DVD Collectors Online

Don , a review by Tom

Don (1978/India) IMDb | Wikipedia Spark Video (United Kingdom) Director: Chandra Barot Writing: Salim Javed (Story By), Salim Javed (Screenwriter) Length: 166 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: Dutch, English, French

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Stars:
Amitabh Bachchan as Don
Zeenat Aman
Pran
Ifrikhar
Om Shivpuri

Plot:
When ruthless Don (Amitabh Bachchan) is killed by the police, the DSP (Iftekhar) is afraid that another "Don" will take over when the rest of the gang come of know of his death, so he, unbeknown to the rest of the police force, recruits Don's lookalike Vijay (also Amitabh Bachchan) to become the real Don. Vijay is, at first reluctant, but when promised that two children he is caring for, will be looked after and educated, he agrees. He is successfully re-located back with his gang by feigning injuries, and loss of memory. He soon recuperates. Then fate takes an unexpected turn when the DSP is killed and Vinay becomes the suspect: his role as the Don ends, as his gang comes to know he is a fraud: Vijay must run for his life - both from the police and Don's gang - for his life, and the life of the two children.

Awards:
Won:

Filmfare Awards (1979)		Best Actor Award (Amitabh Bachchan)
Filmfare Awards (1979)		Best Female Playback Award ("Ye Mera Dil Pyar Ka Deewana": Asha Bhosle)
Filmfare Awards (1979)		Best Male Playback Award ("Khaike Paan Banaraswala": Kishore Kumar)

Nominated:

Filmfare Awards (1979)		Best Lyricist Award ("Khaike Paan": Anjaan)
Filmfare Awards (1979)		Best Music Director Award (Kalyanji Anandji)

Extras:

• Music Videos
• Scene Access

Last year in this place I have reviewed "Don: The Chase Begins Again". So I thought I would review the original "Don" this year. So far this is my oldest Bollywood movie in my collection. It stars Amitabh Bachchan ("Black") in his prime. He was his generation's Shah Rukh Khan. He reminded me a lot of his son Abhishek Bachchan.
I enjoyed this movie. Especially in the beginning it reminded me of early Bond movies, if Bond were the bad guy. Don's simple self-introduction "Don" had more impact than Bond's "Bond. James Bond", in my opinion. There are a lot of simularities to its remake, of course. Although the remake put in more twists. I was surprised that the main twist of the remake wasn't part of the original.

Rating:

(From 2010 December Marathon - Discussion thread on December 11th, 2010)

Men in Black, a review by Dragonfire

Agent Jay (Will Smith) and Agent Kay (Tommy Lee Jones) are turning up the heat on alien terrorists and delivering hot new technology at the same time. Experience the galaxy's biggest sci-fi hit with a universe of exclusive special features, including 3 scene editing workshops, technical commentary and more!

My Thoughts

I really enjoy this movie.  It has a wonderful mix of adventure, humor, and science fiction that works really well to make a very entertaining movie.  The aliens are unique and interesting.  I enjoyed how Jay was recruited to the Men in Black and adjusted to working with Kay.  Several of the things that Jay does make me laugh.  His reactions to some of the situations are really funny and help to make the movie more entertaining.  Some of what happens is a little silly, but it still manages to work well for the plot overall. I think the special effects were done well. 

 

I posted a longer review on Epinions several years ago if anyone wants to take a look.

Men in Black

(From Dragonfire: What I've Been Watching on May 26th, 2009)

The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

What's the show about?
It's the third show in the Whoniverse (after Doctor Who and Torchwood). In the UK Doctor Who itself is aimed at (older) children ("The story and the monsters for the kids, the Doctor for the mums and the companion for the dads" as the saying goes) but The Sarah Jane Adventures is aimed at young children (and those who stayed young ). Sarah Jane used to be a companion to the Third and Fourth Doctor in the 70s and she had a few adventures with the Tenth Doctor. Now she has adventures of her own with her adopted son and his friends and the Tenth and Eleventh Doctor visited her on her own show.

"Invasion of the Bane"
The kids of the neighbourhood start to notice that something weird is going on in Miss Smith's backyard because she's visited by what looks like fairies. Sarah Jane - she is a newspaper reporter by day - on the other hand investigates a factory that gives away free soft drinks to all the children that visit the factory. When she discovers that there's a young boy who appears to have been created in that factory, she knows that something otherworldly is going on.

My Opinion
I enjoyed the show. It took existing aliens from the Whoniverse and adapted them for the show (e.g. where the Doctor has to deal with adult Slitheen, Sarah Jane gets to deal with their offspring). But it also invented their own races and told stories about them.


Sadly the show came to an end when Elisabeth Sladen died from cancer a few years ago.



(From The One Where It All Began: The Pilot Marathon on April 4th, 2013)