DVD Collectors Online

The Haunting, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Haunting
Year of Release: 1963
Directed By: Robert Wise
Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Genre: Horror

Overview:
"It was an evil house from the beginning, a house that was born bad." The place is the 90-year-old mansion called Hill House. No one lives there. Or so it seems. But please do come in. Because even if you don't believe in ghosts, there's no denying the terror of "The Haunting."

Robert Wise returned to psychological horror for this much admired, first screen adaptation of Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House." Four people come to the house to study its supernatural phenomena. Or has the house drawn at least one of them to it? The answer will unnerve you in this "elegantly sinister scare movie. It's good fun" (Pauline Kael, "5001 Nights at the Movies").

My Thoughts:
What a great film!  There's no blood, no gore, no monsters - everything is completely unseen, and you never find out what exactly is going on.  Yet that only makes the events more sinister.  The house is perfectly realized, unsettling from the moment you see it.  The atmosphere is thick, stifling, and genuinely creepy. 

The performances are all quite good - though I never liked Eleanor's character, I thought Julie Harris did a good job with her.  However, what really shines for me is the direction, cinematography and design.  The camera angles, sound, lighting, everything about the way the film is made make it so very, very good.  Highly recommended.

I really want to get this one on blu-ray.

Bechdel Test: Pass

Overall: 4.5/5

(From Month Long Horror/Halloween Marathon on October 2nd, 2014)

This Property Is Condemned, a review by Hal

Title: This Property Is Condemned
Year: 1966
Director: Sydney Pollack
Rating: NR
Length: 110 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Natalie Wood
Robert Redford
Charles Bronson
Kate Reid
Mary Badham

Plot:
Repressed desires, sultry women, sweltering weather and a handsome new stranger in town... this is playwright Tennessee Williams at his very best. Depression-era Dodson, Mississippi, is particularly devastated with the arrival of Owen Legate (Robert Redford) , a railroad official with a pocketful of pink slips for the rail yard employees. Natalie Wood is captivating as Alva Starr, the coquettish town flirt with plenty of big plans but nowhere to go... until Legate appears on her doorstep. Their ensuing affair enrages Alva's distant, uncaring mother (Kate Reid) - and ignites a town's revenge. Masterfully directed by Sydney Pollack (The Way We Were, Out of Africa, The Firm) and co-written for the screen by Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather trilogy), This Property Is Condemned sizzles with unbridled passion and fiery emotion.

Extras:
Scene Access
Closed Captioned

Take the writing of Tennessee Williams, screenplay of Francis Ford Coppola and direction of Sydney Pollack and throw in the acting (and beauty) of Natalie Wood and Robert Redford and you cannot expect anything but an outstanding film.  This poignant story of a starry-eyed flirtatious dreamer from backwoods Dodson, MS (Wood) and a cynical railroad man (Redford) from sophisticated and exciting New Orleans is a study in stark contrasts and the realities of the human condition; from manipulating mother to lonely married man with an invalid wife to the desperation of men losing their jobs in desperate times.  Excellent film in all respects!
What a shame the beauty of one such as Natalie Wood was lost to us at such an early age.  She was one beautiful young lady!


Rating:

(From This Property Is Condemned on July 26th, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Who's the Boss?: Season One (1984/United States) IMDb | Wikipedia Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (United States) Length: 455 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Subtitles:

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Plot:
3 Disc Set Includes All 22 Episodes From The First Season

When an injury forces baseball star Tony Micelli out of the major leagues, he finds himself penniless an without any job prospects. Swallowing his pride, Tony, along with daughter Samantha, become a live-in housekeeper for Angela Bower, a busy ad executive who has little time to look after her home or her young son, Jonathan. Now, Tony's got a full-time job and Angela's household is back in order. Only one question remains: Who's The Boss?


Who's the Boss?
Season 1.01 Pilot
Writer: Martin Cohan (Writer), Blake Hunter (Writer)
Director: Bill Persky
Cast: Tony Danza (Tony Micelli), Judith Light (Angela Bower), Alyssa Milano (Samantha Micelli), Danny Pintauro (Jonathan Bower), Katherine Helmond (Mona Robinson), Dennis Holahan (Grant Paxton), Rhoda Gemignani (Mrs. Rossini)

This is a series I watched in the 90s, mainly because there was nothing else on at the time it was aired. I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't say it is a must-see. I really found Alyssa Milano attractive towards the end of the series and she was the main reason I stayed with the series.
The pilot is a good introduction to the series.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on November 16th, 2012)