DVD Collectors Online

Flesh and the Devil, a review by Antares

Flesh and the Devil (1926) 4.5/5 - One gaping hole in my film watching is most definitely Silent film dramas. I've seen plenty of silent comedy, but due to lack of material available or time constraints, I've never been able to really sink my teeth into what is my favorite time frame in Hollywood history. A few years back, I got the TCM collection The Garbo Silents Collection and it has been gathering dust ever since. But I'm in the midst of watching Kevin Brownlow & David Gill's mammoth documentary on the silent era, Hollywood, and decided to shake the dust off some of my silent film DVDs and this was first on the list. I've only seen Greta Garbo in one of her sound films, Grand Hotel, and glimpses of a few others such as Ninotchka and Queen Christina. Aside from being a radiantly beautiful woman, I find the performances I've watched either overly melodramatic or somewhat wooden and her voice to be a bit too deep and masculine to fit her image. I've never been able to understand why she survived the transition to sound, when so many other gifted, beautiful actors and actresses were left behind. I really wanted to watch this mainly because it starred John Gilbert, one of the most tragic figures in Hollywood history. And just as I expected, he was magnificent in the role of the love struck Prussian aristocrat who almost forsakes a life long friendship for the love of a woman who's not worth his efforts. After finishing the film, I started to ponder if Gilbert was the first actor to have true screen presence, because every moment he is on screen, he dominates. I couldn't think of one actor before him, where the camera just made them come alive so much. When the film was finished, I cursed Louis B. Mayer for what he did to his career. I've listened to a few of Gilbert's sound films and there was absolutely nothing wrong with his voice. I really hope Mayer is rotting in Hell for not only what he did to Gilbert, but to Judy Garland and Buster Keaton also. That being said, if you're into silent films, you need to definitely check this one out.

(From Antares' Short Summations on April 27th, 2012)

Betsy's Wedding, a review by addicted2dvd

Betsy's Wedding (1990/United States) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Mill Creek Entertainment Director: Alan Alda Writing: Alan Alda (Writer) Length: 94 min. Rating: R Video: Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: None

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Stars:
Alan Alda as Eddie Hopper
Joey Bishop as Eddie's Father
Madeline Kahn as Lola Hopper
Anthony LaPaglia as Stevie Dee
Catherine O'Hara as Gloria Henner
Joe Pesci as Oscar Henner

Plot:
Betsy's Wedding is a funny, feelgood movie about a wonderfully eccentric family and their hilarious trials and tribulations. It's about everything but their daughter's wedding! Anything can and does happen when the freespirited bride-to-be casually announces her engagement, setting off a series of crazy events, including accidental meetings with the mafia, oddball romances and riotous schemes! Betsy's Wedding is the perfect hit - and irreverent story filled with all the warmth, wackiness and humor you won't want to miss!

Extras:

• Scene Access

This is one I never got to see until now... surprising as there is a lot of good cast members in this one... like Molly Ringwald (I just love a redhead!), Alan Alda, Madeline Kahn and Joe Pesci.... and at the time this came out I was working at a video store... so I definitely had the opportunity. I found the film to be right entertaining. Maybe not the best comedy I ever seen... but was well worth the time put in to watch it.



(From What Movies I Been Watching on November 16th, 2013)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Clarissa Explains It All: Season One (1991/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Paramount Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 328 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
Clarissa brought clarity to murky teenage waters for five seasons on Nick. Now enjoy all 13 episodes from the first season, featuring Clarissa, her annoying little brother Ferguson, health-nut mom Janet, architect dad Marshall, and welcome next-door neighbor, Sam.

Clarissa Explains It All
1.01 Clarissa's Revenge
Director: Kenneth Frankel
Cast: Melissa Joan Hart (Clarissa Marie Darling), Jason Zimbler (Ferguson Darling), Elizabeth Hess (Janet Darling), Joe O'Connor (Marshall Darling), Sean O'Neal (Sam Anders)

A teen series which surprisingly is still fun to watch. It stars Melissa Joan Hart before she went on to play Sabrine the Teenage Witch. Mostly because of her constantly breaking the fourth wall, I enjoy watching it. The pilot introduces the characters perfectly.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 31st, 2011)