DVD Collectors Online

Carnival of Souls: The Criterion Collection, a review by addicted2dvd

Carnival of Souls: The Criterion Collection
Herk Harvey's macabre masterpiece gained a cult following through late night television and has been bootlegged for years. Made by industrial filmmakers on a modest budget, 'Carnival of Souls' was intended to have the "look of a Bergman" and "feel of a Cocteau," and succeeds with its strikingly used locations and spooky organ score. Mary Henry (Candace Hilligoss) survives a drag race in a rural Kansas town, then takes a job as a church organist in Salt Lake City. En route, she becomes haunted by a bizarre apparition that compels her to an abandoned lakeside pavilion. Criterion is proud to present the ultimate special edition of this eerily effective B-movie classic that continues to inspire filmmakers today.

My thoughts:
I have watched this one a couple times before.... is one of my favorite classic horror movies. Before getting this movie recently all I had was a cheap freebie version. So I was looking forward to checking out what Criterion did with it. One thing I liked is that Criterion has both the Theatrical Release as well as the Director's Cut here in this 2-disc set. Since all I ever seen was the Theatrical Release... I thought that this time I would check out the Director's Cut which seems to be about 5 minutes longer. Of course as long as it has been since I seen this movie I unable to point out what was added back in. There definitely was a big improvement to both the audio and video over the freebie version I have. And both discs have a nice collection of extras as well. This is a great release!

(From Weekend Movie Marathon: 4/11 - 4/13 on April 11th, 2008)

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog, a review by Dragonfire

THE LODGER: A STORY OF THE LONDON FOG
In this "hallmark" (Los Angeles Times) silent nail-biter, a rash of murders evokes a family's suspicions about their tenant, a man fascinated with their beautiful daughter.
Restored and Remastered! Includes Audio Commentary, Audio Interviews with Peter Bogdanovich and Francois Truffaut, Making-Of Featurette and More!

My Thoughts

I ended up enjoying this one even though I'm still not overly fond of silent movies.  Hitchcock also didn't use many of the title things throughout the movie, so you have relie on just on the visuals.  Most of the time that ends up working fine with this one, though with a few scenes earlier in the movie I was left wondering why a scene or two was included. 

The movie starts off showing the discovery of a victim.  She was the seventh victim.  Blonde women in London are scared with some of them seeming to plan to change their hair color.  A young woman, Daisy, works in some sort of musical.  she lives with her older parents.  Soon after she arrives home that night, a man arrives wanting to rent the room her parents have available.  The Lodger, never identified by a name, acts mysterious, seeming to sneak around, flipping out over things that happen in the house.  He also becomes attracted to Daisy and she is returning the feelings even though she had been somewhat involved with an older police officer, Joe, who didn't like the Lodger on sight.

I thought the plot was very interesting even though I'm still not sure why a few things were done.  There is a good amount of suspense in the movie and mystery in the movie.  The cast all handled their roles well and were very expressive, something absolutely essential in a silent movie.  There are some very good, interesting visuals in the movie, like when Hitchcock filmed up through plate glass to show someone pacing upstaris.  This is a black and white movie that didn't really seem to be in black and white to me.  Just about every scene had a blue or sort of golden hue to them.  The scenes set indoors have the golden hue and the ones outside have the bluish cast to them.  One scene late in the movie had a pinkish/purplish cast to it.  All the color hues was a bit odd to me since I'm use to black and white movies that are truly black and white.  One sequence, set in the house late at night, was in what I consider true black and white, but that didn't last long at all. 

I think the picture quality is good, especially considering the age of the movie.  I think some restoration had been done on it for this DVD release.  I still have to watch more of the extras.  I did watch the one on the making of the movie which was interesting.  A lot of people who have written books about Hitchcock talked about the movie and how it was one of the first he directed - I think it was the third.  Hitchcock's granddaughter talked a little bit as well.  I've seen his daughter in several extras, but never his granddaughter before.  Peter Bergdaovich - no clue how to spell his name at the moment - talked a lot about the movie and Hitchcock too.  Some clips from interviews that Bergdaovich did with Hitchcock in 1962.

This is a good movie overall, though I know it won't appeal to a lot of people because it is silent.  It's still worth seeing.  I've heard it described as the first true Hitchcock movie since it was the first suspense type of movie he did.

 

Oh..by the way, I did watch Easy Virtue already..back in March I think..  I didn't write as much about it because it wasn't as interesting to me.  Anyway, I rated that one 

(From Alfred Hitchcock Marathon on May 4th, 2009)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon, a review by goodguy

2x11 Self Made Man
Synopsis: Cameron never sleeps, so what does she do at night? Chase a T-888 that's been lost in time.
My Rating:

Toni Graphia is one of the finest writers on this show and here she is responsible for another gem. The seasonal story arc is pretty much abandoned in what seems to be a stand-alone episode, but is it really? Sure, on the surface it's about a T-888 lost in the '20s. It's also a night in the life of Cameron. But the really beautiful thing is how the episode picks up not so much the plot, but the themes developed in the series so far.

Why does Cameron go to the library? It's not so much information she seeks, but knowledge. That's why she befriends Eric, the night librarian (excellent, Billy Lush), that's why she reads Shakespeare. She wants to understand humans. She wants to understand John. They don't make sense to her.

Upon the photograph of the T-888 she stumbles by accident. At first, he doesn't make sense to her either. But he is a machine. Machines are predictable, easy to figure out. And that, Achim, is exactly why it takes her only a night to piece together the clues.

But humans? They turn over turtles, so she did turn over Ellison. But when Eric falls out of his chair, he obviously doesn't want her help. And Cameron observes him, curious, confused. But not attached. For her, everything works out fine: the robbery, Othello, Eric being replaced by another night guard (what a great ending).

There are so many little things in this episode to marvel at. They are what creates the rich texture of the show, what makes it special. Like the question about suicide in the bathroom, calling back that girl in S1 who killed herself. Like the bomb comment, linking back to her talk about Sarah's cancer. Like the three dots that suddenly appear as star positions in a flashback, making them part of the T-888 investigation that essentially is just a McGuffin.

I also really liked John and Riley. Again very little happens, but the beauty is in the details and how it is all connected. Like John beating up the guy at the party and Sarah beating up Akagi. Like Riley playing little games with John at the party and a big game to further Jesse's agenda. Like John's "I shouldn't be around people" echoes what Jesse said about Future John. Like Riley's "you're a weirdo, you might get me" complements the story of Cameron and Eric. And, and, and.

I'm very glad the show doesn't speed up and move along, as Achim said. It wouldn't be the show I've come to admire.


(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete Second Season marathon on February 13th, 2010)