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Grave of the Fireflies, a review by dfmorgan

Title: Grave of the Fireflies
Original Title: Hotaru no Haka
Year: 1988
Director: Isao Takahata
Rating: NR
Length: 90 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.66:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Japanese: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Tsutomu Tatsumi
Ayano Shiraishi
Akemi Yamaguchi
Yoshiko Shinohara

Plot:
In the aftermath of a World War II bombing, two orphaned children struggle to survive in the Japanese countryside. To Seita and his four-year old sister, the helplessness and indifference of their countrymen is even more painful than the enemy raids. Through desperation, hunger and grief, these children's lives are as heartbreakingly fragile as their spirit and love is inspiring. Grave of the Fireflies is a tale of the true tragedy of war and innocence lost, not only of the abandoned young, but of an entire nation.

Extras:
Scene Access
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
Multi-angle
Interviews
Storyboard Comparisons
DVD-ROM Content



I finally watched this film through to the end. I still found it moving, especially with the young child Setsuko, but managed to sit and watch all the way. People have said that this film is anti-war, I'm not too sure I agree with that but have to say that it does make you think as it does show a side-effect of war that often isn't shown or covered.

The film is based on a semi-autobiographical novel, as the lead character dies in the opening minutes it can't be a full autobiography. Seita and and his sister Setsuko are left homeless orphans after a firebomb raid on Kobe. They move in with an aunt but relations there become fractious as the aunt sees them as no more than spongers, especially once she has used all their available resources. The two children move out and try to set up a home of their own but even that has its problems. We see the gradual decline of the children until the inevitable happens to Setsuko. Seita continues his decline until we reach the state he is in at the films beginning.

I'm glad that I finally managed to watch this to the end. It is a moving experience made more so maybe because of the age of the leads, a pre or early teen boy and a four or five year old girl, as well as the depiction of the events that cause their life changes from the bombing to their eventual ends.

Nothing less than a 5

Dave

ETA original title

(From dfmorgan's Studio Ghibli Marathon on June 19th, 2010)

Scrooged, a review by addicted2dvd

Scrooged High-spirited high jinks on Christmas Eve put Frank Cross (Bill Murray) in a ghostly time warp in this hilarious take-off of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Cross, who has made the meteoric rise from the depths of the mailroom to TV network president, is mean, nasty, uncaring, unforgiving and has a sadistic sense of humor - perfect qualities for a modern-day Scrooge. Before the night is over, he'll be visited by a maniacal New York cab driver from the past, a present-day fairy who's into pratfalls and, finally, a ghoulish, seven-foot headless messenger from the future.

My Thoughts:
This is another one I recorded off of cable... one I haven't seen in several years. I enjoyed it quite a bit. It is just a fun spoof off of the Christmas classic. I thought Bill Murray was great in it... as was most all the cast. Definitely one I hope to add to my DVD Collection.



(From Addicted2DVD's 25 Days of Christmas Marathon: 2010 on December 21st, 2010)

Tom's TV Pilots marathon, a review by Tom

Fawlty Towers: Series One and Two (1975/United Kingdom) IMDb | Wikipedia BBC Worldwide (United Kingdom) Length: 375 min. Video: Full Frame 1.33:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital 1, Commentary: Dolby Digital 1 Subtitles: Dutch, English, French, German

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Plot:
This special edition set includes two discs with all 12 episodes.

PLUS: An exclusive third disc containing a collection of special features.


Fawlty Towers
1.01 A Touch of Class
Writer: )
Director:
Cast: John Cleese (Basil Fawlty), Prunella Scales (Sybil Fawlty), Andrew Sachs (Manuel), Connie Booth (Polly), Michael Gwynn (Lord Melbury), Robin Ellis (Danny Brown), Ballard Berkeley (Major Gowen), Martin Wyldeck (Sir Richard Morris), David Simeon (Mr. Mackenzie), Terence Conoley (Mr. Wareing), Lionel Wheeler (Mr. Watson)

A classic. And deservingly so. John Cleese is perfect as Basil Fawlty. And this series has some well-known quotes.

Rating:

(From Tom's TV Pilots marathon on June 3rd, 2011)