DVD Collectors Online

The Lady Vanishes, a review by Achim

Title: The Lady Vanishes
Year: 1938
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Rating: NR
Length: 95 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Margaret Lockwood
Michael Redgrave
Paul Lukas
Dame May Whitty
Cecil Parker

Plot:
In this best-loved of Hitchcock's British-made thrillers, a young woman on a train meets a charming old lady (Dame May Whitty), who promptly disappears. The other passengers deny ever having seen her, leading the young woman to suspect a conspiracy. When she begins investigating, she is drawn into a complex web of mystery and high adventure.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Featurettes
Production Notes


This must have been the first Hitchcock film I ever saw. It used to play on German TV often I possibly saw it each and every time. It has, however, been at least 20 years since I saw it last.

It is a great little film. It has lots of Hitchcock's typical ingredients: MacGuffin, suspense, witty dialogue and plays out with a rather high pace that the 90min pass by very quickly. The first 30min we are slowly and ingeniously (because of the way the focus is passed on from one to the other) introduced to all main characters. This bit plays mostly like a comedy with light hearted humor and only a hint (well, a murder) that this is not a comedy at all. The second 30min are the mysery section, where "The Lady Vanishes" (I don't think I need a spoiler tag here ) and the conspiracy plays out. The last third is the suspense section, where we finally gain more knowledge than the characters in the film and Hitchcock has us worried about how it will end!

I was rather surprised how well put together this film was. Considering its age the "special effects" (some matte painting mixed with miniature work) looked quite convincing and appropriate. The dialogue, I keep finding in all the Hitchcock films I rediscover (I used to watch these as a teenager and in a dubbed version!) is quite sharp and the sarcasm(?) is great fun for modern audiences and feels fresh. I especially enjoyed the bits with the two English gentlemen. The only cringe worthy moment was when some piece of evidence "flew by" rather conveniently...

Hitchcock does appear, but near the end of the film, so I missed him.



(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on May 8th, 2009)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull , a review by Jon

Seen it. Loved it. 'Nuff said.

This was the best cinema experience I've had for ages. It wasn't perfect by a long shot, but it's such great fun the problems just breeze by into the next jaw-dropping set piece. I do think it sagged a little in the middle with a couple of silly bits, compounded by ropey CGI, which I actually don't mind because it adds to the experience of the old, seat-of-the-pants filmmaking Indy is a tribute too. But those silly bits start with an incredible fight across speeding jeeps and are bridged by an old-fashioned Indy fist fight with a Russian, so it's never boring and always pushing hard. Oh my word, it's great!

What makes it great is Spielberg. The great irony of the series is that while they are a tribute to the old serials, at the same time, he is capable of much more and can do it in his sleep. I think he really had the bit between his teeth on this though and I frequently had the sense that he was working beyond his tools, in the way a handful of directors have done before. To be fair, he's always been one of them, regularly giving cinema and his peers a well-aimed kick in the arse. But it's so long since he's just had fun and he makes it look easy. The opening scene especially: it's pretty pointless and probably unnecessary, but it's a masterclass sequence. Or just little things like the fight with the Russian; while still your classic barroom brawl style with gunshot sound effects, it seemed to have a little extra something in the choreography. It didn't need it, but it's the cherry on top.

Of course, a masterclass show-reel is all it would be without Ford. He is still marvellous in the role, despite a creakiness, and the script effortlessly adds to the mythology. The series has often lived off the parts we didn't see. The thing I always loved about Indy and the original Star Wars trilogy was the idea that a lot more had been going on.

With a 65 year old in the lead, we were never going to get a sequence to match the trucks in Raiders, but Shia picks up the short-fall very well. Cate makes for a brilliant pantomime villain (like dodgy CGI, a film like this not only gets away with silly accents, it positively needs them!). The rest of the cast don't get as much time as they deserve, but shine when they do. The finale has a very clever moment that leaves me hopeful for a potential extension. Maybe there is always room for Henry Jones Jr. 





(From Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on May 23rd, 2008)

Caroline in the City Marathon, a review by Tom

Caroline and the Bad Back (1995-10-12)
Writer: Bill Prady
Director: James Burrows
Cast: Lea Thompson (Caroline), Eric Lutes (Del), Malcolm Gets (Richard), Amy Pietz (Annie), Andy Lauer (Charlie), Jane Leeves (Daphne), David Hyde Pierce (Niles), Gerry McIntyre (Island Waiter)

Caroline hurts her back and because of painkillers she cannot finish her work on the current comic strip. Del and Richard try to finish the work for her.
As a tag-on we see Niles and Daphne from Frasier at the end, when they are reading this comic strip in the newspapers. I like those small crossover cameos
Otherwise an average episode. Not especially funny.



Caroline and the ATM (1995-10-19)
Writer: Mark Wilding, Jennifer Glickman
Director: Rod Daniel
Cast: Lea Thompson (Caroline), Eric Lutes (Del), Malcolm Gets (Richard), Amy Pietz (Annie), Lauren Graham (Shelly), Ileen Getz (Mrs. Banks), Jason Graae (Mr. Green), Bill Pugin (Mr. Fleming)

Richard wants to get rid of his clingy girlfriend (Lauren Graham) by telling her, he is allergic to her doc.
Caroline has trouble with the ATM machine and for proof she has to watch the security tape of the machine with the bank employees. Problem is, that she picked her nose at the ATM machine not knowing that she was being recorded.

A standard episode. Nothing special.



Caroline and the Folks (1995-11-02)
Writer: Fred Barron, Marco Pennette
Director: James Burrows
Cast: Lea Thompson (Caroline), Eric Lutes (Del), Malcolm Gets (Richard), Amy Pietz (Annie), Andy Lauer (Charlie), Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), Jonathan Silverman (Jonathan Eliot), Constance Towers (Barbara), Tom La Grua (Remo), John Mariano (Johnny), Lou Felder (Don), Jeff Garvin (Scott), Elisa Heinsohn (Stephanie)

Caroline is treading meeting the parents of her boyfriend Del.

Chandler from Friends has a small cameo in this episode. As a matter of fact, Caroline also had a small cameo in a Friends episode around the same time. I think it was the episode "The One with the Baby on the Bus"

(From Caroline in the City Marathon on September 14th, 2008)