Author Topic: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar  (Read 273280 times)

Offline GSyren

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #330 on: April 30, 2014, 05:59:19 PM »
Hm, yeah, it will be interesting to see if they can manage to put a new spin on that. It feels like that story has been told every which way you can imagine. But who knows...

Mustrum_Ridcully

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #331 on: April 30, 2014, 06:18:20 PM »
It feels like that story has been told every which way you can imagine.

You mean like "Evil person(s) take(s) a group of (mostly) innocent people hostage and doesn't realise that he forgot the one who lets a NAVY S.E.A.L. look like a buddhist monch"?

I really don't see how this could EVER get boring and overtold
« Last Edit: April 30, 2014, 06:19:54 PM by Silence_of_Lambs »

Offline DSig

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #332 on: April 30, 2014, 07:31:56 PM »
If the action is good and little twists or turns then it never gets boring :) 
Thank you
David

Offline GSyren

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #333 on: April 30, 2014, 08:08:32 PM »
I was actually refering to this story line
supposidly Bryan (liam) gets accused of a murder he didn't commit ...
And even if they can't put a new spin on it, it doesn't have to be boring.

Offline GSyren

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #334 on: April 30, 2014, 10:29:50 PM »
TitleThe Amazing Colossal Man (8-033650-557343)
DirectorBert I. Gordon
ActorsGlenn Langan, Cathy Downs, William Hudson, Larry Thor, James Seay
Produced1957 in United States
Runtime77 minutes
AudioItalian Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital Mono, English Dolby Digital Mono
SubtitlesItalian
OverviewLt. Col. Glenn Manning is inadvertently exposed to a plutonium bomb blast at Camp Desert Rock. Though burned over 90% of his body, he survives, and begins to grow in size. As he grows, his heart and circulatory system fail to keep pace with his growth, and he is gradually losing his mind as a result of reduced blood supply to his brain. He reaches 50 feet tall before his growth is stopped. By this time he has become insane. He escapes and wreaks havoc upon Las Vegas before he is finally stopped.
My thoughtsIt would be a gross overstatement to say that The Amazing Colossal Man is a good movie. It's not. But it's a fun little movie. The script is way out there. Not only is the whole notion of anything growing like that totally bogus. It also makes some really WTF claims. “His heart grows slower than the rest of the body because the heart is a single cell.” What on earth was the scriptwriter smoking when he came up with that?

Most of the effects are also laughable. Worst of all, the final effects shot, when the Colossal Man falls down from the Boulder Dam, is so pitiful that it taints the whole experience of the film.

This movie is really hard to find on DVD. I got hold of an Italian release. I was dismayed when I started the film, because it was widescreen 1.78:1, and I knew it was supposed to be 1.37:1. Strangely enough it seemed to work. The composition hardly ever felt cramped. It was as if it was shot with matting in mind. However, I have never read anything that suggests that it was actually meant to be shown that way.

You probably have to love 50's black-and-white genre movies in order to appreciate this film. It is a turkey, but it's a lovable turkey!
My rating

Offline DSig

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #335 on: May 01, 2014, 12:40:49 AM »
This made me laugh.  I remember seeing it when it came out and it was pretty serious then.  We all were living with "the bomb" and the horrors of nuclear anything.  Pretty serious stuff.  Then saw it again in the later sixties and man I way way too sophisticated for something like that.  Now i find it a fun watch .. occasionally.  Like 'Dark Star' it is a fill soo bad that you just have to like it :)  Thanks for reminding me.  Think i will try to find a copy.  Thanks again

Update: found a copy at a place never dealt with .. guess will see how that works out.
« Last Edit: May 01, 2014, 12:57:37 AM by DSig »
Thank you
David

Offline GSyren

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #336 on: May 01, 2014, 05:33:29 AM »
I'm going to have to dig out the sequel, War of the Colossal Beast, and watch that one, too. I thought the makeup on the beast was cool in that one. Reminded me a lot of The Cyclops. The Colossal Beast was featured on the cover of the very first issue that I read of Famous Monsters, back in '63. It was that image that made me buy the magazine. Since FM has had an important influence on me, that illustration (by Basil Gogos, if I'm not mistaken) has a lot to answer for. Like col Manning, I was never the same again...  8)

Btw, in Colossal Man the dam is refered to by its original name, Boulder Dam. Any reason for that? Wasn't it renamed Hoover Dam about a decade before the film was made?

Offline DSig

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #337 on: May 01, 2014, 04:59:54 PM »
"Btw, in Colossal Man the dam is refered to by its original name, Boulder Dam. Any reason for that? Wasn't it renamed Hoover Dam about a decade before the film was made?"

The naming was more political than anything else.  I couldn't remember the bits but found this on wikipedia Naming Controversy.

I can remember as a kid it being called Boulder Dam. 
Thank you
David

Offline DSig

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #338 on: May 01, 2014, 11:12:21 PM »
By the way ... you are a bad bad man (can't blame myself :) ) ... I just went on a tear and orders 6 more oldies including Jason and the Argonauts and several more that I have been holding off on but ... You keep reminding me of great films from my youth and young adulthood.  Boy my wife is going to be mad at you :)
Thank you
David

Offline GSyren

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #339 on: May 01, 2014, 11:36:33 PM »
Boy my wife is going to be mad at you :)
Maybe I should send her flowers to placate her?  :whistle:

Mustrum_Ridcully

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #340 on: May 02, 2014, 12:01:20 AM »
Boy my wife is going to be mad at you :)
Maybe I should send her flowers to placate her?  :whistle:
Or you send her a copy of "Love Story", after all "Love means never having to say you're sorry" ( :tease: )

Offline Dragonfire

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #341 on: May 02, 2014, 01:57:51 AM »
 :hysterical:

I find it works well to blame others when I buy new Blu-rays...and that person has been Jon for a few years now, since I broke down and double dipped for North by Northwest. 

Offline DSig

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #342 on: May 02, 2014, 02:00:29 AM »
:) you guys are no help at all :)
Thank you
David

Mustrum_Ridcully

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #343 on: May 02, 2014, 11:05:33 AM »
As was to be expected.

You find here a bunch of confessing DVD-Addicts that are far beyond help.

Offline Dragonfire

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Re: Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar
« Reply #344 on: May 02, 2014, 09:53:27 PM »
Help?  What sort of help do you want?  Suggestions for new shelves for your ever growing collection?  Suggestions for new movie purchases to then blame on others?   ;D

Sorry....couldn't resist.  :D