DVD Collectors Online

The Man Who Knew Too Much, a review by Achim

Title: The Man Who Knew Too Much
Year: 1956
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: PG
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, French: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish

Stars:
James Stewart
Doris Day
Brenda de Banzie
Bernard Miles
Ralph Truman

Plot:Extras:
Scene Access
Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes

Tom said he found this film rather boring and I know what he means: Hitchcock misses the mark a bit in the pacing department. The film is too long and could have used some additional trimming. The story is good (typical Hitchcock with an innocent guy getting caught in a bigger scheme) and there is several scenes which allow for suspense (notice my wording...). It seems, however, that suspense was not what Hitchcock was after. The whole affair feels more like a family drama with a tacked-on assassination plot. Many scenes drag on too long when things should rather move on creating, as Tom said, boredom in the viewer. In one scene I was noticing that Jimmy Stewart's pamts seemed too short rather then anticipating where he was going...

The actual climax of the film in the Albert Hall (which is not where Que Sera, Sera is sung, the cover blurb got that wrong) is awesome and exciting. Doris Day's acting here is wonderful, showing us a mother torn by her emotions. The editing is also excellent and the use of the music drowning out the dialog works great. Unfortunately there is a second climax which could have had the film going out woth a little bang at least, but somehow they manage to have everything grind to a halt and suddenly it's over.

Jon already mentioned in response to Tom that apparently this was a contractual job by Hitchcock and unfortunately that notion comes through almost all the way.


(if it wasn't for the concert scene it would have been )

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on August 31st, 2009)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, a review by Dragonfire

---

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory What wonders await you in Willy Wonka's factory? Explore fields of soft minty sugar grass in the Chocolate Room...Sail along the Chocolate River in a pink sugar boat...Experiment with Everlasting Gobstoppers in the Inventing Room...Observe talented squirrels in the Nut Room and travel to the Television Room by a glass elevator. You'll find a lot that's funny, a little that's mysterious...and an adventure as sweet as a satisfying as a Wonka Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight bar. This dazzling film adapted from Roald Dahl's classic children's novel, directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore, is your Golden Ticket to a world so inventive, so imaginative, you won't want to miss a delicious moment!

---

I was in the mood to watch this one again recently.  I know some people don't care for this version or how Johnny Depp played Willie Wonka, but I really liked it.  I just find the movie fun and entertaining even after seeing it several times.  I only saw the original for the first time after seeing this one.  The versions are a little different.

I really enjoy the movie and think it is very well done.



I am pretty sure I posted about this one here before.  I also posted a longer review on Epinions after seeing the movie in the theater originally.  I'll share the link to that review again.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

(From Marie's Random Movie Viewing on August 13th, 2011)

"In The Beginning" TV Pilot Marathon, a review by Rogmeister

The Young Riders
Pilot

The Young Riders was a western series from the 1990s that lasted (I think) about 3 seasons.  It dealt with a young group of riders for the Pony Express who ran a route on horseback delivering precious mail in their saddle bags.  Among the riders were a few notable names...William F. Cody (later to be known as Buffalo Bill) and Wild Bill Hickok...Jesse James would show up on the series in a later season.  Among the young cast were Josh Brolin, Stephen Baldwin and Ty Miller.  Yvonne Suhor played Lou, a young woman posing as a man trying to earn enough to buy her own home and get her brother and sister out of an orphanage to join her.  The way station was managed by the grizzled Teaspoon, played by veteran actor Anthony Zerbe and Melissa Leo played Claire who was the young riders' mother hen as well as the one who cooked food for them.

In this pilot episode, we meet all these characters and see them cross paths with a dangerous group of desperadoes.  One of the male riders discovers Lou's secret but keeps it.  The  young cast is engaging and I can see where it was popular enough to last 3 or 4 seasons.  One of these days I want to learn more about the real Pony Express which, if I remember correctly, actually had a very short existance.  John Debny provided a lively score.

(From "In The Beginning" TV Pilot Marathon on January 3rd, 2010)