Weekend Movie Marathon: Unwatched DVDs

[Tom]

but first thing I notice about this movie is that it is in Pan & Scan. So my initial start-out is of disappointment.... this movie came out in '87... surely this isn't it's OAR!?!

It isn't Pan & Scan. It's open-matte. And as far as I know, 4:3 is the aspect ratio intended by Kubrick. At least that was what I could find out, when I was thinking about replacing my copy. When I read this, I kept my 4:3 copy.

[addicted2dvd]

Really? Thanks for the info Tom. At least I feel a little better about it. I got Pan & Scan from DVD P...  would this still be correct for DVD P? There is not open matte option of course. Sorry I know just a little about aspect ratios.

[Tom]

Really? Thanks for the info Tom. At least I feel a little better about it. I got Pan & Scan from DVD P...  would this still be correct for DVD P? There is not open matte option of course. Sorry I know just a little about aspect ratios.

I just read, that Kubrick had instructed that his movies are released as open-matte on home video.
http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/faq/index.html#slot11
According to another article, he probably did this, because he was a black bars hater when watching movies at home. He died before Widescreen TV became common and maybe he would have changed his mind.
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/24109/full-metal-jacket/

So in retrospect, 1.85 may or may not be the OAR. But the 4:3 version is not Pan & Scan, but open-matte.

In DVD Profiler I would give this Full Screen instead of Pan & Scan. I just noticed, that in my profile it also says Pan & Scan.

[kahless]

but first thing I notice about this movie is that it is in Pan & Scan. So my initial start-out is of disappointment.... this movie came out in '87... surely this isn't it's OAR!?!

It isn't Pan & Scan. It's open-matte. And as far as I know, 4:3 is the aspect ratio intended by Kubrick. At least that was what I could find out, when I was thinking about replacing my copy. When I read this, I kept my 4:3 copy.

This is quite interesting. I have this release on blu-ray as well (didn't watch it so far...). The video format is 1,85:1 Does this mean that the format is incorrect? *could not find confused smiley*

EDIT: Tom already answered this- his posting was faster!

[addicted2dvd]

Thanks... I will fix that in my database. Not sure what kind of flak I would get if I tried to upload it... so think I will keep it local.

[Tom]

Thanks... I will fix that in my database. Not sure what kind of flak I would get if I tried to upload it... so think I will keep it local.

I already uploaded this change. Seems we have the same release.

[addicted2dvd]

Yeah... I noticed... I just voted yes on it! 

[addicted2dvd]

Title: The X-Files: I Want To Believe
Year: 2008
Director: Chris Carter
Rating: PG-13
Length: 108 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
David Duchovny
Gillian Anderson
Amanda Peet
Billy Connolly
Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner
Mitch Pileggi

Plot:
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson re-team to unravel a bizarre case right out of The X-Files™. In the blink of an eye, amidst a bone-chilling cold and an eerily deceptive calm, FBI agent Monica Bannan is mysteriously abducted. But this is not ordinary kidnapping. And not only does the search for the missing woman ignite sparks between partners Scully (Anderson) and Mulder (Duchovny), it defies the boundaries of science, the supernatural and the terrifying spaces in between!

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Bonus Trailers
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Gallery
Outtakes/Bloopers
Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:
I have seen in other reviews that this movie is not that much liked compared to the series and first movie. I personally enjoyed it. No... this one doesn't have anything to do with the mythology of the X-Files... but that is something I liked about it. I have always been a bigger fan of the stand alone "freak of the week" episodes. And that is what this movie feels like to me. Sure it could have been better. But I really don't have any complaints. This is the first time I have seen Billy Connolly in many years. The last thing I remember seeing him in was Head of the Class when he took over for Howard Hesseman as the teacher. And wow... did he change. But I would guess so... after all we are talking a good 20 years here. Even though he didn't look familiar at all I knew exactly who he was just from his voice. After the movie I checked out the gag reel. As that is normally my favorite extra on movies.  Well unfortunately not this time. I didn't even make it all the way through the entire gag reel.  It just didn't give me any laughs. The majority of the beginning was nothing more then the actors slipping in the snow. oh well... at least I enjoyed the movie.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[addicted2dvd]

Title: Gone With the Wind
Year: 1939
Director: Victor Fleming
Rating: G
Length: 233 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, English: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Clark Gable
Vivien Leigh
Leslie Howard
Olivia de Havilland
Thomas Mitchell
Barbara O'Neil

Plot:
Cinematic masterpiece. Hollywood legend. National treasure. Gone With the Wind is all this and more. Following its premiere in December, 1939, this winner of eight regular Academy Awards® – including Best Picture – and two special Academy Awards® was quickly deemed "an intense, living experience" (Los Angeles Examiner) and "the peak milestone in motion picture achievement" (The Hollywood Reporter).

Adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this dazzling epic stars Vivien Leigh as the tempestuous Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable as the dashing Rhett Butler. Forever linked by passion and separated by pride and self-delusion, these unforgettable screen lovers bring Mitchell's immortal saga vividly to life, set against the stunning backdrop of a time and place forever Gone With the Wind.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Closed Captioned
Booklet includes: Trivia/Production Notes/Making of the film

My Thoughts:
OK... don't get me wrong with this review. I respect the accomplishments of this film. I mean we are talking of a film that won 9 Academy Awards here. But this is just not my thing. It just really bored me. And to our good friend Roger... I hope you don't feel disappointed. I still very much appreciate you sending me this movie. As I said... it is just not my type of thing. When I first put the movie in I was afraid I would never get through the entire thing to give it a proper chance for my review. But I was able to get into the movie just slightly. But that was enough to make it till the end. Though it is one I started last night and had to take a break half way through it... and watch the second half this morning. But I did make it! So I am proud of myself for that much. Sure this is an important part of the history of film... but it is not one that I am planning on watching again.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[Jon]

Perhaps you'd have preferred this...



[ Watch on Youtube ]  [ Full Screen ]

When I made the joke yesterday, I had no idea this video existed! Clearly Clark Gable just has that look...

[addicted2dvd]

  That looks better then the real thing! 

[addicted2dvd]

Title: Invasion of the Bee Girls
Year: 1973
Director: Denis Sanders
Rating: R
Length: 86 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: N/A

Stars:
William Smith
Anitra Ford
Victoria Vetri
Cliff Osmond
Wright King
Ben Hammer

Plot:
Suspicious deaths in a California community come to the attention of the U.S. Government when one of their top scientists is found dead. A State Department agent is sent to investigate and learns from the coroner that the all-male victims died from "sexual exhaustion". Working on a lead about the case, the agent teams up with a female government research scientist and they discover a female insect expert is using a process to give women bee-like qualities and sending them out to kill men with sex.

Extras:
Scene Access

My Thoughts:
OK... this was interesting to say the least. This is definitely no Academy Award winner... but I enjoyed it much more then the last movie I watched! Obviously with the subject of this movie... it has it's share of sex and nudity. Though several of the scenes were so dark it was hard to make out what you were looking at at times. And I got to say... if you gotta go that is the way to go!

I have this movie in the boxset I got last month... Horror Classics: 100 Movie Pack. Your basic public domain fair I believe. Quality could be much better. It is like watching a second generation VHS tape. But watchable. No extras what so ever. And the worst part... a Mills Creek Entertainment logo popped up in the lower right corner for a few seconds every once in a while. I learned to live with this on TV... but on a DVD!?!? That is just not right!

Over all an entertaining "leave your brain at the door" pop-corn flick that has lots of nice looking ladies. Worth checking it out. But don't expect too much from it. If curios... Here is the trailer to check out



[ Watch on Youtube ]  [ Full Screen ]

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[Jon]

 

I love how you went from Gone With The Wind to Invasion Of The Bee Girls!

[Rogmeister]

And he likes Invasion of the Bee Girls twice as much?  Pete may just be about to get his movie-reviewing license suspended! 

[Jimmy]

Now you are in my territory Pete
I haven't seen a good copy of this film yet, but I continue to search. The version I own is the one released by Brentwood under the title Graveyard Tramps in 2004. Alternative Cinema will release it in 2 weeks (in a set with 2069: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Dildo’s Secret). I will contact Michael next week to ask him if they used a VHS print or a theatrical print for the transfert. The film had many well known names in the genre of film I like : William Smith (Run, Angel, Run!, Angels Die Hard, The Losers,...), Anitra Ford (Messiah of Evil), Herb Robins (The Worm Eaters, The Thrill Killers, Body Fever, ...), Rene Bond (High School Fantasies, Country Hooker, Do You Wanna Be Loved? and many others) and Sharon Kelly (Supervixens, Delinquent School Girls and many hardcore films under the alias Colleen Brennan). Glad to see you have appreciated this one

BTW maybe this set of vampires film could be interesting for you