DVD Collectors Online

Captain Blood, a review by Rogmeister

Captain Blood (1935)  Black & White   119 minutes
Directed by Michael Curtiz
Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill, Basil Rathbone, Ross Alexander, Guy Kibbee
Music: Erich Wolfgang Korngold

After watching "The Black Swan", I was in the mood for even more swashbuckling so I decided to pop in Errol Flynn's first starring role in a swasbuckler, "Captain Blood".  Ironically, both films were based on novels by the same writer, Rafael Sabatini.  Captain Blood came out 7 years earlier and was shot in black & white so you don't get the lush color photography of The Black Swan but it looks very good for a 74 year old black & white film.  You get more big ships, armies of men swordfighting all at once, both on land and at sea.  Unfortunately, you don't get Maureen O'Hara this time, having to settle instead for Olivia de Havilland but you do get Errol Flynn so perhaps that's a fair trade off.  Unlike the other film where the lead character starts off being a pirate, this time you get the long story of how he became one...being arrested and sold off into slavery and finally escaping with fellow slaves and taking over a ship.  Basil Rathbone is in this film, too...but not for a long amount of screen time but he does have one excellent sword fight sequence with Flynn which is definitely one of the highlights of the movie.

The DVD has a lot of extras including a featurette on the movie, audio-only bonus radio program, and the original trailer.  They also have a presentation of Warner Night at the Movies where they try to show you what it was like seeing a movie back then...besides the movies, you get some shorts also from 1935 including a newsreel, movie trailer of another film, musical and comedy shorts and a cartoon.  There's a lot of entertainment for your buck here, especially considering that, as I write this, you can pick this up in the U.S. currently for about $6.

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 6th, 2009)

Shanghai Noon, a review by addicted2dvd

Shanghai Noon
Two cultures collide when East meets West in Shanghai Noon, a wildly hilarious, stunt filled action-comedy starring the death-defying action hero Jackie Chan (Rush Hour), Owen Wilson (Armageddon, The Haunting) and Lucy Liu (Payback, TV's Ally McBeal). Chan plays Chinese Imperial Guard Chon Wang (say it out loud) who hightails it to the wild and woolly West to rescue the beautiful kidnapped Princess Pei Pei (Liu). When he meets up with laid-back outlaw cowboy dude Roy O'Bannon (Wilson) -- the best mismatch ever made in the rough and tumble Old West -- the two face jail, brawls, bordellos and the vilest villains this side of the Great Wall. Spectacular stunts, outrageous irreverence and epic vistas reign as East meets West in a battle for honor, royalty and a fortune in gold! It's a real kick.

My Thoughts:
After watching Rush Hour yesterday... I was reminded of Shanghai Noon. Knowing I haven't seen this movie in years I decided to watch it today. Like most of Jackie Chan's movies... this one is fun to watch. I do think I like Rush Hour a little better. But not by much. I remember when I first watched this movie I didn't know who Lucy Liu was. So it was fun to watch this one again now that I am more familiar with her. Definitely worth watching... a good way to waste a couple hours.



(From What Movies I Been Watching on July 25th, 2009)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

13. Waiting in the Wings
Original Air Date: 2/4/2002
While attending a performance by a renowned ballet company that he also saw back in 1890. Angel realizes that nothing has changed - including the dancers.

Guest Stars:
Mark Harelik
Mark Lutz
Summer Glau

My Thoughts:
This may be my least favorite episode of Angel. It is definitely my least favorite up to this point. I always found this one to be just slow and boring. Especially the scenes in the Ballet. Until today I never realized that the Prima Ballerina was played by Summer Glau (Firefly & Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles).

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 14th, 2010)