actually found this film through the music instead of finding the music through the film, my more usual arrangement. As an avid fan of Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, I own all of their great CD's. Jay Ungar did the violin solos for the film though I could not find his name in the movie titles. At least he is given the credit he deserves on the music CD. Having discovered the main theme on the Jay Ungar - Molly Mason CD, "The Lover's Waltz."
I then purchased the music CD for the film. Next came watching a Netflix DVD and I soon will purchase the movie DVD.
I have rated this film at 9.0, even though I really cannot relate to much of anything in the story, but it is so well done and that great music. and to see Henry Thomas, the boy from E.T., that was a real surprise.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Please no more Indiana Jones movies!
Please - no more Indiana Jones movies!! This had to be the worst Lucas-Spielberg film I ever saw and one of the worst films I have ever viewed in my 74 plus years. It was a total waste of time and talents. I really think I can make a better film then this -- almost anyone could. I sure hope that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas read these IMDb comments. If so, maybe their next film will be worth seeing. I should try and find out how to contact them and demand of each of them $3.75 for a total of $7.50, or maybe take them to court for this sum. The lawsuit would charge them with false advertising. They claimed this film to be entertaining. To whom was it entertaining? Other then a very few interesting special effects such as sliding rocks and bugs eating people, this film was total trash. The entertaining part was when it ended. Yes, I came close to walking out several times. The business with the Russians was ridiculous. Are these guys trying to get the Cold War going again? Is this film going to be a hit in Russia? How could Steven Spielberg, with so many great films, be involved with something like this. And as for those thousands of IMDb users who gave this a vote higher then my over generous five, you need to get your brains examined, if you have any brains.
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
WWII historical film which poorly represents the Japanese.
No matter how good a job the actors did in this film -- no matter how good the music and sets and photography are, I nevertheless have been over generous my voting 6.0 for this motion picture. Maybe the technical aspects of this film are excellent but the way the Japanese are portrayed is absolute appeasement. The Japanese were cruel, monstrous enemies not just killing but torturing American prisoners in numerous ways. They cut the penises off U.S. Marines, stuffed them in their mouths and then proceeded to slowly kill them. They shot arrows into B-29 crewmen while forcing their fellow airman to watch. They used American servicemen for medical experiments which killed them. This film shows nothing of this. The U.S. did kill Japanese rather then take them prisoner and burn them out of caves with flame throwers but we never tortured them. This is just one of many Hollywood films that twists history. It didn't win the Oscar it was nominated for but I wonder if Mr. Eastwood received a new Toyota and a Sony flat screen plasma TV for his efforts. I would sure like to tell him my feelings face to face. He did a very good job with Flags of Our Fathers though.
Hellcats of the Navy (1957)
One of the worst movies ever made about the US Submarine Service.
I won't waste your time or mine with a lengthy description of this extremely poor movie. The fact that Ronald Reagan is in it certainly doesn't help. If the tactics portrayed by the U.S. Submarine Service in this motion picture were accurate we might all be speaking Japanese right now. The fictitious submarine is constantly in trouble. Especially poor are the models used to depict the USS Starfish underwater. Most of them must have been purchased the daybefore at a five and ten store in Burbank or Glendale, within a fewminutes or a few blocks of the studio. A total waste of film. If someone gave me a DVD of this I would immediately crack it into several hundred pieces.
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Outstanding film depicting the Battle for Iwo Jima and the WWII home front.
I have just returned from the opening night showing of Flags of Our Fathers and must immediately report that this is a truly exceptional film and there are no top name actors in it. Not only does it portray segments of the Battle of Iwo Jima in a highly authentic manner; this film also provides the viewers at a good look at many aspects of the home front mindset. The battle scenes and battle sounds are amongst the best I've ever seen in more then 70 years of film viewing. The special effects are in a class of their own, truly amazing. One can hardly tell that they are special effects. I had never seen any of the actors in this film but they sure did a wonderful job, especially Ryan Phillipe. The photography and sets are superb. Where did all that vintage material come from such as the full length, full scale trains. I cannot however recommend this film for younger children because of the use of the "F" word. There are also a lot of gruesome scenes not for the faint-hearted. My one truly disappointing comment is that there were only around twenty people in the viewing audience and about the same came out of the earlier show. Maybe 9:40 is too late even on a Friday night or is it that few are interested in World War Two history.
K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
One of the best submarine films ever produced.
