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Dracula, a review by Hal

Title: Dracula: Classic Monster Collection
Year: 1931
Director: Tod Browning
Rating: NR
Length: 75 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, French: Dolby Digital: Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital: Mono, Music Only: Dolby Digital: 5.0, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo
Subtitles: English, French

Stars:
Bela Lugosi
Helen Chandler
David Manners
Dwight Frye
Edward Van Sloan

Plot:
This DVD edition contains three special versions of Dracula!

Dracula (The Restored Version)
Although there have been numerous screen versions of Bram Stoker's classic tale, none is more enduring than the 1931 original. The ominous portrayal of Count Dracula by Bela Lugosi, combined with horror specialist director Tod Browning, help to create the film's eerie mood. Dracula remains a masterpiece not only of the genre, but for all time.

Dracula (Featuring New Music By Philip Glass)
The original version of Dracula starring Bela Lugosi has been remastered to feature a specially composed musical score by world-renowned composer Philip Glass and performed by the Kronos Quartet. Glass' music lends greater depth to an already timeless classic!

Dracula (Original Spanish Version)
Filmed simultaneously with the English language version, the Spanish version of Dracula is a completely different, yet equally ominous vision of the horror classic. Utilizing the same sets and identical script, cinematographer George Robinson and a vibrant cast including Carlos Villarias and Lupita Tovar deliver this chilling and evocative tale.

Extras:
Scene Access
Audio Commentary
Feature Trailers
Featurettes
Gallery
Production Notes
DVD-ROM Content
New Isolated Music Score

Although there are some good scenes in this film, overall, I think this was overacted and way too melodramatic.  Legosi's handling of this role (even though it is the one he is best known for) is just too much for me and unrealistic to the point of being laughable.  The mood and setting of the film was good, but I think the "effect" of brightening the eyes of the vampires was overdone.  It is interesting how some of the mythos of Dracula was all established in this early film; e.g., fear of garlic, wolfbane, sunlight, crosses; lack of reflection in mirrors, death by wooden stake through the heart, changing into bats and/or wolves, having to rest in soil of the "homeland", sleeping in coffins during the day.  Some of these have endured the test of time; others have not.
I suppose given the age of this film it has many merits, but I cannot rate it any higher than a 3.

Rating:

(From Hal's 2010 Horror Marathon Reviews on October 16th, 2010)

Rang De Basanti, a review by Tom

Rang De Basanti (2006/India) IMDb | Wikipedia ALIVE, Rapid Eye Movies (Germany) Director: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra Writing: Kamlesh Pandey (Story By), Prasoon Joshi (Screenwriter), Rensil D Silva (Screenwriter), Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (Screenwriter) Length: 160 min. Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35 Audio: German: Dolby Digital 5.1, Hindi: Dolby Digital 5.1 Subtitles: German

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Stars:
Aamir Khan
Siddarth
Atul Kulkarni
Sharman Joshi
Kunal Kapoor

Plot:
Arriving in India, a UK graduate enlists a gang of college students to participate in a documentary about India's freedom fighters. Initially, these students scoff at the ideals and people of the past, but a sequence of events set in slow motion a merging of the past and present.

Awards:
Won:

Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Cinematographer Award (Binod Pradhan)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Director Award (Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Editing Award (P.S. Bharati)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Movie Award
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Music Director Award (A. R. Rahman)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Critics Award for Best Performance (Aamir Khan)
IIFA Awards (2007)		Best Lyricist (Prasoon Joshi)
IIFA Awards (2007)		Best Movie
IIFA Awards (2007)		Best Music Director (A.R.Rahman)
IIFA Awards (2007)		Best Screenplay (Rensil D'Silva, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra)
IIFA Awards (2007)		Best Supporting Actress (Soha Ali Khan)

Nominated:

BAFTA (2006)		Film Not In The English Language (Ronnie Screwvala, Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Actor Award (Aamir Khan)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Lyricist Award ("Roobaroo": Prasoon Joshi)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Supporting Actor Award (Kunal Kapoor)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Supporting Actor Award (Siddharth Narayan)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Supporting Actress Award (Kirron Kher)
Filmfare Awards (2007)		Best Supporting Actress Award (Soha Ali Khan)

Extras:

• Deleted Scenes
• Featurettes
• Scene Access
• Trailers

A great movie about a bunch of students, who at first cannot understand that someone would die for their country but after a tragedy they learn how it is to be willing to sacrifice their lives for a cause.
This movie won multiple awards (including Best Movie and Best Director) and had some impact on the Indian public regarding their perception of the government. One main issue of this movie was the corruption in Indian politics.
I can recommend this movie to everyone who would be interesting in to check out a great Indian movie but don't like musicals. This movie has no traditional musical numbers.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on May 17th, 2011)

Fear Itself Marathon, a review by addicted2dvd

10. Chance
In the vein of such classic doppelganger stories as "Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde" and Poe's "William Wilson," "Chance" explores the dreadful classic battle that ensues when a man is confronted by his evil self. 
Director: John Dahl (You Kill Me, The Last Seduction)

Stars:
Ethan Embry
Vondie Curtis Hall
Christine Chatelain
Sean Hoy
Ellen Ewusie

My Thoughts:
This one... now this one wasn't all that great to me. I didn't find the story very interesting. It seemed to be drawn out as I found myself checking the clock on a few occasions throughout the episode. And I found I really didn't care about the characters.

My Rating:

(From Fear Itself Marathon on April 15th, 2010)