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Phantom of the Opera (1943), a review by Tom

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Phantom of the Opera (1943/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Universal Pictures (United Kingdom) Director: Arthur Lubin Writing: Eric Taylor (Screenwriter), Samuel Hoffenstein (Screenwriter), Gaston Leroux (Original Material By) Length: 93 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 1, French: DTS 1, Italian: DTS 1, German: DTS 1, Spanish: DTS 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles: Danish, English, French, German, Finnish, Italian, Commentary, Norwegian, Spanish

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Stars:
Nelson Eddy as Anatole Garron
Susanna Foster as Christine DuBois
Claude Rains as Erique Claudin
Edgar Barrier as Raoul Daubert
Leo Carrillo as Signor Ferretti

Plot:
This spectacular horror tale stars Claude Rains as the masked phantom of the Paris opera house in a lavish production that remains a masterpiece of the genre.

Awards:
Won:

Academy Award (1943)		Best Art Direction, Color (John B. Goodman, Alexander Golitzen (Art Direction), Russell A. Gausman, Ira S. Webb (Interior Decoration))
Academy Award (1943)		Best Cinematography, Color (Hal Mohr, W. Howard Greene)

Nominated:

Academy Award (1943)		Best Music, Musical Picture (Edward Ward)
Academy Award (1943)		Best Sound Recording (Bernard B. Brown (Sound Director, Universal Studio Sound Department))

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Commentary
• Trailers
• Photo Gallery
• Featurettes

I was quite bored with this movie. I just couldn't get into it. I was surprised though, that it was in color, as so far all the movies in the set were black and white. Though I have to say, that I am not sure if this movie fits thematically into the classic monsters movie set.

Rating:

(From Tom's 2013 Horror Marathon on October 27th, 2013)

Relentless, a review by Achim

Relentless (1989/United States) (United States) Director: William Lustig Writing: Phil Alden Robinson (Writer) Length: 92 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Judd Nelson as Arthur 'Buck' Taylor
Robert Loggia as Bill Malloy
Leo Rossi as Sam Dietz
Meg Foster as Carol Dietz
Patrick O'Bryan as Todd Arthur

Plot:
A sadistic serial killer holds Los Angeles in the grip of unspeakable fear in this hard-hitting action-thriller.

Rejected from the police force on psychological grounds, Buck Taylor (Judd Nelson) exacts revenge by committing a string of brutal murders and taunting the LAPD. The only clues are pages torn from a telephone book and victims who appear to have somehow participated in their own deaths. But when a brash rookie detective (Leo Rossi) pairs up with a cynical veteran (Robert Loggia) to track down the killer, the cat-and-mouse game ends in a deadly fight to the finish.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Closed Captioned

Probably the most mainstream film by William Lustig that I know. While not a masterpiece, this is a solid thriller but with some turns in the story line that sets it apart from similar films of the same era. I was surprised by the amount of well known actors (mostly by face not necessarily by name) this movie had to offer. Besides Nelson, Loggia, Rossi and Foster (she is such strange eyes...) there is also Edward Bunker, Roy Brocksmith and George 'Buck' Flower.

A buddy cop movie, a serial killer movie and eventually a revenge movie, Lustig does a great job balancing the elements so they don't get in the way of each other. Sure, the motivation of the killer is rather stock standard, but otherwise this film offers some solid entertainment.

Rating:

(From The Movies from Within My Lifetime on July 11th, 2011)

Charmed Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

"She's A Man, Baby, A Man!"
Original Airdate: November 4, 1999
When Prue casts a spell to catch a demon who kills only men, she turns into a guy who is rendered powerless as the demon's fatal charms zero in on her.

My Thoughts:
This one is more of a fun episode then anything else. It was pretty funny to see Shannen Doherty as a man.

"That Old Black Magic"
Original Airdate: November 11, 1999
An evil witch hunts for her magic scepter, which Prue has found, while Leo, Piper and Phoebe must locate the Chosen One to keep the powerful scepter out of evil's hands.

My Thoughts:
A good episode.. but not one I would call great. I did get a kick out of them putting some lost documentary makers in the woods... claiming they were looking for the Blair Witch.

"They're Everywhere"
Original Airdate: November 18, 1999
The Charmed Ones must save a young man from brain-zapping Warlocks who
are after the power he has collected from ancient tablets.

My Thoughts:
This is a basic filler episode... a good one... but nothing really special here.

"P3 H20"
Original Airdate: October 21, 1999
Prue must face her greatest fear in order to destroy a watery demon when the sisters revisit the place where their mother suspiciously drowned. In the process, they meet a mysterious stranger from their mother's past.

My thoughts:
This is one I liked a lot. Goes back into the mother's past... and were we first learn of Sam. I remember watching this one for the first time.. thinking it is about time they finally face the demon that killed their mother!

(From Charmed Marathon on February 29th, 2008)