Somehow I missed this on the big screen and have just watched it on the little one, with commercials. Nevertheless, this is one of the finest submarines films ever made, and I've seen just about all of them from WWII to the present. Although my interests in submarines relate almost entirely to the U.S., I'm going to purchase this one. I have been out on several types of U.S. submarines and spent several years helping to building nuclear boats. The interior scenes of K-19 are superb. I've never seen a U.S. submarine film with interiors as accurate as this one, even if the nuclear reactor depicted wasn't for real. The acting was outstanding and the photography was outstanding. I'm sure there were technical errors related to the equipment and the history of the event, but I don't really care, and this is very unusual for me.
Air Force (1943)
Air Force or Air Farce
I grew up as a boy during WWII and saw almost every U.S. film of that period. Fortunately, I missed this one. Even if I had seen it as an eight-year-old (my age at it's release) I would have recognized it for what it was -- total b.s. propaganda. I totally understand now the need for patriotic films providing the American public with uplifting actions and commentary during this difficult period but this one is in a class by itself. Saying that Japanese-Americans in Hawaii destroyed U.S. planes on a runway with a vegetable truck and that Japanese-American snipers fired at a B-17 on an emergency runway in Maui, is totally insane -- total unfounded lies. What they should have included was the shooting down of U.S. planes by the U.S. military. And there's the nonsense with just about each guy on this B-17 shooting down 6 or 7 Jap planes, from both land and sky. I am really suprised that the pet dog aboard didn't shoot down at least one Jap plane, or maybe one Jap plane with a Japanese pet dog. Compared with films such as "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo" or "Purple Heart", this is almost total trash.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Being a Naval History person my comments are very toned down.
This has to be the most ridiculous film ever produced. The only thing that is correct is that the Japanese attacked. I'm surprised they didn't change that. I saw this film for free and got my money back. I could make a better film for $100 then these guys made for millions. This film is an historical insult. I would love to meet the the producer alone in a dark alley.
Pearl Harbor (2001)
Being a Naval History person my comments are very toned down.
This has to be the most ridiculous film ever produced. The only thing that is correct is that the Japanese attacked. I'm surprised they didn't change that. I saw this film for free and got my money back. I could make a better film for $100 then these guys made for millions. This film is an historical insult. I would love to meet the the producer alone in a dark alley.
I Remember Mama (1948)
It's too bad they don't make films as good as this any more.
A great cast, great acting, and a wonderful story all combined. If they made films like this nowadays I would be going to the theatre more often then only once or twice a year. This is a film that all young people should see. It contains so many important lessons of life. None of this ever appears today. My only criticism is that I wish it had been filmed in color.
Snow Treasure (1968)
Very poor motion picture version of great kid's book.
This is probably the poorest screen version of a book ever produced. It is hard to tell that it's the same story. During the beginning titles it says "based on---." Maybe based on one or two pages of the book. Taken by itself the film is not bad for kids, but reading the book would be a lot more worthwhile.
Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich (1958)
I practically became a Norwegian just from viewing this wonderful film.
Windjammer, the visual story of a cruise on the Norwegian school ship Christian Radich, is one of my favorite all time films. It combines a variety of elements, especially the sea and Norway into a piece of extraordinary entertainment. I have the book from the movie and I have the music, but neither I nor anyone else, as far as I know, can ever see it again. It was produced as three films by three cameras and shown with three projectors as the process Cinemiracle. From what I have found out, the originals are destroyed. Whether they could have been combined onto one video tape is also questionable. But from this film I developed a great interest in Norway. Even though I do not have any Norwegian blood in me, I am a member of Sons of Norway. I have visited Norway but missed the Christian Radich which was out to sea. I have friends in Norway and I love Norway even when it is cold and gray. Hopefully I shall return to Norway, step aboard the Christian Radich, or maybe even ride it before the wind. Of all the films I loved not available for viewing, this is definitely the one I miss the most.
Man Hunt (1941)
Great film even after almost 70 years.
I was only seven years old when I first viewed this film and never forgot it. I have been seeing several of the scenes in my minds eye for the last seventy years or so. The scenes I remembered for so long included the the beginning ones involving Hitler, the part on the London Underground and the finale. Now that Man Hunt is out on DVD, everyone can view and enjoy it. It's even better than I thought with a marvelous cast such as Roddy McDowell who went on to make almost 500 more films. The black and white photography, especially the scenes depicting London at night and in fog are extremely well done. This is the only Fritz Lang film that ever saw. Maybe I should look into his other ones. Another surprise was the main song played as a background theme with the scenes in London. This song "A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square," has allows been one of my favorite WWII songs. You can hear as sung by Vera Lynn, by typing in the title in Google and clicking the U-tube location.