DVD Collectors Online

Lisa and the Devil, a review by Achim

Title: Lisa e il diavolo
Year: 1973
Director: Lisa and the Devil, Mario Bava, The House of Exorcism, Alfredo Leone [Mickey Lion]
Rating: NR
Length: 96 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Lisa and the Devil
Telly Savalas
Elke Sommer
Silva Koscina
Alessio Orano

Plot:
Following the international success of BARON BLOOD, Bava was given carte blanche to make the film he'd envisioned his entire career. Telly Savalas and Elke Sommer star in this surreal tale that unfolds as both waking dream and elliptical nightmare, a lush and disturbing meditation on love, death, identity and the machinations of evil. Now recognized as Il Maestro's final masterpiece, LISA AND THE DEVIL has been fully restored and remastered from the original camera negatives recently discovered in a Rome lab vault.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Trailers

While the cover hails it as Bava's final masterpiece I really can't see why. After the first 20 minutes build up a creepy atmosphere I almost fell asleep over the course of the next 20 minutes. During the third 20minutes the atmosphere almost recovered (the now sleepy audience has trouble recognizing this) and leads into a bunch of violent murders, waking the audience up again. The next 30 minutes are another snorefest and then comes the ending, which is rather interesting but comes way too late to save the movie.

Looking back at the film with the knowledge of the ending, it appears better than it should. Too little stuff was going on during the experience that kept my interest. Heck, that's not even quite correct, the problem for me is more the presentation, the lack of music and other means to build suspense. This could have been much better; as the intend of Bava becomes clear at the end I could only feel sad at his failed attempt to fulfill his vision.



(From Mario Bava marathon on July 20th, 2009)

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2010), a review by Tom

My Girlfriend's Boyfriend (2010/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Splendid Film (Germany) Director: Daryn Tufts Writing: Daryn Tufts (Writer), Daryn Tufts (Story By), Benji Smith (Story By) Length: 84 min. Video: Widescreen 1.78 Audio: German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Subtitles: Dutch, German

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Stars:
Christopher Gorham as Ethan
Chantel Flanders as Catie
Kelly Packard as Suzy
Carol Kane as Barbara
Alyssa Milano as Jesse

Plot:
Jesse meets Ethan, someone she could finally fall in love with, but then she meets Troy, and now she has a dilemma.

Extras:

• Bonus Trailers
• Scene Access
• Wendecover

A rather typical romantic comedy (I expected nothing more), but I must admit that ending surprised me. It put the whole movie into a different light, something which I enjoy. For fans of Alyssa Milano I think it's safe to check this one out. It's also nice to see Michael Landes again. I am not sure if I saw him in anything since I first saw him as Jimmy Olsen in the first season of Lois & Clark (except in the short-lived series "Union Square"). Christopher Gorham was fitting as the love interest.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on September 25th, 2011)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

The Bill Cosby Show: Season One (1969/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia (United States) Length: 660 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
Chet Kincaid is a gym teacher at Richard Allen Holmes High School in Los Angeles, an all-around good guy and an inspiration to his friends, family and students.

Bill Cosby's first situational comedy places an emphasis on intelligent character studies and real-life situations that are naturally infused with the comedian's trademark sense of humor. The first season's adventures include Chet squiring a date in a borrowed garbage truck and losing a one-on-one basketball game to a student he considered too short to make the team.

The Bill Cosby Show: Season One features a newly recorded interview with Bill Cosby and all 26 fully restored episodes from the 1969-70 season, including music by Quincy Jones and guest appearances by Henry Fonda, Cicely Tyson, Elsa Lanchester, Wally Cox and many others.

The Bill Cosby Show
1.01 The Fatal Phone Call
Writer: Ed. Weinberger (Created By), Michael Zagor (Created By), William H. Cosby, Jr. (Created By), Dave Evans (Writer)
Director: Harvey Hart
Cast: Bill Cosby (Chet Kincaid), Victor Tayback (Calvin), John Hawker (Mack), Victor Millan (1st Detective), Craig Chudy (1st Policeman), Jay Powell (2nd Policeman)

Not bad going by this episode, but a little too slow for my taste. Not really much happens. I have the first season now five years in my collection and only have managed to watch the first two episodes so far.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on March 29th, 2011)