DVD Collectors Online

Young Man with a Horn, a review by GSyren

Title	Young Man with a Horn (7-321900-043250)
Director	Michael Curtiz
Actors	Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, Doris Day, Hoagy Carmichael, Juano Hernandez
Produced	1949 in United States
Runtime	108 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono, Italian Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	Arabic, English, French, Italian, Dutch
Overview	With a second-hand trumpet and the loving guidance of a brilliant bluesman, a lonely boy grows into manhood as a superb musician whose talent carries him forward from honky-tonks to posh supper clubs. But his desperate search for the elusive high note trapped in his mind but impossible to play starts him on a boozy downward slide. Charged with dynamic performances by Kirk Douglas (the title role), Doris Day, Lauren Bacall and Hoagy Carmichael and pitch perfect direction from Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) this film is a feast of hot, cool, moody jazz. Legendary Harry James dubbed Douglas' hornwork. Day brings another fine instrument - her voice - to four standards. Movie and Music lovers will be glad to meet this Man.
My thoughts	This movie has been in my unwatched pile for a while. I bought it to complete my Doris Day collection, but I didn't watch it right away because it wasn't really a "Doris Day movie". She only has third billing. Well, I eventually got around to it, and I realize I should have watched it sooner. Or maybe not. Seeing it now was a pleasant surprise. I actually liked it quite a lot, and Doris was very good in it. I don't care too much for jazz, but even so a couple of movies about jazz musicians are among my favorite movies, for example The Five Pennies with Danny Kaye as Loring "Red" Nichols. And now this one. And they're both about horn players. Cornet and trumpet, respectively. None of them are really biographical. Five Pennies is loosely based on Nichols life, while Young Man is inspired by a book that's inspired by the music of Bix Beiderbecke. One thing that initially got me a little confused was the title. The Elvis movie Loving You had the Swedish title Ung man med gitarr (Young Man with a Guitar), and of course that movie is nowadays a lot more well known than this one. So my first thought when I saw the title was "Horn? Wasn't it Guitar?". Then of course I realized that they were two different movies. And the blame falls squarely on the Swedish distributor of the Elvis movie for pinching the title idea. Anyway, even though I bought this title because of Doris Day, I was very much impressed with Kirk Douglas in the title role. Lauren Bacall is also good as a rather unlikeable character. I couldn't understand, though, how Rick (Douglas) could fall for her rather than for Doris' character. But then I guess I'm not entirely objective since I've has a long time crush on Doris.
My rating	4 out of 5

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on November 2nd, 2013)

Kestrel's Eye, a review by Danae Cassandra

Falkens oga (Kestrel's Eye)
Year of Release:
Directed By: Mikael Kristersson
Starring: A family of kestrels
Genre: Documentary

Overview:
"Kestrel's Eye" is unlike any nature film you've ever seen. Filmed over several years, it is a wonder-filled portrait of a family of kestrels (European falcons) who live in a church tower above a small Swedish town. The amazing cinematography, nominated for a Swedish Oscar, captures the intimacy of the birds' lives and creates an "utterly mesmerizing and startlingly original film."

My Thoughts:
Two kestrels meet, mate, set up their home in a church steeple and raise their young.  They watch the humans go about their activities below.  Yes, that's absolutely it as far as the story goes.  There's no narration, nothing giving either information or creating a story around the birds.  Truly, documentary in its purest form - simply documenting the lives of these birds, inviting the viewer to share them and draw their own conclusions.  The cinematography is amazing, especially the views inside the nest that the filmmakers were able to capture. 

If watching birds go about their lives for an hour and half sounds dull, this is not the film for you.  If this sounds like the fascinating portrait of these kestrels lives that I found it to be (or you think baby birds are adorable!) then I can recommend it. 

Bechdel Test: Not Applicable

Overall: 3.5/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on March 20th, 2015)

Twilight Zone, a review by addicted2dvd

30. A Stop at Willoughby (5/6/60)
Advertising exec Gart Williams (James Day) cracks under the pressure of his job. But, in this classic episode, he dreams about a peaceful town named Willoughby.

My Thoughts:
I actually remember seeing this one before... though it has been a very long time since I only remembered bits and pieces of the episode. I definitely enjoyed this one. The only extras with this was an Isolated Music Score and a short interview that strangely when played it plays over top the episode... I can understand this if the interview lasted the entire length of the episode... or even almost the entire episode... but this one only lasted like a minute or 2. With such a short interview I would have rather it to be an audio only interview.

31. The Chaser (5/13/60)
Roger Shackleforth (George Grizzard), desperate to win the affection of the beautiful Leila (Patricia Barry), slips her a love potion. He is overjoyed that the potion works so well... at first.

My Thoughts:
This is another episode I have never seen before. It was a good episode... it ended up about the way I figured it would. I am not 100% sure... but I think the guy that gave him the card was the same guy that played Fred Mertz on I Love Lucy... it looked like him at least... but it has been a very long time since I watched I Love Lucy. This episode had another interview and an Isolated Music Score again... I didn't bother to listen to the interview with this one to see how long it lasted.

32. A Passage for Trumpet (5/20/60)
After committing suicide, an unsuccessful trumpet player (Jack Klugman) is given a second chance at life. But first he must learn what it means to be dead in a world full of life.

My Thoughts:
This one I definitely seen before... it was on one of the volume discs I had. It is a pretty good episode... but not one of my favorites. The only extra you get with this episode is an Isolated Music Score.

