DVD Collectors Online

Freaky Friday (1976), a review by addicted2dvd

Freaky Friday (1976/United States) Buena Vista Home Entertainment Director: Gary Nelson Writing: Mary Rodgers (Screenwriter), Mary Rodgers (Original Material By) Length: 98 min. Rating: G Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, French: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: English, Spanish

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Stars:
Barbara Harris as Mrs. Andrews
Jodie Foster as Annabel
John Astin as Mr. Andrews
Patsy Kelly as Mrs. Schmauss
Dick Van Patten as Harold Jennings
Vicki Schreck as Virginia

Plot:
Now experience all the laughs of the original comedy classic that inspired Disney's hilarious hit remake. Trading places was never so funny, and it could only happen on Friday the 13th! that's when the tomboyish and free-spirited Annabel (Jodie Foster) switches bodies with her straitlaced mother, Ellen (Barbara Harris), and suddenly finds herself responsible for running the entire household. In turn Ellen, now in her daughter's body, faces the daunting challenges of school, including a typing test, field hockey competition, and much more!

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Interactive Games
• Closed Captioned

This movie is just plain fun! I got several chuckles out of it. I really enjoyed the field Hockey game I got a few laughs out of those scenes. The Baseball game in the park was pretty fun as well. Then there was the last scene of the movie... and once again I couldn't help but to laugh at it. There were a few familiar faces in this one... other then what I listed above there was the guy that played Arnold in Happy Days... as well as Marvin Kaplan who I have seen in several TV Series of the time. and then there is Sorrell Brooke as the principle... who was of course Boss Hogg on The Dukes of Hazzard. I am the first to admit that I enjoyed the remake of Freaky Friday with Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan... but I have to say... I prefer this one!

The DVD itself isn't bad... but it could have been much better. Both the audio and video are just fine... but when it comes to extras it leaves a bit to be desired. There is one game you can play... which is a match game. Very simple and very boring once you play it once or twice. But the "Look Back" with Jodie Foster was pretty cool. She don't only look back on Freaky Friday... but all the movies she did for Disney. I did enjoy watching it. And that is all the movie related extras you get. The only other thing on the disc is the "also from Disney" trailers.





(From TV Stars in the Movies: On-Going Mega Marathon on September 5th, 2011)

Die Augen der Mumie Ma, a review by Danae Cassandra

Die Augen der Mumie Ma (The Eyes of the Mummy)
Year of Release: 1918
Directed By: Ernst Lubitsch
Starring: Emil Jannings, Pola Negri, Harry Liedtke
Genre: Horror Thriller, Melodrama

Overview:
Albert Wendland, a young painter studying in Egypt, overhears Prince Hohenfels' plans to visit the mysterious tomb of Queen Ma.  Albert is intrigued when he hears a local legend: anyone who enters the crypt meets with disaster.  Ignoring the warning, Wendland journeys to the forbidden burial chamber and finds not a mummy but a beautiful woman, Mara, who is held prisoner by the evil Radu.  Albert rescues Mara and takes her to his European home where they are soon married.  Provided with beautiful clothes, she becomes acquainted with the ways of polite society.  Meanwhile, Radu has sworn revenge upon Mara.  The tragic curse of the mummy hangs over her head!

The Eyes of the Mummy was produced by prolific German UFA studio and boasts a who's who of movie legends.  The film was directed by a young Ernst Lubitsch, who would gain worldwide acclaim for films such as The Love Parade and Heaven Can Wait.  Emil Jannings, star of such classics as The Last Laugh and The Blue Angel, stars as Radu.  Polish femme fatale Pola Negri stars as the doomed Mara.  Negri made many films in Germany with Lubitsch before immigrating to Hollywood where her love affairs garnered more attention than her acting.

My Thoughts
This wasn't really a horror movie, despite being listed as one and having Mummy in the title.  It's really a melodrama/thriller.  Looking at it from that perspective, it's not a bad movie.  Emil Jannings is suitably sinister and threatening. Pola Negri does a commendable job as Ma, the beautiful girl who lives in fear of him, and Harry Liedtke is at least believable as her devoted husband.  While not up to the quality of his later works, Lubitsch's direction here is beginning to show his talent.  

Yes, this is a silent film, and the viewer should expect it to be one.  The acting is over-the-top by modern standards, the makeup heavy, the plot extremely simple.  Take the film as what it is, consider the year it was made in, and it's not that bad a movie, though.  

My only complaint is with my DVD copy of the film.  I'm accustomed to poor video quality, so the fact that this isn't remastered in any way didn't really bother me - yes, there were scratches and dings in the video, but they didn't take away any enjoyment for me.  What was noticeable is that the music soundtrack wasn't synced properly, so that the music would change either just before or just after the scene did, instead of properly with the change of scene.  I'm sure this is because of the cheapness of the Alpha Video release I have.

Bechdel Test: Pass
(for silent films, I will count any interaction between two women that isn't obviously about a man - here between Ma and her tutor)

Overall: 2.5/5

(From Danae's 2013 Horror Marathon on October 9th, 2013)

Death Note anime/manga/movies comparison, a review by Tom

Death Note
Season 1.11 Assault

A TV station which is taken hostage by Kira sends video tapes recorded by Kira. The tape prophecies a death of a news anchor on another channel. One of the policemen drives to the TV station to retrieve the tapes, but is killed by Kira in front of the station. The investigation team is surprised, as suddenly it seems Kira doesn't need to know the name of his victim anymore. Only the face. Light's father gets into the TV station unrecognized and retrieves the tapes. After studying the tapes, L is convinced that there is another Kira. The viewer is introduced to Misa, who is the other Kira and who made the deal with her death god to get the death god eyes to see the name of the victim.

This episode covers chapters 23-25 of the manga. Essentially it is the same, only the manga is a little more detailed.

The movie takes a little different route. They do away with having the investigation team to find out that it is an imposter Kira. The Kira in the tape says it out loud that he is another one. Light's father also gets to the TV station in a similar way.



(From Death Note anime/manga/movies comparison on April 19th, 2013)