DVD Collectors Online

The War Wagon, a review by GSyren

Title	The War Wagon (5-050582-943320)
Director	Burt Kennedy
Actors	John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, Howard Keel, Robert Walker,  Jr., Keenan Wynn
Produced	1967 in United States
Runtime	100 minutes
Audio	English DTS-HD Master Audio Mono, French DTS Mono, Italian DTS Mono, German DTS Mono, Spanish DTS Mono
Subtitles	English, French Italian, German, Spanish, Japanese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portugese, Russian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Chinese
Overview	Two cinematic legends, John Wayne and Kirk Douglas, team up to seize a small fortune in gold in this action-packed western classic. Wayne plays Taw Jackson, a range-hardened rancher who's hell-bent on capturing the infamous War Wagon, an ironclad stagecoach protected by a small army of men and owned by a thieving cattle baron who robbed Taw of his gold and good name years before. To get even, Jackson recruits Lomax (Douglas), a brash gunslinger, and a raucous crew of misfits and readies them to pull off one of the most impossible heists of all time.
My thoughts	I must admit that The War Wagon surprised me a bit, because I had a mental picture of it being an older black-and-white movie. I don't know why. I may have seen a b&w photo from it a long time ago, or perhaps a clip or a trailer on b&w TV back in the late sixties. Anyway, seeing that it was in widescreen and color was a pleasant surprise. John Wayne and Kirk Douglas has great chemistry in this film. Howard Keel as an indian? Awkward casting is you ask me. Bruce Cabot makes a good villain, and Keenan Wynn is believable as a greedy old codger. Bruce Dern has a small role, too. Director Burt Kennedy was good at making these kind of westerns that don't take themselves too seriously. And he does a good job here, too. There are some really well done matte paintings by Albert Whitlock, but if you watch closely when the bridge is blown up the registration is not perfect and it becomes evident that the bottom part with the chasm is a matte painting. A fun western, and it looks and sounds really good on this region free UK release. Highly recommended.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on January 19th, 2014)

Stalingrad, a review by Rich

durch kaltes Deutschland



This film is a gritty, devastating retelling of the battle for Stalingrad during World War II, in which more than a million and a half soldiers lost their lives. Told from the point of view of the German soldiers, who were under orders to neither retreat nor surrender, this film realistically portrays the brutality of combat.

Having read so many good reviews for this film, I felt slightly disappointed afterwards. It certainly would have more impact in it's original language, the dubbing sounded Monty Pythonesque and detracted from the films moving content. Graphic war scenes, harsh and bitter tale from the soldiers perspective, the film just didn't quite have enough to make it a classic IMO  5/10



(From Around the World in 80 DVD's on January 5th, 2008)

Tom's Random Reviews, a review by Tom

Superman II (1980/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Warner Home Video (United Kingdom) Director: Richard Lester Writing: Jerry Siegel (Original Characters By), Joe Shuster (Original Characters By), Mario Puzo (Story By), Mario Puzo (Screenwriter), David Newman (Screenwriter), Leslie Newman (Screenwriter) Length: 127 min. Video: Widescreen 2.35 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 1, German: Dolby Digital 1, Italian: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

---

Stars:
Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor
Christopher Reeve as Superman/Clark Kent
Ned Beatty as Otis
Jackie Cooper as Perry White
Sarah Douglas as Ursa

Plot:
Unwittingly released from Phantom Zone imprisonment, three super-powered Planet Krypton criminals (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran) plan to enslave Earth - just when Superman (Christopher Reeve) decides to show a more romantic side to Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). Gene Hackman (as Lex Luthor) also returns from the first film and with a top supporting cast, witty Richard Lester direction and visuals that astound and delight, Superman II saves the day any day you watch it.

Awards:
Won:

Saturn (1981)

Best Science Fiction Film

Nominated:

AFI (1980)		100 Years... 100 Passions (2002)
AFI (1980)		100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actor (Christopher Reeve)
Saturn (1981)		Best Actress (Margot Kidder)
Saturn (1981)		Best Music (Ken Thorne)

Extras:

• Commentary
• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

Chances that I would revisit the theatrical cut of Superman II were slim since I saw the superior Donner Cut, but since I just double-dipped on the Blu-ray set, I planned to watch all movies therein.
The theatrical cut isn't as bad as I remembered, and I could enjoy it again as I did in the past before knowing anything about the Donner/Lester controversy. Still some stuff are obviously unfitting. Especially since they chose not to use any Marlon Brando scenes, which results Jor-El missing in the flashbacks to the first movie (launch of Superman's ship and the imprisonment of General Zod). And also the need to use Superman's mother in the Fortress of Solitude scenes.
But I have to say, that there is only one moment, which I miss from the theatrical cut in the Donner Cut. And that is Clark's resignation of keeping up the charade and admitting to Lois that he is Superman. There is something similar in the Donner cut, but because it is a scene never originally shot and taken from screen test footage, it is not as effective (Christopher Reeve not yet the perfect Superman. Acting-wise and body-wise).

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 14th, 2011)