DVD Collectors Online

The Mark of Zorro, a review by Rogmeister

The Mark of Zorro (1940)
Cast: Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell, Basil Rathbone, Gale Sondergaard, Eugene Pallette
Director: Rouben Mamoulian

When I think of swashbucklers, Errol Flynn's "Adventures of Robin Hood" is the first one that comes to mind but this is right up there with it. Interestingly, Basil Rathbone plays the bad guy in both. That's not really a surprise as Rathbone was a first-rate swordsman of his own. This is the first good version of Zorro of the sound era (Douglas Fairbanks had played him in the silents) with Tyrone Power coming home from Spain to discover his countrymen being taxed to death. Thus, he takes up the mantle of Zorro to set things right.

This is more swashbuckler than western but I'm still including it as part of my western marathon since it does take place in the Old West and there are horses...but the weaponry of choice is more swordplay than gunplay. It's a fine film and deservedly considered a classic.  This is a 2-sided disc...one side features a colorized version of the film while the other side is the proper black & white version which, I believe, is a restored version that looks excellent.   Film critic Richard Shickel provides a commentary and they also include the episode of A&E's "Biography" TV series that profiled star Tyrone Power.  Another bonus is this DVD came with a set of photos (5x7, I think) from the movie done in a sepia-tone.

(From Roger's Ongoing Westerns Marathon on July 4th, 2009)

Werewolf of London (1935), a review by addicted2dvd

Werewolf of London (1935)


My Thoughts:
I have a bit of mixed feelings on this one. Even though I enjoyed the story very much... there was a few things here that I didn't care for. The first thing I noticed was while the werewolf makeup was pretty cool looking... it wasn't as good as the makeup in The Wolf Man. Of course this movie is 6 years earlier then the more famous The Wolf Man. Another thing that just rubbed me the wrong way is after the first time of become the werewolf... he goes to leave on the hunt.... but before leaving takes the time to stop and put on his hat, jacket and scarf. That just didn't make any sense to me at all. The quality on this movie is very good especially for how old the movie is. There was however one minor problem with the audio. Throughout the first half of the movie we had nice loud, crisp and clear sound. Then at about the half way point the sound level dropped... even though still crisp and clear it was only about half the volume. Like I said... minor problem and it didn't stop me from enjoying the movie. There is 2 extras attached with this movie. A featurette for the classic universal werewolf movies and the trailer for this movie. So far I only watched the trailer.

(From Classic Monster Movie Marathon on May 17th, 2008)

Pete's Pilots, a review by addicted2dvd

Hunter
He plays by his own rules. He hates the pimps, pushers, creeps and killers that prowl our city streets. And he never fires a warning shot. Fred Dryer stars as the maverick police detective who along with partner Dee Dee 'The Brass Cupcake' McCall (Stepfanie Kramer) brought a tough new attitude to television. Critics may have attacked its wild violence, but millions of fans embraced its extreme action, sly humor and sexual chemistry to make HUNTER one of the most popular cop show hits in TV history.

John Amos co-stars in this explosive debut season that also featured guest stars Dennis Franz, Brian Dennehy, Dennis Farina, Bo Svenson, Joanna Kerns, Ed O'Neill and more. HUNTER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON features 19 hard-hitting episodes (including the two hour pilot movie), plus all-new interviews and more. As Sgt. Rick Hunter would say, "Works for me!"

Pilot
Former NFL star Fred Dryer is Det. Sgt. Rick Hunter, a mobster's son turned cop, who after testing his superior officer one too many times, winds up with a partner - brassy Det. Sgt. Dee Dee McCall. Together, they set a trap for a brutal country western murderer.

My Thoughts:
This is a series I blind bought the first 3 seasons on DVD during a buy 1 get 1 free sale. Luckily I found that I enjoy this series. Sure it is not the best cop show I ever seen... but it is definitely worth watching.

My Rating:

(From Pete's Pilots on February 10th, 2010)