DVD Collectors Online

The Black Swan, a review by Rogmeister

The Black Swan  (1942)  Technicolor   85 minutes
Directed by Henry King
Cast: Tyrone Power, Maureen O'Hara, Laird Cregar, Thomas Mitchell, George Sanders, Anthony Quinn, George Zucco
Music composed by Alfred Newman
Oscar-winner for Color Cinematography
Oscar-nominated for Special Effects and for Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture

DVD Extras
Commentary by film historian Rudy Behlmer and actress Maureen O'Hara
Restoration Comparison
Theatrical Trailer

It's time to buckle that swash!  Join Tyrone Power and his cronies (including every whiskey drinker's favorite seaman, Captain Morgan) as they join him in Jamaica after being pardoned by the king of England...until another seaman (played by George Sanders in a bright red wig and beard) continues his evil ways attacking the king's ships and stealing their bootie.  It's a rollicking high adventure shot in beautiful Technicolor.  It also has an interesting audio commentary featuring actress Maureen O'Hara who revealed that in her first color film, she got "klieg eyes" due to overpowering lights and vowed to never shoot another color film again until cinematographer Leon Shamroy surprised her with the low level lights he would use.  This is certainly an incredible-looking picture with vibrant colors and terrific battle sequences both at sea and in castles on the mainland.  If you enjoy a good pirate adventure, this is one you need to see.

(From DCO third annual November Alphabet Marathon - discussion/review/banter thread on November 5th, 2009)

Arachnophobia, a review by addicted2dvd

Arachnophobia


My Thoughts:
This is an enjoyable movie... but one I can only watch but so often... because of my own bad case of arachnophobia. Watching this movie (or any involving spiders) makes my skin crawl.  This movie has a couple faces I am familiar with. First we see Julian Sands... who I know from the first couple Warlock movies. Then for comic relief we have John Goodman who was Dan on Roseanne. I wouldn't say this is the best horror movie I ever seen... probably not even the best movie about spiders. But I do enjoy it... I would say it is an above average movie.



(From Weekend Movie Marathon 1/2 - 1/4 on January 3rd, 2009)

Angel Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

9. Lullaby
Original Air Date: 11/19/2001
Fearing for her baby's life, Darla makes the ultimate sacrifice just as Holtz arrives to take his revenge on her and Angel.

Guest Stars:
Julie Benz
John Rubinstein
Stephanie Romanov
Daniel Dae Kim
Keith Szarabajka

My Thoughts:
Another good episode. Though I don't care too much for the Holtz character storyline... it is at least entertaining. It is a shame that this is the last we see of Darla... I will miss seeing Julie Benz on the show for the rest of the marathon.

My Rating:

(From Angel Marathon on March 13th, 2010)