33. Mr. Bevis (6/3/60)
Orson Bean is James B. W. Bevis, a good-natured, accident-prone eccentric whose guardian angel gives him a chance at success. But there's a catch: all the goofiness in his personality has got to go.

My Thoughts:
This was the first time I ever seen this episode but unfortunately it was only ok at best... it didn't impress me too much. There was no extras attached to this episode either.

34. The After Hours (6/10/60)
A woman (Anne Francis) discovers that the floor of a department store, on which she bought a gold thimble, doesn't exist - and that her "saleslady" is really a mannequin!

My Thoughts:
This episode I have seen before. I believe it is one of the episodes that I had on the volume dvds I owned. This was a good episode... I really did enjoy it. The extras attached to this episode include... Interview with Anne Francis and Douglas Heyes. and The Twilight Zone Radio Drama starring Kim Fields.

35. The Mighty Casey (6/17/60)
A broken-down baseball team soars when a new player, a human-looking robot, pitches shut-out after shut-out. He must be altered to become more human, but how will this affect his superhuman skills?

My Thoughts:
This is another that I watched for the very first time. Was a pretty good episode... nothing great though. The extras for this episode was A lecture with Rod Serling and a short photo gallery.

36. A World of His Own (7/1/60)
Keenan Wynn is Gregory West, a noted playwright who discovers that he can make anything appear or disappear just by describing it... like his irritable wife or even Rod Serling.

My Thoughts:
This was a really fun episode... and yet another that I have never seen before! I do think that for me at least.. this one did start a little slow... but it improved immensely as the show went on. The only extra attached to this episode was an interview.


Original Pilot Version of "Where Is Everybody?"
This never-aired pilot episode is presented in its uncut version and includes the original narration by Westbrook Van Voorhis, which was later replaced by Rod Serling for the October 2nd 1959 broadcast. It is introduced by Rod Serling in a filmed sales pitch to the network sponsors.
- Also features an alternate narration by Rod Serling.
- Audio commentary by producer William Self.
- Rod Serling discusses the episode in a 1975 lecture at Sherwood Oaks College.

Netherlands Sales Pitch
A filmed sales pitch with Rod Serling selling 'The Twilight Zone' series to a Netherlands network.

Liars Club
A segment of the popular 1970s game show hosted by Rod Serling.

Rare Rod Serling Blooper
A humorous, never-before-seen outtake of Rod Serling tripping over his own tongue.

Photo Galleries
Behind-the-scenes photographs from the first season and Rod Serling's rare game show appearances.

'The Twilight Zone' Radio Drama: "The Lonely" starring Mike Starr.

Original 'Twilight Zone' Billboards
Intros to various episodes by the show's commercial sponsors.

Emmy Awards
Clips from the Emmy Awards ceremony featuring wins for 'The Twilight Zone' in the Writing and Cinematography categories.

'The Twilight Zone' Comic Book
An issue of the popular comic from 1963.

My Thoughts:
This extras disc has some awesome stuff on it!... first is the un-aired version of the pilot. Which I am watching as I write this... so can't talk about to many differences... but  the first thing I noticed was someone else doing the narration of the opening credits. I am so glad they did not stick with this guy. He just didn't have the flow that Rod Serling has.

The Netherlands pitch was just that... Rod Serling doing a short pitch of what his show is to a station in the Netherlands.

Now... The Liars Club....this was really fun! I would love to see all the episodes of this game show! And the description says it is just a segment... and even though this is literally true... it is actually almost a whole episode... ran for about 22 minutes! It had a panel of 4 people... only 2 of which I recognized.(Betty White and the Guy that played Hermie the Robot on Get Smart) showing an item and each telling something different of what the item is... of course only 1 of them telling the truth. And it is up to the contestants to decide who is telling the truth... really looked like a lot of fun!

Rare Rod Serling Blooper is just as it sounds... he messes up one of his speeches. This could have been better... they should have had a good half dozen bloopers to make it more fun.

and all the rest is pretty much as it sounds... I am yet to check out the comic book as you have to pop the disc into your dvd-rom to see it.

Well... this time it will be my thoughts not only on discs 5 & 6... but the 1st season as a whole...

Disc 5 continued to impress me... I got to see many more episodes I never seen before. Disc 6 blew me away with all the great extras it has on it... My favorite extra has to be the game show... that really looked like it would be a lot of fun!

As for Season 1 on a whole... Before this set I only seen a small handful of episodes... but it seemed like I would really enjoy the series... so I decided to by this set... and going by season 1 I am thrilled I did! I don't only enjoy this show... I am loving every minute of this show... even the not so good episodes has been enjoyable. What more could you possibly ask then that?

Episodes I seen for the First time on this set include:

   1. Judgment Night (Episode 10)
   2. And When The Sky Was Opened (Episode 11)
   3. What You Need (Episode 12)
   4. I Shot an Arrow into the Air (Episode 15)
   5. The Hitch-Hiker (Episode 16)
   6. The Purple Testiment (Episode 19)
   7. Elegy (Episode 20)
   8. Mirror Image (Episode 21)
   9. A World of Difference (Episode 23)
  10. Long Live Walter Jameson (Episode 24)
  11. People Are Alike All Over (Episode 25)
  12. Execution (Episode 26)
  13. The Big Tall Wish (Episode 27)
  14. A Nice Place to Visit (Episode 28)
  15. Nightmare as a Child (Episode 29)
  16. The Chaser (Episode 31)
  17. Mr. Bevis (Episode 33)
  18. The Mighty Casey (Episode 35)
  19. A World of his Own (Episode 36)

(From Twilight Zone on February 5th, 2008)