DVD Collectors Online

Ikimono no kiroku, a review by Antares

Ikimono no kiroku





Year: 1955
Film Studio: Toho Co. Ltd., The Criterion Collection, Eclipse
Genre: Drama
Length: 103 Min.

Director
Akira Kurosawa (1910)

Writing
Shinobu Hashimoto (1918)...Writer
Fumio Hayasaka (1914)...Story By
Akira Kurosawa (1910)...Story By
Hideo Oguni (1904)...Writer

ProducerCinematographer
Asakazu Nakai (1901)

MusicStarsReviewShichinin no samurai, and YojimboIkimono no kiroku (I Live in Fear), a postwar drama set amidst the fears of nuclear Armageddon. For the most part, this film has been forgotten or dismissed by most critics and Kurosawa fans alike. And while it may not have the intensity of his jidai-geki films, or the subtle humanity of say IkiruReview Criterion

(From Ikimono no kiroku (I Live in Fear) (1955) on June 16th, 2010)

Eaten Alive, a review by Jimmy

Title : Eaten Alive (1980)

Overview
A girl risks her life and plunges into a jungle hell in search of her missing sister. Throughout her perilous journey, she must fend off hungry cannibal tribes and avoid being served up as a sacrificial lamb for a good old-fashioned suicide cult!

My Impression
One of the first Italian exploitation film that I've bought on dvd and it's always a pleasure to rewatch this one. Very good cannibal exploitation film, not as good as Cannibal Holocaust or Cannibal ferox but a top one. In fact this movie loose a lot of point when you realized that it recycle footage from Man from Deep River, Jungle Holocaust and Mountain of the Cannibal God (not that the footage is that obvious with the exception of the killing of the Me Me Lai character, but it's easy to spot if you have seen those movie previously). The story is a mix of two different subjects : Cannibals and isolated religious cult (an obvious reference to the Jonestown cult massacre of 1974). I think that this amalgam gives more depth to this movie compared to the other cannibal exploitation film (except for the sublime Cannibal Holocaust). The movie had a good cast like most of the Italian film with a mix of Europeans an Americans stars like Janet Agren, Ivan Rassimov, Mel Ferrer, Paola Senatore and, of course, Robert Kerman who give a much better performance in this one than in Cannibal Holocaust. You can even catch, if you know them of course, Gerald Grant (great in Radley Metzger's Score) and Jake Teague (his most known role for most of you is probably Mr. Biddle in Debbie Does Dallas).

Great Italian exploitation film, but of course this type of cinema isn't for everybody.    

Rating :

(From Jimmy's 2009 Horror Marathon on October 4th, 2009)

Angel Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: After Angel has slept with Darla it becomes clear that he hasn't lost his soul and he has got an epiphany. It is now obvious to him which road he has gone down and why. It also becomes obvious to him that he can't go any further this way. But it will be hard to return to his friends because they will soon be dead.

My Opinion: Can't Angel have normal sex like everyone else? At least he has left his warpath. And it seems that the makers of "Angel" actually don't intend to create a season enemy and to defeat him in the end. But I like that, it makes it more unpredictable.

Synopsis: Harmony (who was turned into a vampire in Sunnydale) comes to L.A., to visit Cordelia. While she is staying Cordelia gets a vision of a vampire cult that is growing in numbers.

My Opinion: A very good fun episode with many moments where I had to laugh. It's good to see such an episode once in a while.

Synopsis: Wolfram & Hart gives Lindsey a new human hand. But something is wrong with it. The hand has a life of its own and Lindsey tries to find out where this hand came from. During his investigation he runs across Angel.

My Opinion: Lindsey seems to leave L.A.. Let's see if this is permanent, I am not yet willing to believe that. I also wouldn't like it because I think he is a good enemy.

Synopsis: After Cordelia got a vision she accidentally opens a portal and pulls a demon into our dimension. But this demon is a cousin of Lorne's. He helps the three to hunt down another demon that came through a similar portal. Gunn on the other hand has to pay his last respects to a good friend.

My Opinion: It's hard to have to choose between two groups, I know the feeling and it's a total lose-lose situation. But now I have to continue watching, I want to know where Cordelia went.

(From Angel Marathon on February 17th, 2008)